Truck Driver Fatigue

Truck driver fatigue contributes to hundreds of serious car accidents every year in Michigan.  What many personal injury attorneys in Michigan fail to understand is that the enforcement of the rules to prevent truck driver fatigue in Michigan is far worse than in many other states.  The biggest reason for this is that many truck companies in Michigan whose drivers cause terrible motor vehicle accidents due to fatigue, such as driving over hours, do not face exposure to liability beyond the injuries caused in that one particular truck accident that the driver caused.  Without the ability to sue for punitive damages in Michigan, Michigan personal injury attorneys are essentially powerless to address systemic, company-wide failures to enforce duty hours, log violations, or other safety violations that truck company safety directors far too often fail to address.  In other words, even if the safety director knowingly overlooks, or perhaps even encourages, rule-breaking, the trucking company will only be liable to the extent of the injuries that were caused in any one specific truck accident in states like Michigan without punitive damages.

To help address the problem of truck driver fatigue in the United States,  new rules were implemented by The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) in 2003 allow tractor-trailer truck drivers to drive 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off-duty. Also, tractor-trailer truck drivers may not drive beyond the 14th hour after coming on-duty, following 10 hours off-duty. Similar to existing rules, tractor-trailer truck drivers may not drive after being on-duty for 60 hours in a seven-consecutive-day period or 70 hours in an eight-consecutive-day period. This on-duty cycle may be restarted whenever a tractor-trailer truck driver takes at least 34 consecutive hours off-duty.   It should be emphasized once again that Michigan personal injury attorneys who are handling serious truck accident cases without knowing the applicable federal and state regulations that apply are appallingly unprepared to help their injured client receive the best settlement or jury verdict from his or her truck accident.

Short-haul tractor-trailer truck drivers—those tractor-trailer truck drivers who routinely return to their place of dispatch after each duty tour and then are released from duty—may have an increased on-duty period of 16 hours once during any seven-consecutive-day period. The 16-hour exception takes into consideration legitimate business needs without jeopardizing safety. FMCSA estimates that without the extra two on-duty hours, the industry would be required to hire at least 48,000 new drivers.  Although this has nothing to do with reducing crash-reduction, the economics of the situation make enforcement unpalatable for the time being.  The current rule allows 10 hours of driving within a 15-hour on-duty period after eight hours of off-duty time. Also, tractor-trailer drivers may not drive after their 15th hour on duty in a workday or after 60 hours on-duty in seven consecutive days or 70 hours on-duty in eight consecutive days.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has estimated this new rule will save up to 75 lives and prevent as many as 1,326 fatigue-related tractor-trailer truck accidents annually. There were an estimated 4,902 deaths as a result of fatal tractor-trailer truck accidents in 2002, the year before the new rules were promulgated.

Unfortunately, with pressure to deliver their loads on time, and often direct financial incentives to drive over hours, enforcement remains a major problem in preventing truck accident wrongful death claims.  Far too many Michigan tractor-trailer truck drivers often continue driving when prudence suggests otherwise. In a recent survey, 20% of tractor-trailer truck drivers admitted to falling asleep at the wheel within the past month in the United States.  Lawyers helping people hurt in personal injury truck accidents in Michigan fear the numbers are far higher in Michigan, as some of the worst drivers from around the country are forced to come to states like Michigan that do not have punitive damages so they can continue to be employed as truck drivers.

If you have been injured or a loved one has been injured or killed in a fatal Michigan tractor-trailer truck accident, it is important to consider your legal options. Many truckers are employed by corporations that choose to put delivery of their goods ahead of your safety.  Because of the severity of the personal injuries involved when a Michigan tractor-trailer truck accident injury occurs, people who are seriously hurt from truck accidents often lead to litigation. To protect your legal rights following a Michigan tractor-trailer truck accident injury, it is generally wise to consult a Michigan tractor-trailer accident personal injury attorney who is experienced in truck litigation.

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