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Truck Driver Fatigue

Negligent truck drivers and trucks with serious service violations are the leading cause of Michigan truck accidents. But other causes like truck driver fatigue — which seems to be in Mother Nature’s hands — really involves negligence when state and federal laws are disregarded by trucking companies who put their bottom line ahead of the safety of Michigan drivers.

Truck driver fatigue contributes to hundreds of serious truck accidents each year in Michigan. As truckers are on the road for many hours, day after day, their judgment can become skewed by sleepiness, in turn causing an array of errors on the road. Take a recent survey stating that 20 percent of truck drivers nationwide admitted to falling asleep at the wheel in a given month. Many of these drivers continue driving when prudence suggests otherwise, due to intense pressure by irresponsible management to deliver loads on time, and direct financial incentives to drive past federally regulated hours.

Federal Laws to Curb Truck Driver Fatigue

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration was so concerned with exhausted drivers running their tractor-trailers off the road and failing to keep within their lanes, that new hours of service laws were introduced in April 2003.

The rules allow truck drivers to drive 11 hours after 10 consecutive off-duty hours. In addition, truck drivers may not drive after being on-duty for 60 hours in a period of seven consecutive days. They also can’t drive after being on-duty for 70 hours in a period of eight consecutive days. This on-duty cycle may be restarted whenever a truck driver spends at least 34 consecutive hours off-duty.

Short-haul semi-truck drivers, meaning those who routinely return to their place of dispatch after each tour and are released from duty, may have an increased on-duty period of 16 hours once during any period of seven consecutive days. The current rule for short-haul truck drivers allows 10 hours of driving within a 15-hour on-duty period after eight hours of off-duty time.

Enforcement of Laws to Prevent Truck Driver Fatigue Remains Challenging

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration estimated the new rules will save up to 75 lives and prevent as many as 1,326 fatigue-related commercial truck accidents each year. There were nearly 5,000 deaths from truck accidents in 2002, the year before the new rules were promulgated.

Still, enforcement of the rules to prevent truck driver fatigue is worse in Michigan than in most states throughout the country. This is primarily because many Michigan trucking companies whose sleepy drivers cause horrific accidents do not face liability beyond the injuries caused in a particular truck accident, as Michigan law does not allow for punitive damages. Therefore, Michigan personal injury lawyers are essentially powerless to address systematic, company-wide failures to enforce on-duty hours, proper log book use and other safety precautions that some truck company safety directors disregard, knowingly overlook — or perhaps even encourage.

Again, many truckers are employed by companies that choose to put delivery of their goods ahead of your safety. To protect your legal rights following a Michigan truck accident injury, it’s vital to consult a Michigan truck accident lawyer who is experienced in truck accident litigation.

To request a free, no obligation case evaluation with one of our truck accident attorneys, please fill out our contact form and we will respond to your inquiry within one business day. Or to speak to an attorney immediately, please call (800) 777-0028.

The truck accident lawyers of Michigan Auto Law have helped enforce important truck safety regulations on truck driver fatigue to make our roads safer. No other law firm in Michigan has received more jury verdicts or consistently higher settlements for truck accident cases. In fact, the vast majority of our wrongful death and personal injury cases from truck accidents are referred to us by local attorneys, based upon our record of experience and success.

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