If you have ever been away for the weekend with a group of friends, someone likely fell asleep on the way back. The monotony of the scenery and the vehicle’s motion can make staying awake hard if you lack sleep. However, this is precisely the situation many truck drivers are in day after day. Whether due to the job pressures, a night out, or their life at home, truckers routinely drive when tired.
As trucks are the largest vehicles on the road and can do the most damage, it stands to reason that their drivers need adequate rest for the safety of all road users.
However, new rules introduced by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) seem to go against this. They allow truck drivers to work for 14 hours per day, including driving for 11 hours per day. The FMCSA introduced these rules at the behest of trucking companies. It helps them cut costs by squeezing more out of their drivers. Those behind the law argue that cutting delivery costs keeps in-store prices lower, benefitting the general public. However, having more dangerously tired drivers on the roads does not.
You might think that truckers must take lots of breaks to help them stay awake. However, the new rules only require a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving. Stopping for fuel could count as that break. So a trucker could literally drive 14 hours nonstop, as long as they halted to fill up with diesel for half an hour. If you have driven long distances yourself, you will know this is not healthy or safe.
If you are injured in a crash caused by a truck driver, whether because they were fatigues or for other reasons, you will need legal help to fight for the compensation you need.
