Each year, more than 4,000 people are killed in accidents involving trucks according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
That doesn’t include people who receive serious injuries in accidents involving trucks. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has found that truck driver fatigue is a factor in 30 to 40 percent of the fatal crashes. As a matter of fact, the risk of a crash doubles after eight hours of consecutive driving.
So you would think that armed with this information the FMSCA would mandate better rules for hours of service for truck drivers, right? Wrong! The FMCSA has released its final rules on hours of service for truck drivers – 11-hour daily drive limit – just like the old limits.
This will have harsh consequences for truck drivers and those of us who share the roadways with them. Great safety regulations, huh?
