Legislative Initiatives
Hours of Service Regulations and Fatigue
Commercial truck drivers work long hours under physically demanding conditions. Ensuring that drivers get enough rest is a critical component of truck safety. Thus the FMCSA has Hours of Service regulations.
Commercial truckers transporting property (the rules for passenger trucks are a bit different) are subject to daily and weekly limits on the number of hours they are permitted to work. After exhausting these limits, drivers are required to spend a specified period of consecutive hours off duty.
Revised Hours of Service Regulations
FMCSA’s new HOS final rule reduces excessively long work hours that increase both the risk of fatigue-related crashes and long-term health problems for drivers. The previous 2003 HOS rule shortened the driving window to 14 consecutive hours and increased the off-duty period from 8 to 10 hours, but increased driving time from 10 to 11 hours and allowed drivers to restart their duty time calculations whenever they took at least 34 consecutive hours off. The new rule prohibits a driver from driving if more than 8 hours have passed since the driver’s last off-duty or sleeper berth break of at least 30 minutes. It also limits the use of the restart to once a week, which, on average, will cut the maximum work week from 82 to 70 hours. The new rule is effective February 27, 2012 and companies must comply by July 1, 2013.
Greg was killed by a tractor-trailer that had 23 safety violations, an inexperienced driver, and an improperly secured load.
Rachel was a healthy, active eight year old little girl. She had a long life ahead of her that was unfairly taken away.
I lost my freedom and my independence in a split second. Now I have to rely on many other people to do for me what I used to be able to do myself.- Woman Killed, Fiancé Seriously Injured in 18-wheeler Crash
A woman and her fiancé were on their way to a family reunion in South Carolina one night when, out of nowhere, a car hit their Nissan Pathfinder head-on. The car had been rear-ended by an 18-wheeler and sent hurling across the median, where it collided with the couple’s vehicle. The woman in the Pathfinder [...]
- 8-year-old Killed in Collision with Truck Carrying Hazardous Load
An eight-year-old girl was traveling with her mother when a truck loaded with flammable materials crashed into the family’s car. The girl was severely injured and later died as a result of her injuries. During the wrongful death case brought against the operator of the truck and her employer, it was discovered that the truck [...]
- Tractor-trailer Loses Load, Kills Pick-up Truck Driver
A 37-year-old man was on his way to work when a tractor-trailer lost part of its load of hay bales on the highway. The hay bales smashed into the man’s pick-up truck, demolishing the vehicle and killing the driver. An investigation proved the trucking company knew the tractor trailer had received 23 or more safety [...]