Truck Driving Fatigue : Lawsuits based on drivers who were fatigued

by: Michael Monheit, Esquire of Monheit Law, P.C.

Toll Free: 866-761-1385

Email: Michael Monheit

Truck driver fatigue is a serious safety problem. A analysis of 221 serious truck accidents in 1985 by the American Automotive Association estimated that fatigue was the primary cause in 40% of them and a contributing cause in 60% of the total. The Ontario Target 97 Task Force has taken one good step (to increase the time-off from driving from 8 hours to 9 hours), but then undermined this by increasing the limit of driving in a 7 day cycle from the current 60 hours to 80 hours (or 70 if the driver also spends time loading/unloading). Increasing the work week by 20 hours will only make the fatigue problem worse.

This unilateral action by Ontario to go beyond the national limit of 60 hours in a 7 day cycle works against the attempts to implement a consistent national safety standard. Now other provinces will face competitive pressure to augment their hours of work.

An extended work week is bound to increase accidents. This is borne out by an analysis of 500 truck accidents which found that 62% of the accidents occur in the second half of the trip as opposed to only 38% in the first half. The longer you are on the road, the greater the risk of accident.

A recent truck industry/government study appears to conclude that drivers are not more tired after 13 hours of driving in Canada than after 10 in the U.S. This is contradicted by researchers at the University of Waterloo who investigated actual truck crashes and found that the rate of fatigue-related accidents almost doubles after 9.5 hours of driving. It is also contradicted by a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (U.S.) which estimated that the risk of crash involvement was double for truck drivers after 8 hours of driving.

Part of the problem with the government/industry study is that it examined a very small sample of 40 Canadian truck drivers who between Montreal and Toronto (and 40 Americans driving between St. Louis and Kansas City). No drivers on the long-haul cross-Canada route through northern Ontario were tested, an area where
the University of Waterloo research found the truck accident rate was more than triple that in southern Ontario. The Waterloo researchers identified fatigue from long-haul driving as a major reason for the difference.

There is a consensus in the research that driver fatigue is worse when the driver starts at a different time each day. Thus, it is important that truck companies schedule their drivers to start at the same time each day. This means not pushing the driver to the maximum number of hours per day legally allowed. Instead, the driver should be given enough time off to wait until a consistent starting time.

Shippers and trucking carriers who pressure drivers to violate hours of work limits, drive when tired, or meet unrealistic schedules should be penalized. With the move to just-in-time delivery schedules, and financial rewards up to $6,000 per hour for being on-time, there is too much pressure to push drivers to the limit. Penalties need to be equally stiff

Contact Monheit Law about
your truck accident case.

Free Inquiry. No Obligation

Free Commercial Truck Accident Case Review

* Required Fields

---

---

 

Home  |  Site Map  |  Disclaimer