Washington Injury Law Blog

The Atlanta Injury Law Blog tipped me off to an interesting article by the Commerce Clearing House about semi-truck driver fatigue. One of the common causes of semi-truck accidents in Washington is driver fatigue. Trucking companies push for longer and longer hours-of-service rules for their truck drivers, which wears out the drivers but allows the trucking companies to squeeze more profits out of each truck driver. As a Kirkland truck accident attorney I can tell you the devastation my clients suffer when hit by a semi-truck is frightening.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) recently approved a rule that allows truck drivers to be on the road 11 hours on any 14 hour work shift, after that the driver must go off duty for at least 10 hours. A one hour increase from the previously approved amount. The Teamsters Union and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (AHAS is a safety group) are fighting the new rule in a Washington DC court because they say the new rule will allow drivers to be on the road as much as 84 hours a week, which could lead to dangerous driver fatigue.

According to court papers submitted by the Teamsters and AHAS, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently reported that deaths in truck accidents increased in 2004 and 2005. The percentage of fatal crashes that result from driver fatigue rose 20 percent from 2004 to 2005. The increase in deaths was because 2004 was the first year in which the new, longer hours of driving and work were put into effect.  It’s also interesting to note that the FMCSA has acknowledged in the past that the risk of a crash doubles from the 8th hour to the 9th hour of driving, and doubles again from the 10th to the 11th hour. Our highways have just become a much more dangerous place because of this new truck driver rule.

The new rule was put in place by Bush administration for who know what reason. Smells like president Bush is giving his trucking company buddies a boost before he heads out of office.  The 11-hour rule has twice previously been declared illegal by the courts.  We’ll have to see if 3rd time is the charm for the truck companies or whether public safety triumphs again.

According to Teamsters President Jim Hoofa the Bush administration has no shame about breaking the law.  Mr. Hoffa believes people are dying on the highway because FMCSA is more concerned about making its corporate bosses happy than it is about making our highways safe. Let’s hope common sense wins and we are not faced with semi-truck drivers drunk from fatigue flying down our highways towards a preventable increase in fatal truck accidents.