Driver Fatigue Often A Factor In Serious Trucking Accidents
According to the 2008 NAFTA Safety Statistics, 4,341 people were killed, and an additional 81,200 people were injured in connection with truck crashes involving a commercial vehicle. Unfortunately, many of these accidents were the result of driver fatigue which is wholly preventable. Truck drivers are at a significant risk of fatigue due to long, monotonous hours spent behind the wheel. Fatigue negatively impacts overall driving performance, slows reaction times, decreases situational awareness and impairs judgment. A study by the Adelaide Centre for Sleep Research found that drivers who had been awake for 24 straight hours have an equivalent driving performance to a person who has a blood alcohol level of 0.10, which would exceed the legal level of intoxication in most states. Commercial truck drivers and motor carriers are under a duty pursuant to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations to maintain various records associated with their operation, such as driver’s logs. Not surprisingly, these logs are often incomplete, inaccurate and sometimes completely fabricated. When representing clients who are injured as a result of tractor-trailer accidents, it is important for the victims attorney to obtain all documents that can be used to verify and/or challenge the accuracy of these logs. Trucking litigation presents a unique set of issues and it is the attorney’s obligation to work to both preserve and discover information about violations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.
If you have been injured or lost a loved one as a result of a truck accident, contact the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP, who have been representing victims of these accidents for over 40 years.
