Successful. Convenient. Friendly

  1. Home
  2.  » 
  3. Truck Accidents
  4.  » Program aims to reduce truck driver fatigue

Program aims to reduce truck driver fatigue

On Behalf of | Jun 22, 2018 | Truck Accidents

Truck driver fatigue can be a major public safety concern for drivers in West Virginia and across the country. Given the size, weight and mass of the large trucks that commercial drivers control, keeping fatigued drivers off the road can be critical to preventing dangerous accidents and even saving lives. This is one reason why the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance promotes an annual International Roadcheck across the country, focusing on compliance issues for truck drivers that could pose a risk to themselves and others sharing the road.

These inspections include a 37-step overview of commercial trucks and also their drivers. The 2017 program focused on compliance with hours of service regulations. These rules limit the number of hours a truck driver can work, in order to prevent dangerously fatigued truck drivers from taking the wheel and causing severe truck accidents. The program aims to put a stop to unsafe truck driving and promote a greater sense of compliance with safety rules. In 2017, 33,000 violations were issued across the country for excessive hours of service, including driving the truck outside the allowable 14-hour period.

In the 2017 International Roadcheck, hours of service violations were the most common serious issue that saw drivers pulled off the road. Of the drivers removed from service during the program in that year, 32 percent were cited for violating the restrictions on consecutive hours of service. When truck drivers operate their vehicles for too many hours consecutively, they may develop fatigue or exhaustion and be unable to properly control their vehicles.

A truck collision can change the lives of all of the people affected, as the injuries caused by this type of crash can be severe and long-lasting. A personal injury lawyer might be able to help people hurt in a trucking accident to seek compensation for their damages, including lost wages, medical bills and pain and suffering.

Archives