Truck drivers may soon be mandated to install alarm systems in their vehicles to make sure that they remain alert while operating their vehicle, according to this KSL-TV news report. Federal investigators have repeatedly found that truck driver fatigue is a leading cause of fatal big rig accidents around the country. Federal officials report that one in eight commercial truck accidents are caused by exhaustion or the truck driver falling asleep at the wheel.
What the federal government is proposing is to require installing a high-tech alarm system that would go off when a driver gets drowsy. Dave Creer of the Utah Trucking Association says such a requirement would make things difficult and more expensive for trucking companies. When the government starts mandating something, he says, things get really tough for trucking companies across the board – whether it’s the little guy, the not-so-little guy or the big companies with the large fleets.
Statistics show that the people most often injured or killed in big rig crashes are the occupants of passenger vehicles not the drivers of the large trucks and 18 wheelers. There are nearly 12,000 injury (fatal and non-fatal) large truck accidents a year in California, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The alarm systems is designed to lower the accident rate and save lives. I see the possible lives saved as well worth the cost.
If trucking companies follow federal hours-of-service regulations, which state exactly the number of consecutive hours a truck driver is allowed to drive, such mandates would not be as necessary. But trucking companies continue to break safety regulations in order to get costs and speed delivery times.
If you or someone you know has suffered severe injuries or if you have lost a loved one in a California large truck, big rig, 18 wheeler or semi-truck accident, I strongly getting suggest getting an immediate consultation with our firm or any of the other top ranked trucking accident lawyers in California. The trucking companies will usually have their investigators and legal teams immediately out to the scene of an accident, many times before the truck is even moved, to investigate the accident and protect their clients’ interests. Injured motorists need their own legal team working for them just as quickly.
The best truck accident lawyers will usually provide a free consultation to anyone seriously injured in a trucking accident and to the family of anyone fatally injured in a trucking accident.