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Truck Accidents

Finding Fault in a Louisiana Truck Accident Claim

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Truck Accidents

Louisiana Truck Accident Attorney Explains How Driver Distractions can Warrant a Claim (Part B)

Truck Driver Fatigue and Accidents

In up to 30 to 40 percent of all heavy truck accidents, the National Transportation Safety Board reported that truck driver fatigue was a contributing factor. An NYSB study's goal was to determine the roll of drugs and alcohol in driver fatal accidents. In an eight state study, instead, the NTSB discovered that the most frequently reported cause was fatigue.

Fatigue and the Ability to Perform

After analyzing the three biggest factors in a driver's ability to perform safely, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Transportation Administration determined that all were fatigue related.

There are several reasons why.

First, changing the sleep pattern of seven to eight hours sleep per day affects attentiveness.

Second, sleep deprivation deprives someone of their ability to perform. Not only do they need seven to eight hours of sleep, but also staying awake longer than 16 or 17 hours decreases performance, and the effects are cumulative.

Third, the longer you stay on the job, the more your performance decreases.

Federal Truck Hours of Service Regulations

That is why the Federal government regulates truck driver hours on the road.

Hours of service include:

• A maximum of 11 hours driving after 10 consecutive hours off duty.
• No driving beyond the 14th consecutive hour after coming on duty, following 10 consecutive hours off duty. Off-duty time does not extend the 14-hour period.
• No driving after 60/70 hours on duty in 7/8 consecutive days. A driver may restart a 7/8 consecutive day period after taking 34 or more consecutive hours off duty.
• Sleeping berth drivers must take at least 8 consecutive hours in the sleeper berth, plus a separate 2 consecutive hours either in the sleeper berth, off duty, or any combination of the two.

Trucks and Highway Deaths

Trucks account for a high number of overall traffic deaths.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:

• About 5,000 people die each year in crashes involving large trucks.
• 84 percent of them are not truck occupants.
• 98 percent of the deaths occur to the occupants in the passenger vehicles in two-vehicle accidents.
• Large trucks accounted for 4 percent of registered vehicles but 11 percent of all motor vehicle crash deaths and 23 percent of passenger vehicle occupant deaths in multiple-vehicle crashes.

The Young Firm in New Orleans understands the serious nature of automobile and truck accidents and the injuries that can result. Our firm will investigate the causes of any accident and pursue appropriate legal action.

Call a Louisiana car and truck accident attorney today at (866) 660-7220 for a free and confidential consultation if you have been involved in a car accident or an accident with a truck.