Asleep Behind the Wheel: Fatigue and Tennessee Truck Accidents

It has happened to almost all of us. A long road trip and pushing past our limits result in fatigue. And this fatigue causes accidents every day on U.S. roadways. A recent study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that sleepy drivers cause approximately 56,000 crashes each year.

But when a commercial truck driver experiences fatigue behind the wheel of an 80,000-pound semi, a crash spells disaster. Researchers have found that fatigue causes about 20% of commercial truck crashes, and that over 50% of truck drivers have fallen asleep at the wheel at one time or another.

Memphis truck crash lawyers stay busy handling big rig accident lawsuits all year long, and driver fatigue is often a cause of these tragic mishaps.

In an article by the Journal of Public Health, investigators interviewed 1,249 truckers. Their findings include:

• 31% of drivers admit driving over the hours-of-service weekly limit.
• 19% reported that they fell asleep at the wheel at least once in the previous month.
• 75% admitted that they had submitted false information in their trucking logs, underreporting their actual time behind the wheel in their logbooks in the previous year. Some drivers referred to their logs as “comic books”.

These statistics are frightening. Yet, there must be reasons why truckers choose to drive long hours, even when they are tired. Here are a few explanations given in the same study:

• 33% cited schedules were tight.
• 31% said they needed the money.
• 12% blamed traffic jams.
• 10% said bad weather caused them to spend more time behind the wheel.

So, what can be done to improve the conditions and allow truckers to drive safely and be well rested? Here are a few of the recommended suggestions:

• The trucking companies play a large role in the statistics. Unrealistic shipping deadlines and penalties for arriving late with a load cause drivers to overdo it. Carriers and shippers need to be more realistic and establish more lenient rules.
• A lack of rest-stop facilities has been another problem. Truckers need frequent places to stop and rest, eat, shower and get their trucks serviced. Yet, many local and county officials across the country have blocked building permit applications for these facilities.
• There is a great deal of interest in using monitoring devices to track the time truckers spend sleeping on the road. However, the cost of this safety measure needs to come down to make it feasible.

If you or a loved one has been the unfortunate victim of a Tennessee truck accident, you may need some legal help. Call Memphis truck crash lawyers at Bailey and Greer today for a free case evaluation. Our local phone number is 901-680-9777.