Truck Driver Fatigue a Major Concern in Georgia

If you’ve ever taken a long road trip or had to commute to and from work, you know how boring and frustrating a long drive can be. Especially if you make that same drive over and over again. Now consider how boring and tiring a long drive is for commercial truck drivers. These drivers often drive the same routes over and over again, but they work on a tight schedule, and often during the wee hours of the morning.

While any driver can suffer from driver fatigue, truck drivers are particularly at risk due to the long stretches of driving. There are state and federal regulations that require truck drivers to take adequate rest breaks. The truth is, however, sometimes drivers don’t follow the rules.

Fatigued truck drivers are at a greater risk of being involved in, or causing, a truck accident. Let’s look a little deeper at this risk.

Truck Driver Fatigue Risk

A study from the Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health found that truck drivers are more at risk for being involved in an accident when they are under a lot of pressure, and when they are fatigued. When you are fatigued, your reactions are slower and your ability to think quickly and problem-solve are impaired.

So how significant is the risk of truck driver fatigue in Georgia? Let’s look at some statistics from government and regulatory agencies:

• The U.S. Department of Transportation says that almost 4,000 people die in truck accidents each year, and fatigue is a leading factor in the cause of those accidents.
• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) further states that around 1,500 fatal injuries in truck accidents can be attributed to fatigue or drowsy driving.
• The NHTSA also suggests that fatigue and drowsy driving cause more than 50,000 accidents each year causing more than 40,000 injuries.
• Fatigue is a contributing factor in 40% of heavy truck crashes.
• In a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) study, out of 107 truck accidents, 52% involved fatigue. Among those truck drivers involved, 18% admitted that they fell asleep while driving.

As you can see, even the estimates related to truck driver fatigue show that drowsy driving is a serious risk factor for all drivers on the road. The difference here is that truck accidents often cause more severe or catastrophic injuries or deaths.

Federal Regulations to Prevent Truck Driver Fatigue

As we mentioned before, there are state and federal regulations that are designed to help prevent accidents. Truck driver fatigue is one of the more significant areas of concern among state and federal agencies. Regulations require truck drivers to do the following:

Hours-of-Service Rules:

• An “average” work week for truck drivers is no more than 70 hours per week.
• Once a truck driver has been on duty for 70 hours, they must take a break and not drive for 34 consecutive hours.
• All truck drivers are required to take a 30-minute break within the first 8 hours of duty.

These rules are partially based on research showing that the risk of an accident doubles between the 8-10th hours of driving, and is doubled again from the 10-11th hours. By requiring truck drivers to take time off, the idea is that they will be less fatigued during duty.

Unfortunately, many truck drivers do not follow these guidelines. That’s why many regulators are pushing for increased use of electronic logging of hours and breaks. Paper logging allowed many drivers to input false information. Electronic logging can help avoid that and ensure that truck drivers are being as safe as possible.

Ultimately, it is up to each of us to use good common sense and practice safe driving habits, no matter what type of vehicle we are driving, or how far we plan to go.