Chicago Accident and Injury Lawyer Blog

One week ago, a truck driver hauling sound equipment for Bret Michaels' reality show "Rock of Love," fell asleep at the wheel, crossed the interstate into oncoming traffic, and slammed into a SUV and a pick-up. The occupants of the SUV, Yasmin Jackson and Kevetta Davis, both 19 year old sophomores at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, were killed. Florida residents William and Colleen Wiley were air-lifted to a hospital for injuries sustained. As irony would have it, the truck driver suffered only minor injuries.

This is just one more example, among thousands, of truck driver fatigue causing catastrophic accidents. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), more than 5,000 people died in large truck crashes in 2005. IIHS Vice President for Research Anne McCartt notes that studies have repeatedly shown that fatigue is a signifcant factor in truck crashes.

A federal work rule that went into effect in 2004 lengthened the mandatory rest period that truck drivers must abide by, but it also permitted drivers to stay on the road an extra hour every day. IIHS reports, that although sleep time has increased under this new rule, drivers nevertheless reported slightly more instances than the previous year of driving drowsy or falling asleep at the wheel. In fact, 15% of drivers acknowledged dozing at the wheel at least once in the previous month. How did this result? Truck drivers admit to driving more than the new daily limit of 11 hours and eight of ten drivers take advantage of a "restart provision" which allows them to drive 25% more in a week.

A dozing truck driver is arguably more dangerous than a drunk driver. As the IIHS reports, trucks often weigh 20-30 times as much as passenger cars and loaded tractor-trailers travel 20-40% farther than cars to stop; this discrepancy is greater when trailers are empty, on wet and slippery roads, or with poorly maintained brakes.