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Truckers at Risk from Long Hours According to Agency's Data

Posted:  12/13/2007 Read Public Citizen's Press Statement. Read Transport Topics' conference coverage View trucker occupancy fatality data for 2003-2006.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) must certainly know that truck driver drowsiness causes crashes—Administrator John Hill said so.

Hill stated in a Nov. 28 conference addressing large tanker truck rollover that the primary cause of up to 75% of truck rollover crashes can be attributed to "driver inattention or drowsiness."

These declarations, however, from the mouth of the administrator himself, inexplicably foreshadowed FMCSA's Dec. 10 announcement that it will maintain the dangerous 11-hour daily driving limits and 34-hour restart provision in its deeply flawed hours-of-service regulations. Hours-of-service regulations, which establish the rules truck drivers must follow in scheduling their deliveries, are the key regulatory components that can help prevent crashes caused by drowsiness.

Large truck rollover crashes too often cause devastating results. Hill stated that 52%, more than half, of all truck occupant fatalities occur in single vehicle rollover crashes, where only the carrier truck is involved in the crash. These crashes are largely preventable; Hill noted that the majority of truck rollovers are caused by driver error, often be attributed to sleepiness behind the wheel. 

Not surprisingly, since FMCSA adopted the 11-hour driving day and 34-hour restart provisions, which allow for an astounding 88 hours of driving in just an eight day period, truck occupant fatalities have increased dramatically. There were, for instance, 805 recorded truck occupant fatalities in 2006, where as in 2003, before the enactment of the 11-hr day and 34-hour restart, there were only 726. Notably, the number of occupant fatalities in large trucks crashes has increased every year since the dangerous provisions were adopted.

FMCSA originally adopted the 11-hour driving day and 34-hour restart provision in 2003, in response to a Congressional mandate to update the dangerous then 10-hour daily driving limit. Instead of creating a new system to reduce hours behind the wheel and promote safety, FMCSA inexplicably increased the hours that could be driven both daily and weekly. Since then U.S. courts have twice struck down the provisions, most recently in July 2007.

Seemingly oblivious to both court guidance and the devastating effects noted by the administrator himself, FMCSA has consistently refused to address the dangerous affects of driver fatigue through reasoned hours-of-service regulations. By instead opting to cater to industry interests, FMCSA continues to disregard safety and well-being on U.S. highways.

*All data derived from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 2004 and 2006 Annual Assessment of Motor Vehicle Crashes.

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