Could Congressional Move Lead to More Fatigued Truck Drivers

Dallas, Tx, 07/29/2015 /SubmitPressRelease123/

Texas truck accident lawyers OF 1800truckwreck weigh in on whether the possible passage of a $55 billion Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill warrants road safety concerns.

The House Appropriations Committee recently approved a measure that some are saying could lax the rules for the trucking industry. This is particularly alarming for numerous transportation safety advocates who are making a push for tighter regulations amid an increase in the number of fatalities linked to tractor-trailer accidents. The Fiscal Year 2016 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Bill, which is now being considered by the full U.S. House of Representatives, contains a provision that would among other things permit truck drivers to work longer hours, and prevent long-standing trucking industry insurance minimums from being raised.

Source: The Baltimore Sun Report “A dangerous maneuver”

“Attached as a policy rider to the $55 billion Transportation, Housing and Urban Development fiscal 2016 appropriations bill now being considered by the full U.S. House of Representatives is a provision allowing truck drivers to work longer hours, haul larger double-trailers in every state and prevent the U.S. Department of Transportation from raising minimum insurance requirements from the current standards, which haven’t been adjusted in 30 years.”

In accordance with the provision, truckers would be allowed to work a maximum of 82 hours per week as opposed to the current maximum of 70. The bill has led to questions about why such allowances are deemed necessary, particularly when in the past statistics on the effect of longer workweeks have shown there to be a correlation with an increase in the number of drivers who self-report driving while exhausted or drowsy. Says Texas based personal injury attorney Amy Witherite of the Eberstein Witherite firm, “thousands of injury causing tractor-trailer accidents occur each year and a significant percentage of these are linked to truck driver fatigue.”

Because truck drivers are paid or granted incentives based on factors like the number of miles driven and the speed at which they can make pickups and deliveries, many drive for much longer periods of time than they should. Fatigue in these cases can reduce reaction time and impair the judgement of drivers, increasing their risk of having an accident. “When a truck driver causes an accident as a result of fatigue, it is typically individuals in nearby passenger vehicles who suffer as a result,” says Texas truck accident lawyer Jonathan Harris, who is also with the Eberstein Witherite law firm.

Harris is a strong proponent of a measure that would increase trucking insurance liability in cases of wrongful death or serious injury trucking accidents that leave victims with costly damages. The The Safe and Fair Environment on Highways Achieved through Underwriting Levels Act (H.R. 2730) is also being reviewed by Congress, but may be overpowered if the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development gets passed.

Harris stated in a past interview of current liability minimums, which have not changed in decades, “as it stands the liability of insurance companies is very limited. For cases involving compensation for 18-wheeler accidents involving multimillion-dollar verdicts, paying the excess becomes of burden of someone who typically just cannot afford it.”

Many are now awaiting Congress’ decision regarding the passage of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Bill. President Barack Obama has reportedly threatened to veto the measure if passed as is. The Baltimore Sun cites one of the reasons as the set of provisions being lumped together to sidestep a full hearing which would include vital input from transportation safety experts.

The news source quotes longtime advocate Joan Claybrook as calling the bill “the worst industry-coordinated attack on truck safety she’s seen in 25 years”

Claybrook stated during a news conference last month of the issue “Families will be paying with their lives and their wallets if trucking interests are successful.”

Media Contact:

Lucy Tiseo

Eberstein Witherite LLP

Phone: 866-774-5410

http://www.1800truckwreck.com/

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