How Driver Fatigue Contributes to Truck Accidents

Trucks are dangerous neighbors on the road under ideal conditions. But if you have a tired trucker riding beside you, the risk of a crash increases exponentially. Truck drivers work long and unconventional schedules. Falling asleep for even a second can cause a deadly truck wreck.
Driver fatigue is a significant factor in many truck accidents. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reports fatigue caused 13 percent of large truck crashes in a 32-month period.
Fatigue impairs a truck driver in several ways, giving them:
To combat the dangers of driver fatigue, FMCSA established Hours of Service (HOS) rules mandating regular rest breaks for truck drivers.
Non-compliance can result in fines and legal penalties. The most tragic consequence of violating hours-of-service rules is an increased risk of truck accidents, injuries, and death.
Determining who is at fault in a truck accident caused by driver fatigue can be complex. Primarily, the fault for these cases falls on the truck driver for breaking HOS rules or the trucking company if it offered incentives to the driver to make faster deliveries or falsified logbooks to hide violations. Figuring out who is at fault for a fatigue-related truck accident requires a careful examination of evidence, including:
Victims of fatigue-related truck accidents may pursue compensation in South Carolina. A truck accident lawyer can file a claim for a truck accident caused by fatigue and seek damages for:
If you sustained injuries in a truck accident caused by fatigue, a personal injury lawyer from Wilson Law Group, LLC can help pursue damages on your behalf. Our attorneys work tirelessly to pursue maximum compensation for injured people. Let us help you, too.
Call or contact us today for a free consultation with one of our proven truck accident attorneys.