The number of road incidents involving driver drowsiness is close to eight times higher than the federal estimate, based on a recent study by AAA. Analyzing data from more than 700 dashcams and 3593 drivers, researchers looked at the 3 minutes prior to a crash. By tracking eyelid closures, they found that 9.5% of all crashes involved drowsiness. [...]
No one was injured. No other vehicles were involved. But 40,000 pounds of feathers were dumped onto I-5 in Federal Way around 3 a.m. when semi-truck driver caused a roll-over crash. https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/999268630029156353 The truck driver told a local reporter that he had fallen asleep. "I drank coffee and took one of those pills that had [...]
Sleep apnea, a disorder causing repeated pauses in breathing during sleep, affects at least one in 10 people. In serious cases, obstructive sleep apnea can cause someone to fall asleep with little to no warning. In the most serious cases, sleep apnea symptoms closely resemble narcolepsy. In 2016, after a spate of high-profile [...]
Recently, I reviewed a Police Report where the truck driver admitted he only had 3 hours of sleep the night before he caused a serious crash.* For many of us, losing a couple hours of sleep at night just means we’re a little less productive the next day. When your job is driving—especially if you’re [...]
This meme was posted on the Facebook page for a Texas trucking company, Stevens Transport, last week. Is this the message that trucking companies send to tired truck drivers? Don't comply with federal laws. Don't concern yourself with anyone's safety. A Texas trucking company posted a meme telling drivers: "Don't stop when you are [...]
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is tasked with investigating serious transportation accidents. On August 11, the NTSB issued their initial report on a 2014 fatal semi-truck crash that killed one man, and seriously injured several others—including actor Tracy Morgan. See background, details on the fatal truck crash Six important details from the semi-truck crash [...]
Commercial truckers who admitted to falling asleep while driving are believed to cause more than 750 fatalities and 20,000 injuries every year. In truth, that estimate is likely quite low. It’s almost impossible to know how many truck accidents crashes sleepy truckers cause. The same is true for car accidents crashes: very few drivers admit to falling [...]
It’s a horrible—but common—story about a truck crash. A tractor-trailer transporting goods for Walmart rear-ended a limo bus on a highway. Law enforcement's investigation shows that the truck driver had not slept for 24 hours prior to the crash, and that he failed to pay proper attention as he approached stopped traffic. One passenger was [...]
Many truck drivers operate on our highways after long hours behind the wheel without proper rest and sleep. This fact came to the forefront when the popular comedian, Tracy Morgan, was seriously injured in a crash with an 18-wheel tractor-trailer. Walmart employed the driver of the tractor-trailer. It was reported that he had been awake [...]
Federal Regulations require that no truck driver shall operate a vehicle while the driver's ability is impaired or is likely to become impaired through fatigue. This means that a driver whose ability to safely operate his truck is impaired because he is tired or his ability is likely to become impaired because he is tired [...]
