Federal Regulators Hold Truckers Accountable for Fatigue and Speed - Gainesville Truck Accident Attorney Explains

Federal regulators are making strides in holding truckers accountable to federal driving time limits-and doing away with the paper work.  All interstate commercial trucks and buses are required to install Electronic Onboard Recorders (EOBRs) to monitor truckers' hours of service and speed by summer 2015.

As a concerned Florida trucking accident attorney, I support the FMCSA in mandating EOBRs to reduce driver fatigue and track speed.  Apparently, truckers will automatically upload data at state inspection stations.

Currently, truckers can easily fudge handwritten logbooks to exceed the maximum driving hours, in the event of a drowsy driving accident or to rush deliver perishable cargo.  In fact, a recent Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) survey found that as many as 25% of truckers drive more hours than permissible, and the number of truckers falling asleep at the wheel rose by 13 to 15% in the previous month.

While EOBR technology has been around for a while, use by trucking companies has been slow on the up-take, despite the benefit of reducing trucking liability.  Many truckers view the rule as unnecessary and costly, but safety advocates see it as ridiculously overdue.

Statistics from 2009 show that of those involved in a large truck-on- passenger vehicle crash, 98% of deaths were to an occupant of the passenger vehicle, not the semi.

For more information:

Federal Regulators to Monitor Truckers' Hours of Service

The Rule Establishing the Number of Hours for Truck Drivers Behind the Wheel is Challenged

Ocala Truck Accident Attorney's Tips on Sharing the Road with Trucks