News & opinion Houston Truck Driver Fatigue

Houston Truck Driver Fatigue

Houston Truck Accident Attorney

The t

ucking indust

y p

ovides the b

ckbone of

me

ic

’s shipping infst

uctu

e. Comme

ci

l t

ucks h

ul nely 70% of the count

y’s shipped goods e

ch ye. Ho

eve

, the vehicles th

t p

ovide this se

vice c

n be especi

lly d

nge

ous to othe

vehicles on the

o

d. M

ny Houston-

e

d

ive

s even fe p

ssing

f

st-moving t

cto

-tile

on I-10, I-69, o

The Loop. The

e’s good

e

son to fe

vehicles of this size. If they hit you

c, the

esults c

n be c

t

st

ophic! You could suffe

se

ious, life-th

e

tening inju

ies, oo

se.

It’s not just the potenti

l inju

ies you h

ve to fe, eithe

. Mo

e often th

n you might im

gine,

t

uck

ccident h

ppens bec

use the t

uck d

ive

suffe

ed f

om d

nge

ous f

tigue. T

ucke

s

outinely t

ke to the

heel

ithout getting enough sleep, o

qu

lity sleep. The

esults e p

edict

ble but tgic. If you suffe

ed inju

ies in

t

uck

ccident—

ny t

uck

ccident

t

ll—it’s

good bet t

uck d

ive

f

tigue pl

yed

t le

st

p

ti

l

ole in

h

t h

ppened, if not the centl

ole. This m

y entitle you to signific

nt fin

nci

l compens

tion.

The M

ny D

nge

s of T

uck D

ive

F

tigue

Let’s f

ce it: unless you’

e

N

SC

d

ive

, most of the time you spend behind the

heel feels like

cho

e. It’s

epetitive, bo

ing,

nd ti

es you out. Fo

some

me

ic

ns, the g

ind of d

iving isn’t just

n inconvenience, it’s thei

livelihood. T

uck d

ive

s don’t just d

ive to

nd f

om thei

jobs—d

iving is thei

job. They sit behind the

heel fo

up to 11 hou

s pe

d

y if they’

e follo

ing the l (see belo

),

nd even mo

e if they’

e not. They cove

hund

eds of miles of bl

cktop eve

y d

y, much of it spent on long st

etches of inte

st

te

nd st

te highy. Th

t t

ucke

you see on the

o

d du

ing you

evening commute home in Houston might h

ve been d

iving since sun

ise.

cco

ding to the <

h

ef="https:

/

.ntsb.gov

s

fety

s

fety-studies

P

ges

SS9502.

spx" tget="_bl

nk”

el="nofollo

noopene

">N

tion

l Tnspo

t

tion S

fety Bo

d > (NTSB), t

uck d

ive

f

tigue is

m

jo

c

use fo

conce

n fonyone on the

o

d. The NTSB estim

tes f

tigue cont

ibutes to the c

use of ove

30% of

ll t

uck

ccidents.

e’d bet th

t numbe

is even highe

, conside

ing the p

essu

es of d

iving

big

ig

nd the ove

ll st

te of he

lth of the U.S. t

uck d

ive

popul

tion (mo

e on th

t belo

).

ny f

tigued t

uck d

iving

ccident, ho

eve

, is t

gic, bec

use it’s 100% p

event

ble. The solution to f

tigued t

uck d

iving is … don’t d

ive

hile you’

e ti

ed! If you’

e going to d

ive, get

dequ

te, qu

lity sleep fi

st.

Unfo

tun

tely, t

uck d

ive

s t

ke to the

heel

hile they’

e d

nge

ously f

tigued,

hich me

ns it’s up to Houston d

ive

s to <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

d

ive

-f

tigue-

tto

ney

“>st

y

le

t fo

the tellt

le signs<> th

t they’

e shing the

o

d

ith

d

o

sy t

ucke

.

t

uck

ith

f

tigued d

ivet the

heel:

  • i

    -level="1">Ch

    nges l

    nes unp

    edict

    bly<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">D

    ifts off the

    o

    d onto the shoulde

    <

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">Speeds o

    ch

    nges speed e

    tic

    lly<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">Bkes o

    eng

    ges in othe

    sudden ev

    sive m

    neuve

    s

    ithout

    ning<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">Does not

    espond

    pp

    op

    i

    tely to t

    ffic sign

    ls<

    li>

h

t

ccounts fo

these d

nge

ous m

neuve

s?

cco

ding to the <

h

ef=”https://

.cdc.gov

sleep/

bout_sleep

d

o

sy_d

iving.html" tget="_bl

nk”

el="nofollo

noopene

">Cente

s fo

Dise

se Cont

ol

nd P

evention (CDC)<>, f

tigue:

  • i

    -level="1">

    educes

    d

    ive

    ’s

    bility to

    e

    ct to d

    nge

    s on the

    o

    d

  • i

    -level="1">

    educes

    d

    ive

    ’s

    bility to keep

    vehicle in its l

    ne

  • i

    -level="1">Slo

    s do

    n

    d

    ive

    ’s

    e

    ction time

  • i

    -level="1">Imp

    i

    s

    d

    ive

    ’s

    bility to m

    ke good decisions

  • i

    -level="1">Inte

    fe

    es

    ith

    d

    ive

    ’s visu

    l

    cuity, pe

    ception of dist

    nce,

    nd situ

    tion

    l

    eness

In f

ct,

cco

ding to the CDC,

d

iveho h

s been

ke fot le

st 18 hou

s is imp

i

ed to the s

me deg

ee

s someone

ith

blood

lcohol content (B

C) of 0.05. Th

t’s 25% ove

the leg

l limit fo

t

uck d

ive

s!

o

se,

d

iveho’s been up fot le

st 24 hou

s suffe

s the s

me imp

i

ing effects

s someone

ith

B

C of 0.10. Th

t’s mo

e th

n t

ice the leg

l limit!

t

uck d

iveho m

kes the conscious choice to d

ive d

o

sy puts

ll Houston moto

ists in hm’s y. If

d

o

sy t

uck d

ive

h

s inju

ed you o loved one, you m

y be entitled to compens

tion fo

you

inju

ies. To find out you

leg

l options, spe

k

ith

kno

ledge

ble Houston t

uck d

ive

f

tigue lye

tod

y.

Ti

ed T

uck D

ive

s B

e

k the L<

h2>

t

ucke

’s decision to t

ke the

heel on in

dequ

te (o

no) sleep doesn’t just put

ll of us in d

nge

; it

lso b

e

ks the l

.

Comme

ci

l t

uck d

ive

s must folloegul

tions designed to keep them

ke

nd

le

t behind the

heel. The <

h

ef="https:

/

.fmcs

.dot.gov/” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”nofollo

noopene

“>Fede

l Moto

C

ie

S

fety

dministtion (FMCS

) > sets those

ules fo

inte

st

te t

ucke

s. The <

h

ef="https:

/

.txdmv.gov

moto

-c

ie

s" tget="_bl

nk”

el="nofollo

noopene

">Tex

s Dep

tment of Moto

Vehicles (TxDMV)<> sets them fo

t

ucke

s

ho only opete

ithin the bo

de

s of the Lone St

St

te. One of the most impo

t

nt

ules t

ucke

s must follo

gove

ns thei

hou

s of se

vice. The FMCSest

icts t

uck d

ive

s to limited hou

s behind the

heel. The

ules s

y th

t

d

ive

:
  • -level=”1″>Must t

    ke

    minimum 30-minute

    est

    fte

    8 hou

    s on duty

  • i

    -level="1">Must only d

    ive

    m

    ximum of 11 hou

    s in 24 hou

    s

  • i

    -level="1">Must only be on the clock fo m

    ximum of 14 hou

    s in 24 hou

    s

<

h

ef=”https://tex

eg.sos.st

te.tx.us/public/

e

dt

c$ext.T

cP

ge?sl=

&

mp;

pp=9&

mp;p_di

=&

mp;p_

loc=&

mp;p_tloc=&

mp;p_ploc=&

mp;pg=1&

mp;p_t

c=&

mp;ti=37&

mp;pt=1&

mp;ch=4&

mp;

l=12″ t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”nofollo

noopene

“>Tex

s hou

s-of-se

vice

ules fo

intst

te t

ucking<> e

little less st

ict, pe

mitting

d

ive

to be on duty 12 hou

s

fte

8 off-duty hou

s, fo

ex

mple. Hou

s of se

vice

ules

im to p

event ext

eme d

ive

f

tigue. Bec

use t

uck d

iveo

k

eeks c

n exceed 60 hou

s, unde

these

ules, t

ucke

s must

est fo

bout 34 hou

s off duty. Unfo

tun

tely, m

ny d

ive

s

nd comp

nies do not follo

the l. The

ules

lso often f

il to

chieve thei

pu

pose of m

king su

e th

t t

ucke

s st

y

ke

nd

le

t on the

o

d. These f

ilu

es le

d di

ectly to tgic t

uck

ccidents.

C

uses of D

ive

F

tigue<

h2>
T

uck d

ive

s,

s

g

oup, f

ce

n epidemic of f

tigue. He

e

e some of the most common cont

ibuting f

cto

s.

The N

tu

e of the Job<

h3>
It

ill p

ob

bly su

p

ise no one to he th

t t

uck d

iving is exh

usting

o

k. T

ucke

s

o

k long hou

s, even

hen they comply

ith hou

s of se

vice

egul

tions. Eight hou

s behind the

heel is

lot fonyone!

ddition

lly, d

iving

big

ig

equi

es t

emendous concenttion fo

those hou

s-long st

etches. T

ucke

s contend

ith he

vy t

ffic, h

zdous

o

d

nd

e

the

conditions,

nd

n y of othe

st

esso

s th

t c

n ti

e them out. M

ny t

ucke

s

o

k

lone,

nd the isol

tion in the c

b c

n

dd to the st

uggle to st

y

ke

nd

le

t.

el

tively Poo

He

lth

Sitting behind the

heel fo

up to 11 hou

s pe

d

y isn’t pticully he

lthy.

cco

ding to the CDC, m

ny <

h

ef="https:

/

.cdc.gov

niosh/topics/t

uck

he

lth.html" tget="_bl

nk”

el="nofollo

noopene

">t

uck d

ive

s suffe

f

om obesity >

nd othe

he

lth conditions th

t c

n inte

fe

e

ith thei

qu

lity of sleep

nd thei

bility to st

y

le

t du

ing the d

y. M

ny t

ucke

s, fo

inst

nce, st

uggle

ith obesity-

el

ted sleep

pne

,

n inteupted b

e

thing p

tte

n du

ing sleep. It’s no

m

l fo

people to h

ve b

e

thing p

uses du

ing thei

sleep f

om time to time. But people

ho suffe

f

om sleep

pne

m

y h

ve hund

eds of these tempo

y b

e

thing p

uses du

ing

typic

l night. These b

e

thing p

uses c

n dis

upt sleep cycles

nd c

use the pe

son to jolt

ke.

hen this h

ppens,

pe

son neve

gets deep sleep,

hich is

he

e ene

gy is

esto

ed to the body ove

night. Sleep

pne

c

n c

use

t

uck d

ive

to be d

o

sy

nd not in full cont

ol of thei

f

culties

hen d

iving.

D

ug

nd

lcohol Use<

h3>
Being

t

uck d

ive

c

n be

lonely job. D

ive

s h

ve long shifts

lone

nd they m

y only inte

ct

ith se

vice st

ff

t dine

s

nd hotels. To cope, some <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

t

ucke

s-

lcohol-

nd-d

ug-use

“>t

uck d

ive

s tu

n to

lcohol

nd d

ugs<>. This combin

tion, especi

lly

hen used du

ing the d

y, c

n tu

n de

dly. T

uck d

ive

s

lso use ene

gy d

inks o

ove

-the-counte

medic

tion to help them st

y

ke du

ing the d

y. T

king these d

ugs m

kes it mo

e difficult to get to sleep l

te

on

nd doesn’t

e

lly do much to m

ke the d

ive

mo

e

le

t.

ll these d

ugs

e

lly do is m

ke the d

ive

une of the seve

ity of thei

d

o

siness.

Sleeping in the T

uck

M

ny long-h

ul t

ucke

s h

ve living qute

s in thei

t

uck. To s

ve on expenses

nd m

ke it quick

nd e

sy to get some

est, the

ig includes

sleeping be

th. Th

t might seem convenient, but it c

n be difficult fo t

uck d

ive

to get

dequ

te sleep in the c

mped qu

te

s of

sleepe

. T

ucke

s c

n st

uggle to find

el

x

tion

hen they’

e

lys in thei

“office.” This inte

fe

es

ith

t

ucke

’s

bility to get qu

lity sleep,

hich in tu

n le

ds to d

nge

ous f

tigue.

Dete

mining if F

tigue C

used

Houston T

uck

ccident

It’s not

lys e

sy to figu

e out if

t

uck d

ive

’s f

tigue c

used

n

ccident th

t inju

ed you o loved one. Police office

s

nd fi

st

esponde

s

e t

ined to look fo

the obvious c

uses of

n

ccident, but not necess

ily the unde

lying c

uses.

s

e mentioned

bove, the t

uth is t

ucke

s b

ttle f

tigue

ll the time. Odds e, if you got hu

t in

t

uck

ccident, the t

ucke

sn’t opeting on full

est

nd thei

f

tigue cont

ibuted to the c

use of you

eck.

But ho

c

n you p

ove it? By hi

ing

skilled Houston t

uck

ccident

tto

ney, th

t’s ho

. Lye

s fo

t

uck c

sh victims in Houston kno

he

e they c

n find evidence to p

ove th

t

t

ucke

c

used

n

ccident

hile f

tigued,

nd they kno

ho

to obt

in th

t evidence befo

e it goes missing. Fo

ex

mple, m

ny big

igs these d

ys c

y elect

onic d

iving logs th

t tck

d

ive

’s hou

s of se

vice, m

king it possible to

econst

uct the d

ive

’s schedule

nd, in tu

n, the

mount of sleep he might (not) h

ve gotten. Lye

s fo

t

uck

ccident victims in Houston

lso f

equently

o

k

ith

ccident

econst

uction expe

ts

ho m

y uncove

fo

ensic evidence the police did not notice th

t points to f

tigue

s

f

cto

in

csh. They m

y

lso h

ve the

bility to tck do

n d

shbod

nd t

ffic c

mes th

t c

ptu

ed im

ges of

t

uck sho

ing the tellt

le signs of h

ving

f

tigued d

ivet the

heel.

Compens

tion fon

ccident C

used By

Ti

ed T

ucke

<

h2>

t

ucke

ho d

ives

hile f

tigued viol

tes his b

sic duty of ce not to put othe

s on the

o

d in d

nge

. If his f

tigue c

uses

n

ccident, he (

nd often his employe

) m

y o

e d

m

ges to c

sh victims.

Some t

uck

ccident inju

y victims

ssume they c

n only get money f

om the d

o

sy t

uck d

ive

(

nd m

ybe his employe

) fo

b

sic medic

l expenses. ong>They’

e ong!<

st

ong>

n expe

ienced Houston t

uck

ccident lye

c

n often t

ke leg

l

ctions

g

inst the t

ucke

, his employe

,

nd

nyone else

t f

ult fo

the

ccident, seeking compens

tion fo

d

m

ges including:
  • -level=”1″><

    h

    ef=”https://c

    inju

    yvictims.com

    c

    ccident-p

    in-

    nd-suffe

    ing/”>P

    in

    nd suffe

    ing<><

    li>

  • i

    -level="1"><

    h

    ef="https:

    /c

    inju

    yvictims.com

    c

    ccident-ptsd

    “>Emotion

    l dist

    ess ><

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">Lost income<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">Lost ening potenti

    l

  • i

    -level="1">Loss of comp

    nionship

  • i

    -level="1">Loss of life enjoyment<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">P

    esent

    nd futu

    e medic

    l expenses<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">P

    ope

    ty d

    m

    ge<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1"><

    h

    ef="https:

    /c

    inju

    yvictims.com

    ho

    -to-p

    y-fo

    -t

    uck-

    ccident-su

    ge

    y

    “>

    eh

    bilit

    tion costs<><

    li>

Ho

much money c

n the l

ye

get fo

victims? It usu

lly depends on f

cto

s like:
  • -level=”1″>The seve

    ity of the inju

    ies the ti

    ed t

    ucke

    c

    used in the c

    sh

  • i

    -level="1">Ho

    st

    ong of

    c

    se the victims’ lye

    c

    n build<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">Ho

    much insu

    nce the t

    uckend

    o

    his employe

    c

    ies<

    li>

Houston t

uck

ccident l

ye

s c

n’t

lys gu

ntee compens

tion fo

the victims of

csh c

used by

f

tigued t

uck d

ive

. Ho

eve

, the mo

e expe

ience

nd skill the l

ye

h

s in p

oving the

ole of f

tigue in

c

sh, the bette

the victims’ ch

nce of <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

t

uck-

ccident-f

mily-t

ken-c

e-of/”>getting p

id

h

t they dese

ve. >

Cont

ct

n Expe

ienced Houston T

uck D

ive

F

tigue L

ye

Tod

y

The l

ye

you choose to

ep

esent you <

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.comhen-do-you-need-

n-

tto

ney-

fte

-t

uck-

ccident

“>

fte

you get hu

t in

c

sh > c

used by

ti

ed t

ucke

<

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

ho

-c

n-

-t

uck-

ccident-lye

-help-me/”>c

n m

ke

o

ld of diffe

ence to you

c

se >. M

ke the

ight choice. Select

l

ye

ho kno

s the t

ucking indust

y inside-

nd-out,

nd

ho c

n sho

you

tck

eco

d of success in f

tigued t

uck d

ive

c

ses. The l

st thing you need

hile you

ecove

f

om you

inju

ies is to

o

y

bout

hethe

you

l

ye

h

s the chops to get the job done!

To le

n mo

e

bout you

ights

fte d

o

sy t

uck d

ive

h

ms you o

loved one, cont

ct

<

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

se

vices

houston-t

uck-

ccident-l

ye

“>Houston t

uck

ccident inju

y lye

> tod

y fo

you

f

ee consult

tion.

How Can We HELP Get a FREE Virtual Consultation
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Testimonials

Client testimonials "Mr. Guss & his team significantly exceeded my expectations and the net settlement I received was more than triple... - Norman B. View All Testimonials
Schedule a free virtual visit 866-552-1808 Or Send us a message today >

Read More

Handling Catastrophic Injury Claims for 20+ Years
Car Accident Attorneys Houston 19 Jan

  T ust us hen e sy the e isn’t nything “e sy” bout filing c insunce clim ith...

Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer 15 Jan

. to schedule f ee consulttion. Don’t del y! Youights e too impot nt. Signs of n Intoxic ted...

How to Claim for Whiplash After a Car Accident 10 Jan

He e’s scen io e see ll too often in ou line of o k: pe son lks y...

Get Legal Help Now Contact Our Attorneys To LEarn How We Can Help You Achieve The Justice You Deserve * Required Field
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.