According to the National Transportation Safety Board, Highway Regulators have ignored over 100 recommendations to improve commercial trucking safety. These recommendations come after a study revealed that the number of people killed in “large-truck’ collisions has increased for the fourth straight year. Namely, accidents involved lack of sleep and working over 11 hours a day.
3,964 people were killed in large-truck collisions in 2013, which, is a 17% increase since 2009.
Commercial truck safety came to the forefront of national attention when poplar actor and comedian Tracy Morgan was severely injured and a passenger he was riding with killed in a large-truck collision in June of 2014. Mr. Morgan suffered a traumatic brain injury and faces an uphill battle in his recovery after the limousine he was riding in was hit by a truck operated by a Wal-Mart employee going approximately 65 mph. Mr. Morgan’s attorneys claim the driver was speeding and hadn’t slept for at least 24 hours.
Current regulations limit truck drivers to 11 hours of driving a day as well as 14 hours of on-duty time. The Senate is currently considering revising these and other regulations.
Hafif & Associates, LLP has been specializing in trucking accidents for over 20 years and has obtained some of the largest verdicts and settlements in California on these cases. Please call us if you or someone you know has been injured.