Are the Current HOS Rules Causing More Fatal Truck Accidents?
Professional drivers of heavy commercial trucks (big rigs, semis, tractor-trailers, 18-wheelers, etc.) understand they have one of the deadliest jobs anyone can have in this country.
The high risk of dying while driving a commercial truck cannot be narrowed down to a single cause. There are a variety of dangers that any trucker faces behind the wheel of these huge machines, and these risks can be compounded by a variety of things, see, e.g.:
- CDC Confirms: Crashes are the Number One Killer of Truck Drivers in the US
- Why Big Rig Semi Trucks Are So Dangerous To Drivers on Indiana and Illinois Roads
- Commercial Truck Drivers, Fatigue, and the 2014 Naperville Illinois Truck Crash
- Truck Driver Health and Fatal Semi-Truck Crashes in Indiana and Illinois.
Still, it is shocking to learn recent news reports reveal the risk of a trucker dying on the job is higher than ever before.
BLS Study: Highest Recorded Number of Truckers Who Died in Truck Crashes
The federal government monitors the trucking industry, including keeping track of the number of commercial truck drivers who perish in an accident while on the job, driving a heavy truck on an American roadway.
From the December 18, 2018 release from the U.S. Department of Labor:
More heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers died in 2017 than has been recorded since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began keeping track of trucking industry fatalities back in 2003.
To learn more about the latest BLS findings, review its online data reports or read its December 2018 summary, “National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2017.”
Trucking Accident Fatalities at Record Levels According to NHTSA
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has confirmed this rising danger to truck drivers and those who share the roads with these commercial trucks in its latest findings for large truck accidents.
NHTSA defines a “large truck” as “… any medium or heavy truck, excluding buses and motor homes, with a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 10,000 pounds.” It considers tractor-trailers and straight trucks separately within this vehicle group.
According to NHTSA, in 2017:
- Large Truck Fatalities jumped 9%
- Tractor-Trailer (Combination Trucks) Fatalities rose 5.8%
- Straight Trucks Fatalities rose 18.7%.
For details, read “2017 Fatal Motor Vehicle Crashes: Overview,” published by NHTSA as part of its periodic Traffic Crash Facts publications.
Another Record Breaking Statistic: Fatal Deaths of Occupants in Large Truck Crashes
It is not just the truck driver that is facing a greater risk of death while on the job as he or she drives a commercial truck in this country. Occupants of those large trucks are also on record as perishing in truck accidents in record numbers.
The 2017 number of large-truck occupant fatalities was the highest recorded in 30 years (since 1989).
Additional information provided by NHTSA regarding these fatal truck accident statistics:
- Large-truck occupant fatalities in multiple-vehicle crashes increased 28.5%
- Large-truck occupant fatalities in single-vehicle crashes increased 8.7%
See “2017 Fatal Motor Vehicle Crashes: Overview,” page 3.
Why Are More Truckers Dying in Fatal Truck Accidents?
Of course, answers must be found to the question of why so many more truck fatalities are being reported by these federal agencies. What is causing this increase in fatal truck crashes?
- Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol
One cause, according to NHTSA, is an increase in drunk driving by commercial truck drivers. According to their studies, “alcohol-impaired drivers of large trucks involved in fatal crashes” jumped 61.1% in 2017.
See “2017 Fatal Motor Vehicle Crashes: Overview,” page 4.
- Forced to Comply With HOS Rules
Others are pointing to federal regulations, specifically the current HOS Rules. Federal law imposes a limit on truckers to drive 11 hours in a 14 hour time period, and they have to take a 30 minute rest break after driving eight hours.
For details on the regulation, read: Feds Release Final Truck Driver Hours of Service (HOS) Rule: 11 Hour Limit and More Changes
Within the industry, many believe that truckers are speeding to get as many miles as possible on their run before having to stop for the federally mandated rest break, which must be taken when the truck driver reaches 8 hours on the road.
For more, read “More Trucking Deaths May Be Caused by Drivers Racing the Clock,“ written by Alan Adler and published on October 31, 2018, by Trucks.com.
- Truck Drivers Paid By Mile
Another factor that may contribute to the rising danger of truck crash fatalities in this country is the fact that the American trucking industry does not pay the trucker by the hour, but by the MILE.
The trucker obviously faces great pressure to meet his deadline and to do so as quickly as possible, so he can get back on the road and generate more income for himself and his family by driving even more miles.
See: Five Frequently Asked Questions About Truck Drivers and the USA Trucking Industry.
According to BLS, in May 2017, the average annual income for a commercial truck driver in this country was $42,480.00. Using the average of 30 cents per mile, this means that the trucker must cover around 141,600 miles per year to make that average annual income.
It is no wonder that BLS points out truckers “…often work nights, weekends, and holidays.”
Risk of Fatal Truck Crashes in Indiana and Illinois
In our next post, we will continue addressing the concern that we are facing a growing danger of fatal truck crashes in this country, and how everyone on the roads of Indiana and Illinois faces an increased risk of being involved in a serious or fatal truck crash in 2019.
Our part of the country has a very high volume of commercial trucks sharing the roads with other drivers. This news of record-breaking danger involving fatal truck crashes is a red alert for Indiana and Illinois. Please be careful out there!
