In our last post, we discussed the new research studies that reveal truckers are at a tremendous risk of dying in a fatal truck crash while on the job. Warnings from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are that commercial truck drivers are dying in fatal truck crashes in record-breaking numbers.
These statistics show that commercial truck drivers face a tremendous danger of being killed in a truck accident while driving on the job. Of course, this dovetails with a concern for serious injury or death of others who are also involved in these collisions.
What can be done to make roads safer for truck crashes and truckers who are driving the roads of Indiana and Illinois?
Trucking on the Roads of Indiana and Illinois: the Crossroads of America
The risks associated with commercial truck accidents are very important to everyone living and working here in our part of the country. Our roads are recognized as having some of the highest numbers of commercial trucks sharing traffic lanes with other motor vehicles in the country.
High Volume of Commercial Trucks on Our Roads
Consider, for example, the description of Indiana given by Governor Eric Holcomb in the 2017 Conexus Indiana Logistics Council Report, “State of the Logistics Industry, Indiana: The Crossroads of America”:
Indiana is known as the “Crossroads of America” for good reason. The state is 1st in the nation in interstates with 14, home to the 2nd largest FedEx hub, is 3rd nationally with 41 freight railroads, has east and west coast intermodal rail access and is 6th nationally in total domestic waterborne shipping with 3 public ports and 67 private ports. Indiana is one of the few states with a trade surplus exporting and importing commodities and manufactured goods.
What about Illinois? It is reported that 70% of Illinois communities depend exclusively on trucks to provide them with goods, and around 1 of 18 Illinois workers are employed in trucking jobs. See, “Trucking, a bedrock of the economy,” written by Kevin Burch and published by the Illinois Times on December 30, 2015.
For everyone driving the roadways of Illinois and Indiana, the risk of a serious or fatal collision involving a commercial truck (big rig, semi, tractor-trailer, 18-wheeler, etc.) is higher than it is for those living in other parts of the country.
It is imperative that the record-breaking risk of fatal truck crashes be resolved before more people die on our roads.
Can States Make Their Roads Safer for Truckers? No.
Federal law controls interstate trucking. For example, just last month the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced its ruling that federal hours-of-service (HOS) laws preempted (blocked) laws passed by the State of California that required minimum meal and rest breaks for truckers driving on California roadways.
Of course, California’s law was designed to help truckers (and those who share the roads with these commercial truck drivers) to be safer while driving in the Golden State. The state law cannot be enforced.
Part of the FMCSA decision looks to a federal law passed by Congress, the Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984, where Congress preempted states from enacting laws regarding truck drivers or motor carrier safety because it was decided that having the states pass various trucking rules and regulations would likely disrupt interstate commerce.
However, FMCSA also looked to the substance of the California laws, opining that they were “confusing and conflicting,” “overly burdensome for drivers” and “reduce[d] productivity, increasing costs for consumers.”
The lesson here: even if the state lawmakers in Indiana and Illinois wanted to pass laws designed to protect truckers and those sharing the traffic lanes with them in our part of the country, they cannot do so insofar as Congress has ruled “commercial motor vehicle safety” must be governed by federal law.
April 2019: National Truck Driver Strike in Protest of Trucker Treatment
So, what about the individual truck drivers? Can they do anything to make their lives safer while they drive for a living? Yes.
Truckers are responding to their current work conditions by instituting an American tradition: they are planning to go on strike.
Commercial truck drivers based in a Facebook Group called “Black Smoke Matters” are calling for a nation-wide strike by American truckers on April 12, 2019.
The truck drivers are planning their strike as a means of protesting several work conditions that truck drivers must face on American roads today.
Black Smoke Matters is asking commercial truck drivers across the nation, whether or not the trucker has joined their membership, to join in their April 12th protest.
It is a simple thing to do: the trucker simply turns off their keys and does not drive their big rig, semi-truck, tractor-trailer, or 18-wheeler on that day.
The hope is to bring attention – and change – regarding several safety concerns for commercial truck drivers, including:
- HOS reform that makes sense for all.
- Training/safety standards for all drivers.
- Parking/availability: Shippers and receivers taking too long during unloading.
- FMCSA standard in regulations/inspection: They need to be on the same level across the board, no more self-interpretations.
- Drivers’ voice for all future regulation proposals: there needs to be involvement from drivers before making new regulations.
For more details on the April 2019 Truckers’ Strike, read “Thousands of truck drivers are organizing a strike in a Facebook group called ‘Black Smoke Matters’ — here’s the origin of the provocative name,” written by Rachel Premack and published by Business Insider on January 10, 2019.
Fatal Truck Crashes: Civil Justice for Truck Accident Victims
We know that serious and fatal trucking accidents can be caused by any number of factors. Truckers are pushed by deadlines and companies focused upon maximizing revenue, not keeping people safe. See, e.g., our earlier discussions in:
- Commercial Truck Safety and Truck Driver Fatigue: Fatal Truck Crashes, ELDs, and HOS Rules
- Drowsy Truck Drivers: Commuting to Work Contributing to Fatal Truck Crashes
- Truck Drivers with Diabetes Free to Drive Commercial Interstate Under New FMCSA Rule
- Shortage of Commercial Truck Drivers: Accidents Waiting to Happen
Today, given the current dangers facing truck drivers and those sharing the traffic lanes with these large trucks, the reality is that there will continue to be serious and fatal truck crashes until things change within the trucking industry. There will be more trucker deaths and more people will perish in fatal truck crashes until truck drivers are better protected from known risks.
While state laws cannot be passed to try and alleviate these dangers, the states still have the power to protect those who are victims of a serious or fatal accident, and punish those who have decided to put profits over people. Personal injury laws based upon negligence, defective products, respondeat superior, etc. all work to provide justice for those injured or killed in a truck crash.
See, e.g., Trial Tactics for Plaintiff Semi-Truck Accident Claims: a Practical Guide from Investigation to Trial.
Today, we know that the risk of a serious or fatal truck crash is extremely high for everyone on the roads of Indiana and Illinois. Please be careful out there!
