INDEPENDENCE, MO, December 21, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ — In 2003, under the Bush administration, the number of hours a commercial truck driver could drive in a day was increased from 10 to 11. Furthermore, truck drivers are allowed to drive as much as 77 hours in a 7-day period, with 34 hours off before they return to work.
While truck safety has improved in recent years, thousands of people still die in accidents with trucks every year. In 2009, some 3,600 people died in accidents with large trucks, and another 74,000 were injured. Public safety advocates were concerned that this increase in hours would worsen the problem of truck driver fatigue, one cause of trucking accidents (In driving tests, drowsy drivers have been shown to perform even more poorly than drunk drivers). If a family member has died in a truck accident, you should contact a truck accident lawyer in Kansas Cityto discuss your legal options.
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