Truckers who are based in Ohio, or just passing through, are expected to operate their vehicles safely and follow Ohio law. This is because these large, heavy vehicles can do significant damage if there is a truck accident. Rules have long been in place to try and mitigate these dangers and what sparks them. That includes truck driver fatigue and speeding. Recently, new rules have been implemented to try and lower the incidence of these issues.
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, nearly 4,000 people died in truck accidents in 2012. These accidents cost approximately $50 billion each year.
Changes in federal trucking regulations are designed to require truckers to switch the trucking log they use from a handwritten one to an electronic one. The trucking log is important because it records the amount of time a trucker spends on the road to ensure that the rules are not violated.
These hours of service regulations allow drivers to be on the road for 11 hours after they have had a break of 10 hours. The idea is to make certain drivers are resting enough so they are awake, alert and safe.
Truckers are frequently issued citations for going beyond what is legal for the amount of time they are on the road. Given the nature of the job and that certain companies might want their drivers to get their deliveries to its destination as quickly as possible, drivers might take certain shortcuts, such as manipulating their hours of service in the log. With the electronic log, that can be diminished.
Drivers who used electronic logs were found to have 11.7 percent fewer accidents, compared with those who handwrote their logs. The research centered on accidents from 2008 to 2012. Drivers with the electronic log had 53 percent fewer violations linked to hours on the road.
The federal government is taking steps to increase the scrutiny on truckers and how many hours they spent on the road through the implementation of electronic trucking logs. Nonetheless, there are always going to be dangers when encountering these large trucks. If a person has been involved in an accident or lost a loved one, it is important to discuss a potential legal filing with an attorney experienced in pursuing cases involving commercial trucks.
Source: BusinessInsurance.com, "Electronic trucker logs put brakes on fatigue, speed," Donna Mahoney, Sep. 13, 2015
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