Under various state and federal laws, truck drivers are permitted to be behind the wheel for a designated number of hours, generally 11 hours of driving with a minimum of 10 hours in between. However, there are many trucking companies who will place their drivers on deadlines, causing them to pull many long hours, depriving them of sleep and proper nutrition in order to get the job done. Believe it or not, driver fatigue is known to be among the leading causes of trucking accidents on the road today. A tragic accident occurred just recently in North Carolina and it result in the death of five victims after their car was hit by a truck driver who was speeding and drowsy behind the wheel. Deadly, this car of five is not alone in the statistics of fatalities caused by tired truck drivers on the road.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that in 2010 there were a total of 80,000 injuries caused by trucking accidents, with over 3,5000 fatalities. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration claims that 13 percent of these accidents were the direct cause of drivers who were fatigued. The FMCSA is doing whatever they can to help drivers be safe on the road, making various regulations and requirements for the drivers and companies in order to save lives. This includes the necessity that all truck drivers have two consecutive nights off in a row and during their work week receive at least 34 hours of rest with the 11 hour day limit.

Despite the FMCSA's effort to enforce these rules for drivers and companies, the American Trucking Association Inc. (ATA) claims that their statistics for fatigue driver accidents are false, stating that only about 2% of accidents can be linked back to it. the ATA also states that if they seek to make new rules for drivers, that it will cost their industry hundreds of millions of dollars, and will not be worth the expense. On the other hand, traffic safety activists believe that even the FMCSA is not doing enough to protect people on the road, claiming that still far too many people are being injured and killed don the road on a regular basis. These activists claim hat their primary concerns lie with the fact that even though there are guidelines for drivers, many of the companies are finding the loopholes in the rules in order to do what they need to do, namely drive for extended hours.

Employer negligence is often times a cause of trucking accidents as it is their responsibility to enforce regulations on their drivers. in the event that you or a loved one have been injured in a car accident caused by a fatigued truck driver, contact a car accident attorney in your area in order to fight for compensation for your injuries. In the event that the tired driver was forced by their employer to complete a job, despite his drowsy state, you may be able to hold not only the driver but the company liable for your pain and suffering as well.

Trucking accidents are often times much more dangerous than an accident involving just two similar sized vehicles, because not only is the size of the truck many times larger than a car, the weight far surpasses that which a car could handle in a collision. In America the general weight limitation for freight on an 18-wheeler is 40 tons, and that is not to mention the actual weight of the truck and trailer on its own. Because of this accidents are much more likely to have fatal results. If you have recently lost a loved one, by contacting an attorney you may be able to file a wrongful death suit in order to obtain compensation for your loss.