New FMCSA Rule Will Minimize Role of Driver Fatigue in Truck Accidents

Truck accident lawyers in Texas will welcome a new rule by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that will require certain commercial truck carriers to have Electronic On Board Recorders installed on their vehicles.  The rule will require problem carriers, found to be in violation of violating driver work hour rules in excess of 10% during a single compliance review, to have these recorders installed in all their trucks.

The new rule will take effect on the 1^st of June. Carriers who are found to violate the work hour rules during a single review will be required to have the devices installed. The rule also includes technical specifications for the recorders. These must be in perfect synchronicity with the truck engine, because this ensures greater accuracy in the recorded data. The recorders will compile important information, including the truck driver’s name, number of miles traveled, and truck location, and these will be accessible to federal safety officials after an accident.

The rule seems to have some bite as far as attacking the problem of driver fatigue is concerned. This has been a major source of concern to Houston truck accident lawyers. The FMCSA is also currently revising the truck driver Hours of Service rules, and if the agency comes up with a lowered maximum limit, as Houston personal injury lawyers hope it will – we believe it could minimize driver fatigue as a factor in truck accident in Texas.

Obviously, these issues are very complex, and we need more than just one or two rules to deal with these effectively. Still, these are firm beginnings, and we look forward to more firm action against driver fatigue from the FMCSA.

Update 9/18: To browse data from the FMCSA, visit: https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/cbrowse?pid=dot%3A1&parentId=dot%3A1