The Trucking Industry's Big Problem
More than 5,000 people will die this year in truck accidents—most of them regular commuters and motorists. According to the FMCSA, 13 percent of those crashes will happen because the truck driver was fatigued. As many as 1 in 4 of those crashes will happen after a driver has been on the road for 17 hours. Tired drivers are harming thousands of people, and experts believe the problem is even bigger than what the data says.
Thousands of drivers are getting behind the wheel of their 80,000-pound machines while exhausted, and that's wildly dangerous. Sleep researchers believe that even moderate tiredness impairs our driving ability to a noticeable degree—and many of these drivers are beyond "moderately" tired. Drivers are driving longer hours than ever, many of them illegally driving past the hours of service regulations that limit their work hours to 14 hours a day (only 11 of which can be spent driving).
The trucking companies don't see this as a problem—in fact, their policies are creating the problem. For instance, companies only pay their new drivers for every mile they drive. Drivers enter the industry believing they can set their own pay, only to find out that they're barely making enough to live. It's not uncommon for many of them to work for 12 hours straight and lose money on a day's work. Part of the problem is that traffic or unexpected delays can eat up a driver's hours. The other problem is that pay-by-mile leaves drivers unpaid for non-driving work.
- Driving to pick up new loads
- Planning routes
- Abiding by federally-mandated rest breaks
- Waiting for loading
- Waiting for unloading
- Submitting to rig inspections
With the pressure to make money and perform, many drivers turn to the illegal methods taught to them by other drivers or carrier-paid driving instructors to "get around" federal hours of service regulations. While appearing compliant on paper, these drivers are traveling the roads alongside small commuter cars while running on dangerously low levels of sleep. Their reflexes are slow, and their mistakes are costly.
Why Call a US Xpress Truck Accident Lawyer?
When people get into truck accidents, they lose almost every resource they have. Accident victims lose the ability to make a living while incurring tens of thousands in medical debt. Their households are forced to live on credit cards and charity while waiting for their insurance companies to act. Meanwhile, trucking companies deploy lawyers and investigators to make sure accident victims get nothing.
Our US Xpress truck accident attorneys level the playing field by giving our clients the same resources as trucking companies. Our clients get their own team of experts, investigators, and adjusters, allowing them to claim all of their medical care, lost income, and future losses. That's why our clients have won billions of dollars in verdicts and settlements—more than a billion in the last year alone.
Speak with us today to review your options. We cover the cost of filing the claim, and our clients pay us nothing unless we win. Call (888) 493-1629 or use our short online form.
