The proposed rule of decreasing the current 11-hour driving day limit to 10 hours has drawn heavy criticism in the trucking world. Maritime and intermodal industry officials are raising alarms that the proposed federal hours-of-service rules for domestic U.S. truck drivers could complicate movement of international maritime freight through U.S. ports, rail yards and terminals. Shortening the hours U.S. truckers may drive each day and lengthening their weekends would put more trucks on the road around ports during congested daytime hours, bringing more pollution and higher costs to these agencies. With all of this discussion, industry officials pay little mention to the safety of other motorists who share the roads with these overworked truckers.
According to recent data analysis, for every fatal accident, there are 10 serious accidents, 100 reportable accidents, and 1000 unreported accidents. Truck accident settlements are escalating in the U.S. and Canada. A critical trucking accident can lead to high claims costs. Millions of dollars in bodily injury payouts (namely, a traumatic brain injury) can easily cost several million dollars in the U.S. Knowing the facts can help keep victims from losing out on these settlements. Many companies attempt to get the victims to agree to truck accident settlements before lawyers can get involved, drastically lowering financial awards to victims. They prey on the vulnerability of the injured and care little about their ultimate well-being.
