Preventing brain diseases


 

Heavy Truck Accidents and Unneccessary Deaths and Serious Injuries

Toll  Free:  866-761-1385not the statistical incidence of fatigue.
Therefore, the Board specifically selected
How common are injuries from heavy trucktruck accidents that were likely to include
accidents?fatigue-related accidents; that is,
single-vehicle accidents that tend to occur
An accident involving a heavy truck,at night. The Board desired to obtain
18-wheeler, semi, big tractor-trailer truck,approximately an equal number of
often results in death or serious injury. Thefatigue-related and nonfatigue-related
statistics are shocking. Over 1 millionaccidents  through its notification process."
people were involved in nearly 500,000 large
truck related accidents in 1999. ThatThe most common causes of heavy trucks
resulted in over 5,000 deaths and overaccidents are:speeding,running off the
140,000 injuries. Of those injuries fromroadtravel  out  lanefailure  to  yield
heavy truck accidents, 10's of thousands
involved severe brain damage or the loss ofBut at the root of those causes of heavy
limb. Some trucks weigh over 100,000 lbs whentruck  accidents  is  often  driver  fatigue.
fully loaded. Unloaded, they still weigh over
10,000 lbs. That is 5-10 times the weight of"The Safety Board investigated 113
a  car.single-vehicle heavy truck accidents in which
the driver survived. However, because the
This problem of heavy truck accidents has96-hour duty/sleep history that was required
been around for years, and the data isfor the study was not available for 6
consistent over time. For example, accordingdrivers, the 6 accidents in which these
to the Safety Board analysis of Fataldrivers were involved were not included in
Accident Reporting System (FARS), in 1993the study. The study, therefore, analyzes
there were 3,311 heavy trucks involved indata from 107 single-vehicle heavy truck
3,169 fatal accidents, in which 3,783 personsaccidents."
died. The FARS report shows that heavy truck
accidents are often caused by truckdriverBased on the results of the analysis, the
fatigue. In fact, as many as 30 to 40 percentNTSB determined that fatigue is a key factor
of all heavy truck accidents are caused byin heavy truck accidents, that hours of
fatiuge  of  the  driver.service regualtions are a key to preventing
heavy truck accidents, that improved
What is the cost to society of heavy truckeducation of heavy-truck drivers is important
accidents?in implementing improved safety about
fatigue,
Injuries and fatalities are not the only toll
inflicted by heavy truck crashes. ForHow is the cause of a heavy truck accident
example, the financial toll that goes alongdetermined?
with such crashes impacts commerce, costs of
insurance, costs of health care, and costs ofInspect the heavy truck including mechanics,
good. The NTSB reports that the actual costtires,  brakes
of all heavy truck accidetns in 1999 was $34
billion.Interview  witnesses
What is the most likely cause of heavy truckReview  police  reports
accidents?
Obtain weather report and determine driving
The NTSB said, "Because of the significantconditions
number of heavy truck-related fatalities and
the significant role of fatigue in suchWhat to do if you were in a heavy truck
accidents, the Board initiated this study ofaccident?
single-vehicle heavy truck accidents to
examine the role of specific factors, such asWhen a person is injured or killed in a heavy
drivers' patterns of duty and sleep, intruck accident they may be able to hold the
fatigue-related heavy truck accidents and todriver and heavy trucking company
determine potential remedial actions. Theresponsible, as well as the companies on
purpose of the Board's study was to examinewhose bahlf a delivery is being made.
the factors that affect driver fatigue and



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