Not having upheld such responsibility has made them liable and hence the payouts in both cases.
Concomitantly with a lack of sleep, company responsibilities regarding the above-mentioned truck maintenance also appear to not always be up to standard, if the facts of the cases are investigated. According to Baker's report, drivers for the company have taken responsibility by reporting truck problems, which were simply ignored by their companies. Further investigation found the truck unroadworthy to an extent where this was at least partly responsible for the crash. In addition, factors beyond the truck drivers' control, such as bad weather and road conditions, can also contribute to accidents. When these are compounded with the problems associated with lack of sleep, crashes are generally more than likely.
Baker (2006) substantiates the above-mentioned 2003 regulation, according to which no driver is allowed more than 11 cumulative hours on the roads, which should be preceded by at least 10 hours of rest. This regulation is however frequently ignored not only by truck drivers themselves, but also by companies who tend to focus on profit rather than employee well-being. Baker also notes that driver fatigue is on of the major problems in road safety, and should therefore be addressed accordingly.
A study conducted by Sabagh-Ehrlich, Friedman & Richter (2005) notes that, although only 6% of drivers on American roads at the time of writing were trucks, they account for as much as 20% of all accidents. The study furthermore focuses specifically on the role that driver fatigue plays in the exacerbation of this problem. According to the study, reports by the California Highway Patrol indicate that fatigue is a cause in as much as 67% of crashes. This appears to be a worldwide phenomenon, with the UK, Finland and Israel also experiencing similar problems: trucks represent a discordant proportion of the vehicle population and the amount of accidents on the roads of nearly all industrial countries.
In addition to a lack of sleep and long work hours, the report cites several other factors that can result in driver fatigue for long haul truck drivers. These include poor working conditions, chronic illness and sleep disorders. This directly affects not only their safety, but also their health, as these drivers show...
Their data indicate that truck drivers do indeed tend to ignore regulations to their own detriment and that of others. Despite the facts, it is often difficult to investigate an issue where wrongdoing is often at the root of the problem. Truck companies may for example be unwilling to admit the significance of financial gain as a driver of truck drive fatigue. Truck drivers themselves could in turn not be
Hour of Service Regulations on Truck Safety Hours of Service regulations are overseen, developed and published by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. These regulations regard the number of hours in which a commercial vehicle operator (CMV) may (such as a truck driver or bus driver) may drive a vehicle in the U.S. The purpose of this regulation is to ensure that large vehicle operators have sufficient rest between shifts
Saldaria, M. A. & Herrero, S. G. (2012, Annual). The impact of occupational hazard information on employee health and safety: An analysis by professional sectors in Spain. International Electronic Journal of Health Education, 15, 83-87. Major Thesis Emphasizing that more than 6,000 workers die each day around the world due to work-related health and safety conditions, the authors cite the need for improvement in occupational conditions to make companies safer places
(Source: Your Fleet Reflects Your Image... How Do You Manage It?, 1998 Online available at http://www.nacsonline.com Phase Two: This is the organizational phase of fleet safety and is inclusive of the following four aspects of fleet safety: 1. Management System - Unsafe acts, unsafe conditions, or accidents can be symptoms of problems in management. 2. Multiple Cause Accidents - When many contributing factors rather than single incidents lead to accidents, several safety
Easton (1997) argued that every injured worker in an organization involves financial (between four and ten times the obvious) and productivity costs that could have been prevented." (Murray, et al., 2003) II. Driver Selection Steps The basic attributes required to becoming a truck driver are (1) Physical; (2) Mental; and (3) Communication. First one must be physically fit to become a truck driver. Secondly one must have the mental capacity and
OSHE The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 set the stage for the creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) whose duties include the prevention of illnesses, injuries, and deaths that are work-related. The administration has produced tangible results in reducing occupational deaths and injuries by 62% and 42% respectively. The reason behind OSHA's success is down to its regular inspection of work facilities, as well as issuance
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