With a final rule banning truckers from texting while driving set to be issued this fall, federal authorities are targeting other in-cab distractions in an effort to reduce the number of serious and fatal tractor-trailer accidents caused by distracted driving.
Our Knoxville, Tennessee accident lawyers know that many accidents are caused by distracted driving and crashes involving semis or other large commercial trucks are no exception. While more than 30 states have some form of a ban on text messaging or cell phone use by drivers, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has banned truckers nationwide from text messaging. That ban was first announced last year and expanded at a nationwide distracted driving summit held last month in Washington, D.C.
Truckers News reports that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is looking at CB radios, dispatching systems and other forms of distracted driving.
The FMCSA is the federal agency charged with implementing and enforcing trucking rules aimed at increasing the safety of the motoring public, including hours of service rules and drug testing procedures. Consulting with an experienced Tennessee truck accident attorney is critical when determining whether a driver was in compliance with state and federal regulations at the time of an accident.
Last year, a total of 5,474 motorists were killed and 448,000 were injured in accidents caused by distracted driving. Only speeding and drunk driving are blamed for more fatal accidents on the nation’s roads.
“These numbers show that distracted driving remains an epidemic in America, and they are just the tip of the iceberg,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
Nationwide, more than 380,000 large trucks were involved in crashes in 2008 — accidents that accounted for 1 in every 9 of the nation’s traffic fatalities. The U.S. Department of Transportation reports that more than 4,000 motorists were killed and 90,000 were injured in accidents involving large commercial trucks.
Trucking accidents in Tennessee claimed 92 lives that year.
If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a trucking accident in Tennessee, contact Hartsoe Law Firm, P.C. for a confidential appointment to discuss your rights with our Knoxville injury lawyers and Maryville accident attorneys. Call (877) 472-5657.