We all mourned the tragic truck accident in Hart County that was among the nations deadliest in the last 20 years.  The investigation is showing the cause of this accident is due to distracted driving by the truck driver. Kentucky has enacted a law that prohibits texting while driving. This activity would now be a ticketed fine in Kentucky.  Is this really a sufficient deterrent? Should we go as far as Utah and make this an offense that would be considered a murder or manslaughter?  I believe this is something that should be considered.  What is the best way to prevent distracted driving and driver fatigue?

Kentucky drivers and trucks do not get along.  Almost nine percent of the fatal crashes that occurred in 2008 involved trucks.  These figures are consistent with nationwide statistics. This is of even greater concern when you consider that only about 4.6 percent of state’s registered vehicles are trucks.  This disparity in the number of fatal accidents caused by trucks as opposed to smaller vehicles is attributed to the difference in size and weight between large trucks and cars. This is according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. 

Not everyone believes that trucks are more dangerous.  The American Trucking Association contends that trucks don’t cause a disportionate share of the fatal accidents when you take into account the hours and miles that a truck driver will spend on the road in any given day or week.  It is contended that the safety record for trucks is better now than it has ever been.         

I feel safe in saying that the March 26 accident in Hart County will lead to changes in Kentucky’s laws and how they affect trucks.  When a company is fined or has a history of violations, I believe Kentucky needs to be more stringent in its penalties in allowing these trucks on our roads.  We all know these vehicles are more dangerous.  We just have to figure out a better way to monitor them. 

In that vein, a new federal regulation was implemented last month. This regulation requires trucking companies that repeatedly violate driver time limits to install electronic recorders in their trucks. These recorders will keep track of how long a driver spends behind the wheel of a tractor-trailer.  This should be an important tool in preventing trucking companies from manipulating the system and forcing their drivers to log longer hours than they should. 

Interestingly, these monitors are not required for all trucking companies, but only those flagged during on site compliance reviews.  Those flagged are a very small percentage of the trucking companies in the United States.  Should these monitors prove to be effective maybe they will eventually be required on all trucks. 

In hindsight, Hester, the owner of the truck involved in the Hart County accident, had numerous violations. These violations were not found as part of an on site review. Consequently, the new regulation would not have required Hester to place these devices in their trucks. 

Another recent change requires some truck drivers to use electronic on board recorders to replace their paper log books, which were easily forged.  Under the new rule, a carrier must use the device if a compliance review finds that they have violated hours of service rules more than ten percent of the time.  What amazes me is that it is projected that 5,700 interstate carriers will have to use the device after the first year.  This tells me that forging time logs runs rampant and it is a major cause of driver fatigue and fatal automobile accidents that occur.

I hope these rules will make it harder for trucking companies to violate the time requirements for their drivers behind the wheel.  This in turn will keep driver fatigue to a minimum, prevent truck accidents and help keep our Kentucky roads safe.