Researchers Find Many Commercial Drivers Impaired by Lack of Sleep

August 15, 2006

  • August 15, 2006 at 4:11 am
    KLE says:
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    Sleepy drivers behind the wheel of ANY vehicle are a possible danger. Let\’s not villify or single out truck drivers; the majority of whom are diligently responsible, which is quite a feat considering all the details involved in running compliant.

    Also, there\’s one glaring point that should be made… AUTOMOBILE drivers are MOST often the cause of car-truck accidents, *NOT* the truck driver. Many people simply don\’t know how to drive near or around big trucks.

    It\’s usually the bad guys who make the news. If you see one irresponsible trucker on TV, that person is absolutely not a singluar representative of the entire trucking industry. There are countless truck drivers with literally millions of accident-free miles to their names. Learn how to drive safely around big trucks and do your part to keep their future miles accident-free as well.

  • August 16, 2006 at 3:02 am
    Duffman says:
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    Your point being..?

    Truckers AND car drivers are often both irresponsible and responsible at times and some more than others. What\’s the problem with pointing out that sleep is important?

    Truckers cause accidents as well as cars. Maybe everyone should learn how to drive around each other.

  • August 16, 2006 at 3:53 am
    K says:
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    Penn spokeswoman Susanne Hartman confirmed the study was completed in 2002 using data collected between 1996 and 2000.

  • August 18, 2006 at 6:11 am
    KLE says:
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    Kindly re-read what I stated please, Duffman. I never said I had a problem with pointing out the importance of sleep. We seem to be making the same basic point about driver training. Have a *nice* weekend. ;)

  • August 24, 2006 at 11:19 am
    Frumpy Jones says:
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    The problem is that the average truck driver drives 14 hours a day, no? And while BOTH car and truck drivers should be awake and alert. A singular car driver can not proportionally cause as much damage as a truck driver, with all other variables being the same. Yes, A car can go faster and cause more damage, but if the same sleepy driver accident happens on the same part of the road, with the same traffic around it, at the same speed, the Truck driver will do LOTS more damage than the car driver every time.

    And in regards to the study time. There\’s a LOT of data to put together , and I\’d rather them take the time then just throw stuff at the wall and see if it sticks.

  • August 25, 2006 at 6:59 am
    Trucker says:
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    In Response to Mr. Jones\’ comment-Truckers are only allowed to DRIVE 11 hours before taking a 10 hour break. True, that leaves 3 more hours in a 24 hour day but the Government also REQUIRES other things, such as pretrip inspections, time spent fueling, time spent loading or unloading, time spent waiting to be dispatched, to be logged in a 14 hour period. So NO a Trucker does not drive 14 hours a day. Some days, depending on how long it takes him to get loaded or unloaded, or how long he sits in a road construction traffic jam, he doesnt even drive the 11 hours he is allowed to drive because he cant-he is only allowed to show 14 hours a day on duty, which includes all of the above, as well as driving. If he sits somewhere 4 hours waiting to get loaded, he can only drive 10 hours. I have sit at places for 6 or 7 hours waiting to get unloaded-that counts against my driving time. If I sit 6 hours, I can only drive 8 hours that day. Thats the way the regulations are set up.



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