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Trucker fatigue is one of the leading causes of accidents involving big rigs. However, the federal government recently reenacted controversial rules permitting truckers to drive even more hours.
These rules–which in 2003 a court found had been enacted improperly–have recently been reinstated, virtually unchanged.
They raise the number of daily hours that a trucker may drive from 10 to 11, and change the rules regarding how much a trucker may drive each week to permit up to 77 hours of driving in a single 7-day period, almost twice as much as the standard 40-hour workweek.
How many more accidents have occured and and how much personal injury has been caused?
As you might imagine, the trucking industry is delighted with the change, which permits the movement of the same volume of goods with fewer drivers. What effect these changes will have on the number of trucking accidents remains to be seen.
If you have had an accident and personal injury that involves you and a big-rig (semi) truck, New York City Attorney Stephen Bilkis says that it is important you know your rights–and are protected at every turn after the accident: with the insurance company, with the other driver, and any possible legal action.
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