As affordable housing grows more remote from metropolitan areas, and as the number of workers increases, a corresponding increase in commuting times can be seen. This is true in Kentucky and throughout the United States. Long commuting times have an especially negative impact on commercial truck drivers as they give drivers less time for rest and put them at risk for health conditions like heart disease.
For example, a study analyzing 4,297 adults from 12 metropolitan Texas counties found that drivers with long commutes tend to be overweight, less physically fit and more likely to have high blood pressure. Lack of sleep also leads to fatigued truckers, which can endanger those they share the road with.
As a result, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has stated that it will conduct a survey to gather data about commercial truckers who commute: how many of these drivers commute to work, how far they travel, what time zones they cross and how they feel at the end of the day. The FMCSA is also inquiring into commuting policies among motor carriers.
The study will fulfill a particular section of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, a highway bill introduced in 2015. This section requires the FMCSA to study the effects of commutes longer than 150 minutes and submit the findings to Congress.
Even when truckers have long commutes, they are responsible for keeping their vehicles under control to prevent truck accidents. When accidents occur because of trucker fatigue, victims may wish to see a lawyer about filing a personal injury claim. A lawyer may be able to help when negotiating a settlement with the trucking company. After assessing a claim, the lawyer might hire investigators, accident reconstruction experts and other third parties to build up proof of the driver’s negligence.