Is Federal Deregulation Causing More Trucking Accidents?

By Heather Siladi

Published on December 06, 2006

Driving back from a Thanksgiving trip in Missouri in 2004, 62-year-old Dorris Edwards was struck by an 18-wheel truck. Edwards died in the accident. The driver of the truck took responsibility for the crash, later admitting that he was tired from driving for 12 hours, eight of which had been non-stop. The driver was a rookie on his first cross-country trip. The driver’s trainer, who had a year of truck driving experience, had been sleeping most of the way.

The lawsuit filed against the driver and the trucking company that employed him has scratched the surface of the larger issue of deregulation in the country. Under the trucking regulations federal regulators eliminated in 2003, it would have been a violation for the driver to be behind the wheel for 12 hours. Without such safety regulations, it is more likely that companies will force drivers to drive for longer periods at a time, and less likely that victims will have any recourse to the law when accidents occur.

Trucking industry lobbyists argue that longer work hours reduce the time and expense of shipping goods, stimulating the economy and reducing the need to hire additional drivers who might have less experience.

Comment on this article →