Sick, Drunk & High — Lax Enforcement of Trucking Regulations Puts Dangerous Truck Drivers on the Road

Most truck drivers may be safe drivers and law-abiding citizens working hard to earn a living. But then there are those that do whatever it takes to stay on the road — even when they shouldn’t be.

Several years ago the media ran rampant with stories about dangerous truck drivers after several government studies found that a disturbing number of truckers used drugs and alcohol to stay alert while driving or to cope with long, lonely runs and up to five times as many truckers were on the road despite medical conditions that could disqualify them having an operator’s license. Unfortunately, in our experience as truck accident lawyers we find that these problems still persist and truck drivers that are sick, drunk or high are needlessly killing hundreds of motorists each year.

1-2% of Truck Drivers Tested Positive for Drugs or Alcohol

After a 2008 Roadcheck project, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance found that 1% of truck drivers tested positive for drugs or alcohol when stopped on the road and tested. Considering that the testing dates on which these checks occurred were announced five months prior, you can bet that many more would have tested positive if the dates hadn’t been announced — some estimate up to twice as many drivers are regularly in violation of drug and alcohol regulations. Trucking companies have long been suspected of keeping their most dangerous trucks and drivers off the road on such testing dates.

But isn’t 1-2% a very small percentage? It would seem to be until you consider that 1% of truck drivers amounts to just under 100,000 drivers who are known to have been on the roads with drugs or alcohol in their systems. If the 2% estimates are correct, the real number is closer to 200,000. How many drunk and high truck drivers in control of rigs weighing up to 40 tons each are we willing to tolerate on our highways and roadways?

Ill and Disabled Truck Drivers May Be Biggest Threat on the Road

An even bigger threat to U.S. motorists than those using drugs or alcohol may be those with medical conditions that could potentially bar them from having a commercial driver’s license. A U.S. safety study released in 2008 and reported on by the Associated Press found that 500,000 licensed commercial truck and bus drivers had significant medical conditions that call into question their ability to drive safely. We’re talking about conditions that could result in seizures, black-outs and other situations that can easily cause a driver to lose control of their truck or bus. We’re talking about conditions that qualify many of these drivers for full federal disability payments. At the time of the study, Michigan was cited as one of the top 12 states for known violations of trucking medical rules and those 12 states accounted for half of all such violations in the U.S.

How do these drivers retain their commercial licenses despite their medical conditions? Many cases have been documented of truck drivers coercing or bribing safety and licensing officials to look the other way. A similar number of cases has been documented of truck drivers shopping around for doctors who are willing to “overlook” medical restrictions and certify them to drive.

U.S. Safety regulators have issued several recommendations over the years that may solve many of these issues, but the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has been notoriously slow in implementing them. It doesn’t help any that some trucking companies are also willing to turn a blind eye to truckers with medical issues or substance abuse problems in exchange for paying those drivers lower wages and salaries.

Dangerous Truckers Continue to Haunt U.S. Roadways

How do we know that truckers with medical problems and drug and alcohol problems still threaten U.S. roadways? We see it all the time in representing accident victims who’ve been injured in Michigan accidents caused by these truckers. We still see the truckers who “mysteriously” black out while driving or who disappear after an accident to a friend’s or relative’s house where they can’t be found instead of showing up for the federally required drug and alcohol testing. And we’re still seeing truckers being caught by federal and state authorities from time to time — though not often enough.

Because these truckers continue to be a problem, they continue to cause accidents and injure and kill hundreds of innocent people every year. If you or a loved one has been the victim of a truck accident, it’s important to have an experienced and skilled truck accident lawyer who can uncover the facts of the case and help hold the truck driver responsible, along with the company that hired the driver. In Michigan, the personal injury firm of Sachs Waldman, P.C., can pair you with a highly experienced truck accident attorney to fight for your rights against the trucking company that needlessly endangered you or your loved one. Call our Detroit personal injury attorneys’ office at 1-800-638-6722 to schedule a free consultation.