Finnish study reveals hours-of-service flaws

The American Trucking Association (ATA) is trumpeting a Finnish study revealing that fatigue led to less than four per cent of fatal crashes.

The study, which used a database of case study reports on all fatal two-vehicle accidents involving truck drivers in Finland between 1991 and 1997, revealed that 83 per cent of all accidents were caused by non-truck drivers.

Of the 17 per cent of accidents caused by truckers, fatigue played a role in only two to four per cent of the fatalities.

The ATA says the findings show the shortcomings in the current Hours-of-Service regulations. The group is lobbying the U.S. Department of Transportation to ensure the findings are considered during the revamping of the current H-o-S regulations.

“These fatigue-related findings are consistent with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) recent research findings and with statements made by the ATA and others,” says the ATA’s David Osiecki in a letter to the FMCSA. “The large majority of fatal crashes are actually triggered by the actions of other vehicle drivers.”