Massachusetts Personal Injury Library

Driver Fatigue Law in Massachusetts (Part A)

Driver fatigue may be a silent killer on the road. Hardly anyone talks about it and it gets far less attention than drunk driving, but driving fatigue may be just as dangerous. According to SmartMotorist.com, there are 56,000 fatigued driver car accidents each year. These car crashes cause a huge number of personal injuries and fatalities every year.

While driver fatigue-related car accidents get much less attention than drunk driving accidents, lawmakers are starting to take notice and are beginning to introduce legislation on driving fatigue.

Maggie’s Law

Maggie’s Law was originally introduced in New Jersey in 2003 after a mother lost her college-age daughter in a driving fatigue accident. The college student was killed after her car was hit by a driver who admitted that he had not slept for over 30 hours. Maggie’s Law ensures that driving fatigue can be considered recklessness, and drowsy drivers who cause fatal car accidents can be charged with vehicular homicide.

While Massachusetts does not have a Maggie’s Law, the issue of driver fatigue is attracting more attention from legislators. A bill that covers many of the same issues as Maggie’s Law was introduced in Massachusetts in 2006. The bill failed, but it inspired lawmakers to address the issue of driving fatigue.

Trucks and Driver Fatigue Accidents

Trucks, unlike passenger vehicles, are regulated by federal standards in addition to state laws. The federal guidelines that all truck drivers must follow are designed to try to eliminate driver fatigue accidents as truck drivers by the very nature of their job are required to spend long hours on the road.

In order to combat the amount of driver fatigue-related truck accidents, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has strict guidelines that only allow truck drivers to drive for a certain amount of hours per day and per week, with mandatory break times between long stretches. If it turns out your car accident was caused by a truck driver who ignored these hours of service regulations, both that truck driver and their parent company may be held liable for any injuries and damages that result.

Continue to Driver Fatigue Law in Massachusetts (Part B) >>