How Truck Driver Exhaustion Caused the Tracy Morgan Accident

Driving long distances can be quite taxing, even when it is just for a family road trip. Therefore, imagine having to make long-distance trips almost daily because it is your job? One of the most dangerous aspects of being a long-distance truck driver is dealing with something called “Driver Fatigue.” This condition was responsible for the Tracy Morgan accident.

The Consequences of Driving While Exhausted

Tracy Morgan’s limousine was hit by a truck after the driver didn’t realize that traffic had begun to slow down. The NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) determined that the accident resulted from “Driver Fatigue.” When the incident occurred, the driver had been on his 13th hour of a 14-hour shift and had not slept in over 25 hours. As a result, Morgan went into a coma, three other passengers suffered injuries, and one person died.

Causes of Driver Exhaustion

All drivers are responsible for doing their part to ensure the safety of everyone else on the road. Drivers should take precautions to prevent falling asleep at the wheel. While a lack of sleep might be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of driver exhaustion, sleep deprivation is not the only cause. 

Even if you get your proper amount of sleep each day, there will still be times throughout the day when your energy levels are much lower. Because humans are wired to sleep at night, it can be very difficult to stay awake no matter how long you sleep during the day.

How To Prevent Fatigue While Driving

One of the best ways to ensure that you are fully awake while on the road is to know your body’s natural resting pattern. During the hours of midnight to six in the morning and one to three in the afternoon is when the metabolism slows, causing you to feel more fatigued. You can try to set your work schedule around these times or choose these particular times to pull over at a rest area. 

However, no matter what time of day it is, if you feel tired at any point, you should take a break rather than try to push through the remaining miles. Signs of fatigue that you might try to overlook but can be catastrophic are:

• Excessive yawning
• Drifting out of your lane
• Not remembering the last few miles

Ways To Boost Your Energy

Eating the right foods along with getting proper rest can help you stay alert while making those long drives. Of course, you want to prepare by getting an adequate amount of sleep. However, certain foods can make or break your energy levels as well. Try to avoid heavy meals that are difficult to digest as this can cause your body to use a lot of energy. 

Drinking lots of water and doing some light exercise, even just a walk around the truck stop, can help increase your oxygen levels. When the brain gets deprived of oxygen is when fatigue can set in. 

The Importance of Driving Responsibly

In the case of Tracy Morgan, the driver used poor judgment. He attempted to push his body to an extreme limit, and the consequences were severe. While the driver’s log showed he had only driven for 13 hours, he had already been on the road for more than 11 hours while off the clock. 

Although the law firm that represented Tracy Morgan in the Walmart tractor-trailer case won a huge settlement, the driver ended up going to prison. A simple bad judgment call cost one man his freedom, injured a few others, and cost another man his life.

Whether driving is your profession, or you are taking a family road trip, it is so important that you are alert while on the road. Driving is not just about making sure you are doing the right thing, but you have to watch out for other people as well. 

 

Kerry L. Tucker

Early in his journalism career, Kerry L. Tucker had a revelation: there were not enough experts reporting on law issues. Legal matters are part of daily life. Yet, there seems to be a general aversion towards them. One of the main reasons for this is that the convoluted legal language is difficult for many people to follow. Therefore, he decided to change how the law is perceived by the public. Throughout his career, he met with many people who shared their personal stories with him. Some of these hit him harder. One of the cases that stayed with him and influenced his future career development was a car accident case involving a child. From then on, he decided to zero in on car accident lawsuits.