On Saturday, an accident involving a truck and four other vehicles took the life of comedian James McNair and critically injured four others including actor Tracy Morgan. Preliminary reports from police indicate that the truck driver may have been at fault and may have been awake for more than 24 hours before the crash. This tragedy – and the circumstances that caused it – could have a major impact on the decision of whether or not to repeal certain aspects of the current hours of services rules.
The accident has thrust the topic of driver fatigue into the national spotlight where some news outlets are predicting that, after such a public incident, lawmakers won’t go risk appearing to be lax on safety regulations. A USA Today editorial for example said that though a senate committee passed the HOS suspension last week, now “the full Senate and House ought to have enough sense to leave it alone.”
In the criminal complaint filed against the driver of the truck, Kevin Roper, a prosecutor alleged that Roper had been driving the truck “without having slept for a period in excess of 24 hours resulting in a motor vehicle accident.”
There hasn’t actually been any proof offered that Roper was in violation of his hours of service. In fact, according to CNN, it is unclear how the police determined that he was sleep deprived.
A publicist for Roper’s employer, Walmart, said in a statement that “with regards to news reports that suggest Mr. Roper was working for 24 hours, it is our belief that Mr. Roper was operating within the federal hours of service regulations.”
According to police reports, it appears that Roper didn’t notice that traffic ahead of him had slowed until too late. There are conflicting reports as to how exactly the first impact occurred, but it appears that while swerving to avoid hitting cars in front of him, he ended up hitting the limo containing Morgan and McNair. By the time the accident ended, three other vehicles had been impacted as well.
Roper is being charged with one count of death by auto and four counts of assault. He has pled not guilty to all charges.
Next Story: Hero Driver Recognized For Helping Save Family of Four
Source: fleetowner, overdrive, usatoday, nydailynews, cnn
Joe Skeptical says
There’s a state law where this crash happened, that considers any driver causing a wreck that hasn’t slept enough – driving hours aside – to be criminally negligent. If police find the Walmart driver to have been sleep deprived, he could do prison time for this fatal wreck. This applies to all motor vehicles in that state, CMVs, cars, motorcycles and anything in between.
No way HOS rules will be relaxed right after a sleep deprived driver is imprisoned for vehicular manslaughter under a state law.
amardeep says
I think the problem was the brakes. Every company wants to save money and go with cheaper drum brakes rather than disc and law maker are too stupid to enforce this simple into rule into law it would have cut the stopping distance in half no fatalities. I am independent ow/op and paid $3000 out of my pocket to upgrade to disc brakes and stopping distance is significant in emergencies.
thecowboystate says
Yeah, I’m sure a fly by night company like WAL MART always uses cut rate parts whenever they can…
Get a grip.
Charles says
What do brakes have anything to do with this guy and his poor sleeping habits?
nick says
well if your cause a wreck and for some reason even with Elogs, you throw yourself under the bus and state to the police you have been up for a day without sleep, u have to wonder? But even with the interview on FOX news and other news casts its easy to tell from the drivers point of view that all the media reportings are wrong and I believe him… If this wasnt a celeb we wouldnt have heard anything about it and Im sorry to say Im white but I think the driver being African American its fueling the fire… Obama and Miss ferror should focus on the border issues this country has along with many other issues
james tull says
well number one if he was on e-logs which he was if he drove for walmart he would not be up 24 hrs without sleep because walmart will not let it happen period. The next thing is the new hrs they have came out with is making drivers more tired than before I myself have drove trk cross-country for 28 yrs and since the new regs came out I am more tired because after taking a 10 hr break then get up do my inspection then get going I haft to run as hard as I can within the first 8 hrs to get as far as I can before the first 30 min break then get caught in rush hour traffic and then try to get as far as I can the last amount of time left because the fmsca and the other idiots are not making the shippers and consignees get loads out on time and unladed on time. There has got to be some changes to these hrs or the freight is evently not going to be getting there on time by us and then it will effect the consumer because product is not there to buy .
Charles says
Sure he could be up for 24 hours, even on e-logs. Simple, the e-logs tell when the truck needs to be stopped but can’t physically make him go to bed. He may have drove all the day before, stayed up that night playing on the computer, etc and started rolling with the log said he could roll again. Pure negligence.
Craig says
You’re right about one thing James & I’ve been at this 10yrs longer than you they won’t go after the right people & the idiots they have working these shipping receiving places can’t even run a lemonade stand, Their just there to collect a paycheck but I did learn to adapt to the current elogs…..So when & if they change again it’ll be for the worse..Nuff Said!!
Honch says
Hmm… not getting enough sleep but being legal? That news to anyone?
Mike says
Just because he took his 10 hr. mandatory break don’t mean he was able to sleep.
Don Dierdorff says
Walmart is a horrible company, and they don’t give a rat’s ass about laws, regulations or anything else. It’s too bad about what happened, but this might shed some light on Walmart, a company who doesn’t care about anything but the bottom line. They suck.
Ed Callaway says
Agreed on Walmart, but unfortunately any impact from this accident is probably going to be an industry-wide thing and not limited to JUST Walmart. I’d actually be surprised if anything were done directly to the company past the punitive fines and whatever lawsuits arise from this.
JT says
You know nothing about Walmart transportation rules and regulations. Walmart drivers are held to the highest degree of all federal rules and regulations. All drivers are required to be on electronic logs, Walmart has some of the safest drivers in the industry as a whole.
Walmart drivers are held to a far higher degree of professionalism than most any company in the transportation industry.
Until all the facts are presented and this case is closed, remember this driver is a human being who made a mistake and will be severely punished for his actions. Not only him but his entire family. Please have a little human dignity toward another Human being in this most trying time. Pray for Tracy Morgan and his family and also for the man who lost his life and his family. Do not be judgemental . Examine your own driving abilities as a driver and ask yourself, What can YOU do to prevent an accident from happening.
He is who is without a SIN in his Life, let him be the first to stone this man to death.
Drive safe to you all, Happy trails
george w. fulk says
I’m glad a person as yourself has stood up for the driver and Walmart. With electronic logs it is practically impossible to falsify their log. My last company made it very clear when you are out of hours you stop! Don’t go any further than that point. I can’t believe Walmart won’t be on phone or qualcom. The question is did he live in Georgia as ABC world news reported. If he did drive from Georgia to start work, then start his logs then yes he is at fault. It will all come out in the court of law. If that’s is the case then Walmart will be at fault.
JT says
you are in error, THE DRIVER is alleged to have driven 12 hours to his job in Delaware. He lived in Jonesboro, Ga. IF this is correct and he chose to get into a Walmart truck and drive his normal 11 hour work schedule and DID NOT notify Walmart that he had just driven 12 hours to get to work, WHO is at fault here…….THIS driver or any other driver has or should have enough integrity about himself to use better judgment.
All drivers are told when hired, you can live as far away as Bangladesh to work here as long as you report on time. You can come in early and get a motel but you cannot sleep in your truck before your on duty time……Let me explain WHY…….Liability…….you sleep in that truck and for some unknown reason it catches fire and burns up with you in it, then the company is liable for your injuries or death……LIABILTY….
COMMON SENCE says be RESTED with at least 10 hours OFF DUTY….NO DRIVING OF ANY KIND….PERIOD……………If this is the case with this driver the courts will decide. The company IS NOT at any fault.
John Burleson says
Right on, JT. Walmart drivers, generally speaking, are some of the most professional and patient among us. They have to be, since SWIFT passes them so much. But don’t be so quick to condemn the driver. There’s a lot more to this story than we’re being told because it makes better news this way. Show me the video; show me the log book. And stop taking Tracy’s “I’m tired” remark out of context. He might have been tired from eight hours of I-95, The Idiot 500, or he might have just been tired of jerks cutting him off.
Russell Thurman says
I am a Wal Mart truck driver and have been for almost eleven years
I have never been paid better or treated better in my 62 years of life & 24 years of driving.
For about 10 years we have been using automated logs in our trucks. YOU CAN NOT CHEAT
WITH THEM ON ANY D.O.T. Hours of service.
The driver was off for a couple of days and probably wasn’t properly rested when he reported for his 5 day work week.
Steve Heglmeier says
You don’t have a clue as to what you’re talking about. Walmart is very picky on the drivers they hire. They have some of the toughest, if not the toughest criteria even to get hired by them. Once you do get hired they have stricter rules than the FMCSA.
They can do this because they have one of the best pay plans in the industry. A friend of mine drives for them and he has a 7 day on, 7 day off schedule and still makes over $70,000 a year! Not too shabby. But they run electronic logs, have a very strict cell phone/distraction rule, make you wear a uniform, and have a system in their trucks that if a driver cuts too close in front of you the truck automatically applies the brake. That’s just irritating as car drivers cut in front of trucks and hit the brakes all the time.
Richard Morrison says
That is low for Walmart I know 2 guys that run out of Hurricane UT one makes about $130,000 a year and the other makes about $90,000 a year, both of them are home every other night and the weekend off. They are held to a much higher standered than any company that I know of. If I went back over the road that is who I would work for.
Charlie says
Have you looked at the FMCSA website. Walmart trucks ran 667 million miles last year with only 380 wrecks. Yeah. 667 MILLION in one year.
Cary Davis says
Actually you are completely wrong! WALMART has some of the best CSA scores I have seen for any company anywhere. I would suggest you use fact based data instead of opinion. Compare your company to these scores then come back and tell me how bad Walmart is.
http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/SMS/Data/carrier.aspx?enc=N4sCz6ziq7Y=
Two Thermos says
I’ve been in this business for about 34 years. I don’t drive for Walmart, never have, but I know that you are not going to come right out of some two week truck driver school and go to work driving for Walmart. You are waaaay off base. You people who have this animus for Walmart can be spotted a mile away and, frankly, it’s kind of disgusting that anybody would jump on this, before even the facts have been sorted out, to attack Walmart, or anybody else. From pictures I’ve seen, it strikes me that one possible scenario for this accident is that the sprinter/limo driver might just possibly have cut in in front of that Walmart driver and hit the brakes. Oh, no!…Not like a NYC/New Jersey limo driver would ever do something like that! How about we just see what investigators actually conclude before we get our little high horses, eh?
R J says
Sounds like the logical thing to do. Too many people jump to their own conclusions without knowing all of the facts!!!
troy says
Yea maybe you cant just get out of a two week drivers training course and drive for wal mart but you can sure find a company that has a dedicated fleet and a haul a walmart trailer after two weeks.. Ha Ha Swift Greatwide Pam jb hunt trans am and about 20 others..Wal mart drivers are usually anal assholes that THINK they are better than other drivers but I guess they don’t see the joke that a two week driver is doing their JOB ha ha yea going from a terminal to The same stores WOW that’s incredible..
RP says
Check your facts before posting a slam of “about 20 others”.. of the 4 you mentioned by name, only ONE will hire a new driver.. Swift. Swift is a starter company that hires and trains new drivers. the others you mentioned all require minimum experience times ranging from 6 months to 3 years. Dont badmouth companies because you heard an ignorant rumor from an uninformed ignorant source.
mike says
Its oblivious you know nothing about Walmart transportation. Their trucks have electronic logs collision avoidance and speed limiters. Sounds like you have a a chip on your shoulder about Walmart and want to take it out here.I would bet when the investagation is over that the driver was compliant with DOT rules and if he hadn’t slept it was his own doing during his off duty time.
Joseph says
I’m not saying you’re wrong Mike or even trying to give you a hard time, but if they have electronic collision avoidance equipment and speed limiters, then why didn’t these precautions prevent this accident?
Jim says
Don, you are wrong! I used to drive for Wal-Mart. Say what you want about them but let me tell you what I know for a fact. If you drive for them… you will do it legally. Wal-Mart Transportation is 100% compliant and so are their drivers. This was a horrible accident that Wal-Mart will not take lightly!
JT says
Mr DON,
For a driver who seems to know ALL there is about laws and regulations, you sure spout off about a company YOU know NOTHING about.
Wal-Mart drivers are held to a far higher degree of intelligence than most are willing to give credit for. Wal-Mart drivers are on ELOGS and WILL comply to federal law or be terminated…PERIOD……What ever this driver chose to do BEFORE he got in that WALMART truck is beyond the control of Wal-Mart or ANY company for that matter. But one thing is for certain. From a federal DOT standpoint….He was legal…..way too many checkpoints at Wal-Mart for them to be running illegal. There is a certain amount of integrity afforded to drivers at A GOOD driver company or private fleet. Its the “Your The Captain of The Ship” mentality thing. You are REQUIRED at ANY trucking company to use good judgment BEFORE driving ANY vehicle especially a Tractor trailer. This apparently was not the case here.
Before making judgment on any company or group of drivers….KNOW YOUR FACTS
Craig says
You got that right Don, they fired my neighbor across the street because his wife just had a baby & like James Tull said their like any other company they take too long to ship/receive freight…And eeveryone can agree Walmart & almost every other trucking company uses cheap quality brake shoes & pads….They Do Suck….and by the way Swift started using more of their truck to do Walmart since the accident Something to think about!!
Stephen Thornton says
Walmart and other companies that press drivers into getting the load there as soon as possible should be responsible!! There is a huge demand for drivers but the drivers need to be quality drivers who know how to say, “I cannot deliver this by this time please reschedule it.”
Dave Hutchison says
I’m sorry but are you a truck driver? If you are then you would know that Wal-mart drivers are on electronic logs. Not only that but each driver works out of a distribution center serving the same stores week after week. They know their route and are not pressured to drive beyond legal limits.
Robert Hall says
The prosecuter made that 24 hour claim right out of the gate. Reason? There’s a law in Jersey making it a felony to operate any vehicle after being awake more than 24 hours. The only way they could make that determination early in the investigation would be if Roper had admitted it. Why would he do that even if it were true? This is simply a case of a dirty, railroading prosecuter, probably with political aspirations. Consequently, every driver in the country will suffer as a result.
Two Thermos says
What!?!… You mean a New Jersey prosecutor might be politically motivated?
That’s… uh… shocking.
Scrimshaw Hostetler says
Everyone is always so quick to rush to judgment and convict based upon biased and unfounded comments played out in the media. Let the courts do their job people!
Tim says
My sympathies go out to all involved in this accident. But, that’s what it was and accidents happen. If there is a more safety conscious fleet than Wal-Mart, I don’t know who it is. Their trucks are equipped with about every safety system known to man including radar avoidance, automatic braking, E-Logs, trucks governed at low speeds, rigorous safety training and screening of drivers, etc., etc. Yet, the accident still happened. To me, this is proof that the only way to be completely safe is simply to park ’em but, like a ship in harbor, that’s not what ships (or trucks) are for. Zero accidents is a laudible goal, but one that will never be achieved no matter how many onerous regulations are placed on the industry. I suppose the knee-jerk reaction to punish the entire industry is to be expected, but I hope a more reasoned and rational approach by “cooler heads” will prevail. I’ve held a Class 1 License or it’s equivalent for nearly 47 years now, and have driven several million miles in interstate commerce without incident, so I think I might know a little bit about safe operations. It’s my belief that the current regs — at least this newest batch that is trying to be walked-back are contrary to safety, efficiency and common sense. They are regulations for regulations sake and are going to cause more accidents than they ever prevent. A one size fits all set of regulations with virtually no flexibility for an industry as diverse as trucking is really kind of ludicrous if you think about it, and yet that’s the goal no matter how much harm it causes the economy in general or individuals along the way. With all of the other crisis’ the current Administration has caused, I think the one that’s coming where the public finds empty stores because of silly regulations might be the one that finally pushes the populace over the edge.
Jraulpilot says
Do you mean a “Class A” license?
Lionheart44 says
The problem with the regulations is you have a pencil pusher that has never drove a truck before in their life. Until they actually put someone with experience instead of the dumb broad they have now running it our regulations will continue to get so far out there it will be impossible to even drive a truck. As far as WalMart is concerned I can tell you their drivers are the strictest in the business. To even get hired by them your driving record has to be clean for 10 years straight. Until I see all the evidence I am not going to be passing judgement. This accident being in the northeast I would be standing behind WalMart before any of those jokers up there.
JT says
WELL SAID
Michael D. says
Actually, Walmart is one of the most stringent when it comes to the HOS they are very strict. What actually happened is not Walmarts doing if the driver was not taking his rest break.
mark says
Great timing for this accident…we can now say goodbye to even the possibility of a rollback of these ridiculous HOS regs. Thanks Roper, nice work.
Andy says
Mark I would say it’s more about how this accident is being presented to the public than what you suggest, although I’m in agreement with you on the HOS. If Tracy Morgan had not been in that vehicle we would have never heard about this accident.
R Jane Stewart says
THE PUBLIC could be called horrible for making knee JERK statements like above. I AM SICK of what Wal-Mart is ‘alleged’ to be doing….But I am also sickened by the general public making uninformed off the wall statements before knowing all the facts. JUST SHOOTIN’ your mouth off. Anyone who uses ….always, anything,,never should, could, would, statement….Should show some decorum and discuss the issue instead of SHOUTING OUT like a little sixth grade kid!
Andy says
I have heard reports that NJ has a law that requires drivers to be charge with a felony if they have been found to be on duty driving in excess of 24hrs. This is where reports of the WalMart driver doing such a thing come from, NOT that the driver actually did drive for 24hrs. Why doesnt some reporter ask a WalMart driver about how they log their day? Do they use Elogs or paper? What about WalMarts CSA score? How about some real reporting instead of this knee jerk finger pointing.
mike conley says
Walmart transportation has a stellar record as far Mr Dierdorff saying other wise. Walmart has used EOBR for more than 10yrs. What the driver did prior to coming on duty is hard to say. Mr Dierdorff where’s your proof of your lies!!
Joshua Collins says
“There hasn’t actually been any proof offered that Roper was in violation of his hours of service. In fact, according to CNN, it is unclear how the police determined that he was sleep deprived.”
After several days of hearing about this incident this is the first time I’ve heard about a lack of proof. Haven’t Wal-Mart trucks been on e-logs for a while now? I doubt he was driving for over 24 hours as many news outlets have reported. Pretty convenient timing though.
John says
What does this have to do with HOS? He left his house in Georgia, drove to his employer in Deleware in his personal vehicle and then drove to New Jersey……the issue is that the driver didn’t sleep during his off duty hours.
Leroy says
This particular law is not aimed only at truck drivers it applies to Any motorist if they they can prove he/she has not slept in 24 hr period preceding an accident. The bias comes from the fact that your everyday motorist is not required by law to compile the evidence against himself in the form of logbooks,fuel and toll receipts and the like. So it does not matter that he was not driving the truck all this time just that they Might be able to prove he didn’t have enough rest within that 24 hr window.
There is no way that Wal-Mart tractor or several tractors were driven by any one driver outside the rules without being alerted. I can tell you from experience that the Electronic devices in these trucks would make it unbearable for the driver to continue…its extremely noisy and you can only shut it off by parking the truck.
The Wal-Mart private fleet does not send “experienced” drivers home to avoid paying them,you would be extremely hard pressed to find a driver in our fleet that isn’t very
experienced.All of our dispatch systems use input directly from the driver to determine load
assignments so no one is forced to “push it”. I assure you all one of our drivers has to do is let it be known he/she doesn’t feel comfortable and or safe doing something and they wont be questioned or pressured, in fact if it were to happen the questioner would be more likely to be reprimanded.
jenny says
If anything the accident should prove that the HOS no matter how strict they are can not control when an accident happens or what a driver may or may not do on his break. The rule could be 14 hour break, but it doesn’t mean the driver is going to sleep or rest. There is no way to make a person rest.
Bob says
Ever think about using the “pleads not guilty” headline first instead of convicting a driver with a headline?
Samuel Barradas says
“Tracy Morgan Accident May Affect HOS Decisions” I don’t see how that headline could be interpreted as convicting the driver. It doesn’t even mention the driver. Maybe I’m missing something.
Carlos says
Walmart uses electronic logs. Their trucks shut themselves off when the hours of service are exceeded. This driver could not have been driving the same truck for 24 hours. Impossible
Mike says
The trucks don’t shut themselves off, that’s a silly myth. That would be more dangerous than driving tired or texting while driving. What do you think would happen if you were in traffic and all of a sudden lost your power steering on a 12,000 pound axle because your truck “shut off”? Come on now, with the way DOT is harping on us you really think that’s even a possible truth?
Kevin says
Anyone with a brain should know that keeping the rule, changing the rule or any other changes have NO BEARING on this accident or any accident in the future. A law did not and would not stop that from happening….The only thing that would is the Driver…period. The Driver chose to do the stupid thing. He was already not supposed to be driving. Just because you make a law, doesn’t mean people will follow them.
kerry says
Exactly, the only way to prevent drivers from driving illegally is to make the fines and penalties so high on BOTH the driver AND the company they work for that it is no longer to their benefit to violate the HOS rules. The only people stiffer restrictions will hurt are the honest drivers and companies, because those drivers and companies that you do need to fear are going to continue to drive illegally and just pay the fines and consider it a cost of doing business.
Matt says
The real answer is to deregulate, and then make severe penalties for accidents and unsafe habits. Some people can drive 15 hours safely, and others can only drive 6 hours and then they take a nap for an hour or two and can drive 6 more. A one size fits all solution is never a solution at all.
Russ says
Fines are not gonna solve a damn thing!!!
Perry Martin says
If fines can put people out of business for not following law then it will work. The renagade truckers need to get off road or go to jail. A legal trucker making it work
Craig says
Kerry – You’re missing a couple of major points (most people are).
[1] There are NO allegations Roper was driving illegally. This points out a major fallacy in FMCSA’s regulation. It ASSUMES drivers rest when off duty. It is alleged Roper didn’t sleep when off duty. There is NOTHING illegal about that.
[2] Carriers are HIGHLY motivated monetarily to AVOID this sort of thing. This will cost Walmart millions even if they were 100% compliant with laws.
Kevin is spot on. We need to think!
[1] The HOS rules focus solely on fatigue as the cause for lack of alertness and attentiveness.
[2] The rules measure duty time NOT alertness or attentiveness (technology exists to do so).
[3] The rules assume drivers rest and rest well when off duty. Obviously – not always.
[4] The rules only target fatigue due to lack of rest, not illness, medication, allergies, food coma…
[5] FMCSA’s own measures place truck driver fatigue as a minority cause. FMCSA ignores many crash factors such as traffic density, highway design, weather, actions by cars – where FMCSA’s studies show the majority of fault lies.
[6] FMCSA grants exemptions to their own rules indicating their lack of conviction regarding their own regulations.
Doctors and nurses aren’t asked to follow these rules and routinely don’t. One would think attentiveness and alertness would be even more critical for them and the consequences even more dire. Why focus on just truck drivers? Why not all drivers? Why not all industries?
FMCSA and the public needs to stop vilifying trucking and start thinking rationally.
Jason Fredrick says
No, fines are not the solution. This outdated idea of paying drivers for each mile or a percentage of freight revenue is what needs to go. Hourly pay would erase any desire for a driver to cut corners or even break the speed limit. Have you ever got stuck behind a construction worker……..
Charlie says
Why was he not supposed to be driving?
trucker miked says
This accident is, how ever tragic proof that EOBR is unsafe. EOBR’s allow a company to force a driver to drive. He was legal to drive, but shouldn’t have been driving, if the company was unaware of his hours available he could have rested then proceeded to drive ounce he was able to. I see this every day big company trucks in the ditch turned over, but they were legal to drive according to there qualcom! It doesn’t matter that they have been up all day waiting for a load. I also see these guys racing that clock counting down. Regulations don’t make trucks safer common sense does. If your to tired shut it down. There’s no load that’s worth a life.
Marsh says
Are you nuts? How do they “force” you to drive? I use these things, both front and and back end and you cannot cheat. Unlike all the Billy Bobs out there running paper logs. WalMart is very strict. and really, if you say that you are “tired” the dispatcher has to make you take a break. I love how people who don’t know anything about what they’re talking about blather on. EOBR’s are here and will continue to be — mainly because of drivers running over hours and causing accidents. Whenever i hear someone cry about an EOBR, it’s because it “limits’ their hours and ability to make money.
As to “racing the clock to countdown” so. I see drivers racing to make miles because some shipper has held them for hours. When your time is up, it’s time to go to bed. Not sit int he truck stop playing videos and such crap. Drivers are our own worst enemies.
Charlie says
I agree “Drivers are our worst enemy”. You would probably be a General. Just because “Billy Bob ” runs paper logs doesn’t mean he runs illegal. I don’t want elogs because of added cost I don’t need. If a company want to run elogs then that’s there choice. Don’t force this on everybody. Elogs are not about safety anyway. Elogs are about money. Manufacturers ,retailers and certain other ” people ” know its a cash cow. I’ve been driving 28 years and I don’t need anyone to hold my hand. Drivers need to start sticking up for each other even though they don’t always agree. Yes, we are our own worst enemy.
Allen says
IT’s obvious you aren’t in the REAL world.
First of all you CAN cheat on electronic logs just like you do on paper logs.
Second, how many times in an inspection has the DOT officer actually looked at the electronic logs – most of the time as soon as they see you’re on electronic logs, that’s it for the inspection. Most of them won’t even look at the summary.
Third, the clueless bimbos that have crafted the HOS laws since 2004 have done nothing with their stupidity but create tired drivers. Then with a second dose of super stupidity in 2014 they’ve made the situation even worse.
Fourth, yes drivers are in a hurry to beat the clock. When was the last time you stopped to help a driver on the side of the road – you don’t have time – none of us do. Once the 14hr clock starts ticking the race is on. I agree there are reasons behind it and most of the time it’s beyond the driver’s control – customer and management apathy/stupidity, weather, accident, unrealistic expectations, lack of safe parking, etc.
Lastly, companies do push their drivers even with elogs. “Magically” hours appear on your log so you can make the commitments they have made. There needs to be a comprehensive solution to the problem. Management and the customers also need to be included in this solution. The government has NEVER been able to run simple programs and certainly has NO clue how to run a PROFITABLE business – it doesn’t have to. For decades it has dictated business practices through legislation.
In the 1980’s the business trend was the Japanese Management Model. One of the key practices was to get input on a process and how to best design it from the worker that actually has to do the job. When was the last time a lawmaker or the DOT sat down with a REAL, representative group of drivers and gave them the requirements and asked for REAL solutions that would meet the requirements? Even when lawmakers get input, when was the last time they actually used it? Their self serve/interest infested agenda dictates the final product.
Like everything else the government does, they have a one size fits all attitude yet out of the other side of the mouth they espouse “diversity”. The transportation environment is an example of “diversity” – workers and types of work.
Of course the libtards are going to try and use this as an excuse of not revising the HOS because they only look at it from one point of view. This could be an example of how poorly the new HOS addresses the issue, in fact it has made it worse, leaving the real problem unsolved – WHY are drivers tired?
Remember the laws and injustice system have NOTHING to do with right, wrong, truth, justice, or any other dribble the media portrays – it’s just a revenue generating system for the government and the laws are justification for what they do to extract the revenue. It also ensures job security for the lawmakers when they decide to retire and return to their law practice. Forget common sense in anything the government produces – its counterproductive to the goal of justifying extraction of revenues from the people/slaves.
Jeff L. says
This guy could have stayed up all of his 10 hrs doing who knows what. The hos had nothing to do with it, esp if you decide you dont want to sleep. And for all we know, he could have made up that excuse to avoid a more serious excuse that he was looking at his phone or something of that kind of distraction. But of course once again, our industry will go through the wringer because of one stupid driver.
Jakethebrake99 says
Walmart drivers are among the safest on the road. This is an unfortunate accident but we don’t know the facts about the whether or not the driver was legal at the time . The driver is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Let the facts be known before jumping to conclusions.
Dan says
As a commercial driver myself, it pains me to see stories like this. This is because everyone that reads it will automatically put all blame on the driver. In most HOS violation related accidents it is a driver for a large company such as this, this is because the companies don’t care about laws, they care about profits.
In this economy, having families to support, us drivers cannot afford to risk telling the company we drive for that we cannot take a load they assign us because we are fatigued. I was once fired from a job for doing so.
If lawmakers wish to decrease incidents such as this what they need to do is check for driver distractions first, if there is no obvious driver distraction ((s) he wasn’t texting, etc) then charge the driver’s dispatcher with being an accessory to vehicular manslaughter, or whatever charge the driver is being hit with. If the dispatchers are being put at risk, rather than safely hiding in an office, they will dispatch more safely.
Now, before I get bashed for this, keep in mind I mean this *only* in cases where the driver was in an HOS violation, not all truck accidents.
corey jackson says
My man, I agree with you 100%! It’s time these dispatchers, fleet managers, safety service leaders, or whatever they are called, be held responsible for forcing, intimidating, and threatening drivers into taking loads that they are not physically capable of doing safely. These little punk dispatchers, mostly college kids from what I’ve seen in the past, sit in their little comfy cubicles, punching away on a keyboard, playing with a driver’s livelihood. They tell you if you don’t take this 500 mile load that has only 7 hours to deliver and be on time, they will make your life hell. And what’s a man with a family, mortgage, car note, couple of loans,doctor bills,etc,to do? If he quits, it will take at least a month to make up lost revenue. It’s time we drivers quit allowing ourselves to be thrown under the bus.
trey says
How is this even possible. He cant live here in ga and then drive to Delaware to report to work. B/c if that is the case then it is Walmart fault along with the drivers. But that’s in my opinion highly impossible
King, W. says
It is at least a great lesson in what’s wrong with our legislative process: they take an example of one guy who is a derelict and then decide, “well, we better treat every Trucker in America like he or she is a derelict.”
We have a Congress and Senate that will punish all of us as if we were as lackadaisical as this Walmart Driver.
The hours of service regulations that we drivers are under are some of the most poorly thought out rules that I have ever known of. Isn’t it totally obvious that whoever came up with them has never driven a truck for a living?!
kevin says
now if you are a driver we all no that walmart has e logs on board so he did not drive pass his hos rule.why dont the news print that instead of bashing the trucking company
Jim.E says
Let’s hope all the “facts” are gathered before our HOS rules are put through the wringer by Congress or anyone else.
Robert Druse says
I have never understood why so many consider it a “badge of honor” of some kind when depriving themselves of sleep, and I don’t mean only truck drivers (although it is no secret that MANY drivers do)- Yes, I know it’s “trendy” and “cool” to get others to believe we have such busy social lives that we simply get no time for adequate rest but most of us who are above average intellect know that those who claim this don’t really mean it, they are simply want status approval of some kind.
Like anyone else, when I get a full night’s rest, there is such a HUGE difference in my attitude, mood, and overall production then when I do not. This is the same for most folks even though they will say otherwise.
When I began driving for Swift a few years ago I was not looking forward to the electronic log system as it will not allow us to “cheat” any longer. But at the same time it did not allow the company to abuse us and force us to run illegal (USX did that a LOT). I know by now, most major carriers all use e-logs now but with my two prior carriers, US Xpress and CR England, we still used paper logs when I drove for them.
So if we just emptied a load and another one was available before our mandatory 10 hour break was up, we would “fudge” our logs in order to keep moving, sometimes not sleeping for 24 hours straight; This was kind of nice ONCE IN AWHILE especially if we were on a slow period or low freight area and there was time later on to make up for the lack of sleep. But this is no longer possible, of course.
We had a good working relationship with Wal Mart and this saddens me not only because people were injured and one killed, but from what I saw, Wal Mart drivers were some of the best and most courteous drivers on the road.
Regardless of his reason, this driver chose to stay awake for over 24 hours and then drive- It is HIS fault, not the company’s. This should also be a lesson to all the dopes who try to act like Superman- The body (yes, even you, “tuff dood goofballs”) needs rest, just like it needs food, etc!
Robert Druse says
My REPLY is actually an edit to my own post as I don’t see an EDIT button; I just wanted to add that IT WAS MY OWN OPINION that Walmart drivers are good and considerate; I am NOT speaking for everyone, so if you do not agree, I understand and respect that. But you trolls (I know some of you are here) that have nothing to contribute, spare yourselves the trouble of arguing with me; I am not interested in hearing from you…
Bob Reynolds says
It is the drivers responsibility to make sure he or she is in compliance. Looking ahead at least 1/4 mile on the highway and at least 1 city block in the city is a must. If the drivers get fatigued then shut it down and rest. As you are always told no freight hauled is worth hurting yourself or someone else. CSA is what it is compliance, safety, and accountability. No need to punish everyone for someone else poor decision making. The driver is the Captain of his ship.
Crazy Truck Drivet says
First of all, Walmart is a far better company to drive for than some may think. Yes, you will use your 70 hrs, who doesn’t in this business? Next, wrecks happen. You can’t be forced to sleep, sometimes you just can’t. That’s when you have to know and face your limitations, consider all that’s involved and make a decision. I’ve driven when tired, anyone who says they never have is a liar.
As for the hours of service, it’s entirely possible they contributed to this mess. Many times I’ve had to be on the road during rush hour due to the 14 hour rule. Before that I could take a break, let the road clear, take a nap and keep going. I can’t do that now. If people would have the back bone to be blunt and honest the changes made originally actually make it more likely to be driving beyond your limits, not less likely.
Rather than criticize the driver and his employer you best remember the saying “before the grace of God go I” because the longer you drive the more likely it will be you one day. Get off your high horse, get your head out of your butt, and remember that. Don’t say it will never happen because it’s only a matter of time. Somewhere, somehow, it will be you or someone you know. Mark my words, it will happen. In nearly 25 years I’ve been fortunate, but I know good drivers who weren’t.
jack says
the government just cant wait till they get rid of all the old truckers and make places for the soldiers coming out of service ALREADY being trained to drive trucks.They also want to get the black boxes into your truck so they can screw you how ever they want to.Its basically like the govt thinks they can be in charge of a womans WOMB.They mandate abortion so much and have such a handle on it bacause half the abortions are from their screwing around.Makes you think this is another created crisis to force in the black boxes in trucks,like the so called school shooting and the pressure cooker bomber, so they can ban guns.Never let a good man made crisis go to waste..WHen are americans going to stop following the path of giving up freedom for security?
Pedant says
Tinfoil-hat much?
Butch says
Exactly what I was thinking Pedant.
Perry Martin says
I too want to get rid of old truckers who don’t want to follow law . If you can’t make a living run I g legal find another job don’t let your greed risk my or my families life. A legal trucker
mjm says
Perry..you are ignorant ! I have more miles backing than you have forward! lets just think here..There are so many steering wheel holders out here,4 to 6 weeks with a trainer who doesn’t have much more experience… lets put them in a automatic truck,because they cant drive a real truck…no winter,or mountain experience…cant even change a light….safe?/….not…… Us “OLD” truckers as you say..do our job with pride,and professionalism…just look at the equipment..US Express ,England,Swift,Prime, ect…all the damage you see on all those new trucks,bumpers ,fenders,ect…my truck was bought new in 06,not a scratch or dent..never failed dot inspection in my 28 years ever,even Ca level 1″s…theses new drivers have destroyed a once proud industryy
Marsh says
Yep, I get tired of these guys who make my profession look bad. The old breed who think any kind of control is doom. That it’s okay to speed or run on someone’s bumper. All drivers nee dot be paid BY THE HOUR and with overtime. Shippers need to pay THE DRIVER $50. an hour detention pay after 30 mins. But, all the billies will cry at this.
Marsh says
Me too. Them thar black boxes go along with the black helicopters.
Malinda says
As the owner of a Motor Carrier Company, this is sad for the victims and their families involved and the industry. Within a three month period my safety score went from a 49 to 95 with 3 drivers receiving violations for driving over the 11 hour rule. Most were log book mistakes, and all were because they didn’t mark their 30 minute break before 8 hour rule but had one of my drivers been involved in an accident during these times I would be facing a lawsuit now. l I have never push my drivers to drive over over their hours but once they leave you never know exactly what they are doing. If each one of these drivers has only received this violation once, it really doesn’t effect them but for me it has almost shut me down. My insurance renews in August, not even sure I can get a company to cover me because of this. As a company owner I offer incentives, monthly meetings with my drivers, consistently checking on them. I preach if you can not make your pick up or delivery appointments let me know I can reschedule. I have been in business 9 years and have never gone through the scrutiny that I’ve gone through in last 12 months. Drunk drivers kill more people than truck drivers do at any given time. It doesn’t make national news unless a celebrity is involved.
Roy D. aka, slipprey when wet says
Why is Walmart hiring drivers from Ga.to work in Delaware. Thseasoned drivers home and pay the rookies no sense?and this is not the only time this has happened. P.S.look into all Walmart terminal logs and theD.O.T will see theydo it for profit, pay the new driver less money and send the seasoned driver home, ie save money.
Leroy says
Absolutely false ASSUMPTION, there is no financial impetus to bring a driver from Ga. to work in De. The facilities there have had a hard time finding people who are qualified AND willing to work the schedule required,its just a fact many of the most qualified drivers in that area find jobs to be home every night,it is their right ,but you wont walk in the door at Wal-Mart and think you can dictate not being gone more than one night or not working weekends when there are employees who have been with the company 20 plus years that work some of those same schedules.The difference in earning potential for a “new” guy isn’t substantially less and working weekends gets bonus pay so no they don’t save money sending guys home.
Charlie says
As far as I see it. He had an accident. Nobody has shown proof he was awake for 24 hrs before driving. It doesn’t matter anyway. I can get in my personal vehicle and drive as far and as long as I want to and the law does not care. I figured all you perfect drivers would throw rocks at this guy because truck drivers today won’t stand together for anything. Google the AR log truck that wrecked on an under construction bridge just a few days before the Walmart wreck. Killed 2 injured 19 workers on the bridge. Probably didn’t hear about that constantly in the news !! The only reason this wreck is so prominent is because the people involved are known. ( I won’t say famous because I’ve never seen Tracy Morgan other than his face. If you say you haven’t driven sleepy you’re a liar. Yeah I said it. A liar. I’m sick of the the government treating us like 3 year olds and everybody just goes along with it. You better learn to stand up and fight for yourself and your kind.
trey says
Charlie think about it in a car how many hrs would u use from Georgia to Delaware over 15hrs of driving there was no way he OK to drive at all. That load should have been gone already. But the his has no berring here at all. Here is the bottom line as I see it. If he really drove from ga to Delaware he should not be behind the wheel of a semi until after a 10 or he should have come back a day before. Damn this is the drivers fault 100%.
Charlie says
Trey, he was Off Duty. The FMCSA and the cares nothing about how far or how long you drive your personal vehicle. I agree with you to a point, but the government makes up rules and charges to fit the situation at the time and that’s not right. If they put rules on personal vehicles about driving times and miles then I’d say you had an argument. I’ll stop right here.
Kevin says
Sadly if famous people were not involved this would have been local news at best. I’m sorry for the lives hurt and lost though this accident but their lives aren’t worth any more or less than your life or mine. They just happened to have a bigger bank account.
monica says
What does it matter it was a Wal-Mart truck or any other type of vehicle. I had a hit and run,I was so close to death…have no ideea who was the driver that hit me,nor he was under the influence of drugs ,alcohol or how many hours he slept that day. Who is gonna stop all the idiots that are driving in New York every day like lunatics? Almost no one should drive,everyone is on the phone ,texting or doing something else beside watching the road. I also think that sleep hours had nothing to do with the accident, they must have some devices onboard that records those hours. Anyway I respect a truck driver more than a stupid jerk that drives fast to get to the night club and has no time frame. I am sure if he didn’t sleep it was that he had to be somewhere on time
frankie says
Isn’t Walmart E-logs?? And if yes, wouldn’t the entire story be on those logs?? Even if he was driving for 24, how in the world did Walmart not see that rig moving on there tracker board?? Just saying??
Phil B says
FINALLY!!! SOMEBODY in the Federal government is growing a brain!!!
Gr8whtshark says
Hey guys lets keep in mind these are the same media sources that said Malasia flight 370 was in the ocean and nearly found about 60 times. Don’t let what you don’t know get in the way of a story that bleeds. 😉
steelfirex says
All, I mean all WalMart trucks run e-logs.
tired of stupid drivers talking bs…
Scott says
it is to bad in what happened lives lost and people hurt. Now with being said. the law says you have to take a 10 hr break it doesn’t say you have to sleep and I’am sure walmart
has elogs so in my simple mind the driver didn’t break any laws and shouldn’t be in jail
. It was fmcsa that changed hos rules in making us drive 11hrs straight by taking split sleeper birth from us. something like this could have been prevented if this driver was able to stop and take a nap and not be penalize for. that’s my openion and Iam sticking to it!!!!!!!!
Steve Bell says
If only drivers would demand to work reasonable hours and not be exploited this wouldn’t even be an issue….But there is an endless line of drivers willing to be exploited and they are willin to work and not get payed …
Just as long as there is a guy willing to take your place and work more for less….You will be replaced….
Keep on pushing for NO REGULATIONS….And Refuse to ever stick together or Uniionize….Sure you can blame me and Obama for this too if you want too…Trucking is a worse job now than it was 20 years ago..
If you keep giving it away..they will keep on takeing it…..
Tim says
The key fact in this case that few if anybody at the FMCSA or the trucking industry will acknowledge, is that the time of day when the accident occurred was 0100. We do not live on a planet like Mercury that always has one side facing the sun (one rotation per year). We live on Earth, which completes a full rotation every 24 hours. On Mercury all times of day are created equal; on Earth they’re not.
Anthony says
Well this is my two cents and no offense intended but I’ve driven my rig through these heavy metro areas as most of you drivers have. And as most of you I was not there at the time of the accident, but as I’ve seen in the past most people see an accident and the first thing the do is jump in front of a truck taking up a drivers stopping distance. Plus as I’ve seen most of our sleep periods are not regular one day we are driving at night the next we drive during the day we get out of a sleep pattern and that makes it difficult to sleep period.
Gerald says
You hit it on. First thing people want to do is “blame the truck driver.” I’m in my first year and it amazes me how many idiots play Russian roulette with the trucks. Squeezing into one more spot ahead isn’t going to get them there faster, unless they really in a rush to die.
Mike B. says
For the most part the pay sucks and if you don’t keep going every second you can, you are going to have a crummy pay check only to keep grinding away hoping the check the following week will be over minimum wage for the 80 hours you busted your butt.
Max says
When you state “some news sources predict…” What news sources is the author referring to? I was under the impression that this article was written by a reputable journalist and not an amateur blogger. By interjecting such statements only turns this article into mere opinion.
Samuel Barradas says
Amateur blogger doing the best I can to summarize the weekly news. The news sources being referenced are listed at the bottom of every article.
Stephen strange. says
I’m tired drivers. I’m tired. We all want to complain gripe and moan but no one wants to do anything about it. Our regulators and all involved in making our laws are not doing so for us. They are only trying to make up bs so that they can keep there current jobs and fatten there pockets. While no one of them have spent more than 5 mins behind the wheel of a big rig. Ooida isn’t out for us or to help us. Nor is the fmcsa and ata and the federal dot. They all walk hand in hand. And until we make a stand as one nothing will change. It’s time drivers. It is past time to put our foot down and say enough is enough!!! Since no one else cares to step up to the plate nothing will ever change. Maybe now is the time to put your fears behind you and come together as a brotherhood of the road as were supposed to be. And I’m willing to do this are you?? I’m tired drivers. So sick and tired!!!!
I as a fellow driver and a brother of the brotherhood of driving. Will be at court with said walmart driver to tell the judge and the prosecuter they can go to hell in a hand basket if they think they can charge him with this without charging the rest of us with the same. Rather I was behind the wheel or not. As I said above I’m tired of the crap the government try’s to pull on us and I will be there to stand my ground along with the driver who had the accident. As a brother of the brotherhood I request more like minded individuals to lose your fear and grow a back bone and to stand with me. And once this issue is taken care of I will also be in front of our senate and house speaking out about there new hos and eobr bs. It’s time drivers just like when they tried to pass the double nickle that we stand our ground!!! Since the new regulations I have seen more accidents and death on the road involving big rigs than I have in my 15 years of driving. We need to make a stand as one put a stop to it. Get rid of ann ferro and get a driver into that office. Or at least make them run any new regulations thru a qualified driver who keeps his eyes and ears to the road and sees what’s really going on. Call this what you will. But I’m going for a fight and I’m going with the intent to win said fight!! Who’s man enough to join me??
Bill says
I am a disabled truck driver from am accident 2 years ago. My accident was different in that I was at fault. And I followed hos from that time frame. I do keep up with current news and trucking issues. If all of these major trucking company’s really cared about thier drivers they wouldn’t pressure drivers on time constraints and drivers wouldn’t need to push thier limits so hard. Most of us are forced to work 80-90 hrs a week. Who else does that?? Then you have all these people in high office that have never sat in a truck let alone drive one long haul. It is a truly thankless job. And I guarantee that driver not only lost his job but will probably go to jail even if he was in compliance with hos. And I bet his company will turn Thier back on him. I would bet they didn’t even help him get home like my company did. I am well aware how important delivery times are but there always other trucks to finish a run if needed. We all feel like we need to go go go to make as many deliveries as possible because of all the pressure we are forced to deal with so we push the limits. Myself I believe the people that make these laws should have at least 1 year of over the road experience before they can make laws to govern this industry. How can you make a law about anything if you havnt experienced the life you are trying to make safe. Good luck to that driver. This is one of the jobs that you can go to jail for doing your job, rather than getting written up or warned. Everyone is capable of making mistakes EVERYONE!!! This includes these collage informed law makers. Let’s not ruin someone’s life because he was pushed to his or her limits.
Marsh says
I love the usual idiots crying about EOBR’s and “Gubment Regalation”… Guess what? The industry needed (and still does) regulation. Taking away the split sleeper berth was a bad idea. But EOBR’s ar enot. They keep drivers from cheating and companies from forcing them to cheat — that is, if the company enforces it. WalMart, by all reports is a straight up company, as far as their transportation part of the company is concerned. They follow the rules and pay well. Not all companies can say that.
All you old school super truckers need to realize, it AIN’T going back the way it was. Deal with it, and no Billy-Bob, you probably have NOT driven more miles in reverse than I have driven forward. I have been doing this for 29 years. Things change and improvements happen. IF drivers would not let themselves be abused and stand together and do things right, we’d be okay, but guys that won’t allow the shippers and the bad companies to continue.
al Andrews 3 million miles says
The only good comment you said,it was a bad idea to take away the split sleeper berth.Name calling is disrespectful.
Vernita says
What does that driver have to do with the 34 hour reset. If everyone was on e-logs no one could drive over the 11hours rule. Common sense that’s what we need in government not this crap. The 34 restart is forcing me to go to local driving only. Since the new his rules we have tripled the trucks on the road. How stupid can they be. I’m done time to go home.
Blue007 says
Aren’t wallmart drivers on e-logs anyway? Just goes to show you no matter what jackass government does nothing is perfect!
Manuel Perez says
How often do you see Walmart trucks get into accidents never not like some of these other companies.
Lionheart44 says
Have driven a truck for 20 years. The problem with HOS rules and regulations is that you have a dumb broad that has never drove a truck before in her life running things. Until they actually get a person with experience that has drove we will continue to see stricter regulations. WalMart is one of the most strictest companies to get hired onto. Your driving record has to be clean for 10 years before they even look at you. Know this because I have tried to get on with them. WalMart is not well liked in the northeast. Never has been. Any state up there will try everything they can to discredit them as well as in the media. Its dumb political corruptness at its finest. A huge company located in a republican state and they will throw everything at them. We shall see who was really at fault when the evidence is presented.
justin says
Law suit bigtime get walmart good tracy they got alot of money
brian d. says
This could happen to any truck driver…log legal or not….and the burden of proof is on the
driver (can you really prove one way or another?)..add to the mess a popular black celebrity
and the popular court wants punishment for the “crime”. Meanwhile you are taking this giant risk
for peanuts pay. I’m “retired” now but consider myself extremely lucky to get thru 25 years
without an incident like this. Hope this guy gets a good lawyer and no jail time at least.
HLeeming says
I see how e- logs are helping to save lives. What’s the statistics on trucking accidents in the 70s and 1980so compared to now since all these rules and regulations have been put into place.
Charlie says
Good Lord Hleeming. How much better do you think the roads are now compared to the 70’s and 80’s. Most roads are 4 lane.
Jack. says
and just think if there wasn’t a celebrity in a vehicle that he hit we never would’ve heard anything about this accident.
JLB says
I wonder how many other truck accident fatalities occurred since this Walmart accident it seems like the truck related accidents have increased since the HOS rule changed, I’m sure we all agree that CSA AND THE FMCSA IS A MESS! And unfortunately al of us drivers are stuck in the middle of all this mess !!
Robin says
actually, this is perfect proof of why the hours of service needs to go back to the pre-July regulations.
Barbara says
My prayers go out to all the families, who were affected by this terrible accident. I am a OTR driver, and know the dangers that could happen at any moment. I have witnessed hundreds of Walmart drivers over my 15 years on the road, and can honestly say they are polite, and generally yield to other drivers. I know that they slow down and let others pass them even when it impedes their duties to arrive to their delivery points. I have used electronic logs, as does Walmart drivers, and they can NOT be altered. The accident is what it is, an accident. Please do not condemn the Walmart driver, as all of us make mistakes.
HaveDriven says
Don’t wish anyone ill, he could be within HOS; he’s within the 14hr workday and 11hr drive time. Why was he awake the previous 10hrs? I know there’s a private life, but you need to prepare for that 14hr shift!! Something happened to push the envelope?? Maybe dispatchers, supervisors, and managers need to be held accountable for want drivers do. They benefit from driver success; but there needs to be excess penalty on the downsize!!
Bruce says
While this event is very tragic, May God comfort the families affected, we have no reason to believe in a preliminary report by law enforcement that states that the driver had been deprived of sleep for 24 hours. WalMart runs a “safe ship”. Accidents happen and sometimes trucks are involved. Judgment should wait until all the facts have presented. . . Only then will we.know the truth and decide who is liable.
Douglas Jones says
Yes Bruce, you are so right. I hate it when people jump to conclusions and sayso many hurtful things when they don’t understand or know the facts.
mike says
no matter what the out come this driver is going to be hung out to dry.I feel sorry for himbecause the media is looking for a scapegoat and they got one.
Douglas Jones says
You are right Mike, most of the drivers I know try and do the right thing and blame will always fall to the bottom.
Douglas Jones says
I’m also and professional driver with a company that has electronic logs. I may not like some of Walmart tactics or how they treat their employees but I can say that their drivers are treated very well and very well taken care of and the pay is pretty good from what I know and there is always a waiting list to try to get in and it’s hard to get a job driving for Walmart.
You are by your electronic Logbook legal to drive and I must say I have not stayed up 24 hours and started driving but I have been up an end up leaving later in the day instead of leaving in the morning when I first woke up. Not knowing the specific circumstances, but I can say that we may at times not get our proper sleep and I have started back to work tired but I will stop and take a break when I know that I’m not able to drive and be fully alert.
On rare occasions I have been told that I can drive because my logbook say that I’m legal but I’ve told my company that I’m tired. We are told that we are in charge no matter what anyone else has said but there’s so much pressure sometimes when you are pressured into moving. I myself would not and hope that this driver wasn’t up over 24 hours and trying to drive.
This is not a time to take cheap shots at Walmart or the driver and I pray for the families that have lost loved ones and pray for those injured to recover fast. It’s rough and tough as a driver but we have to do our part to be safe. I’m sure there will be an investigation to determine what happen but we shouldn’t be so quick to judge.
Rob says
Walmart has one of the best safety records out there and the strictest hiring practices in the industry, they’ve run electronic logs for a decade and they are virtually impossible to fake, the truck will shut down when the time is up, there is no way he could have been driving 24 hrs straight. Until all the evidence is in, it is best to keep quiet.
trucker miked says
I was just pointing out that having EOBR will not keep a truck safer on the road no matter how many regulations they put on us there will always be owner operators. I understand that if you keep regulating us a lot of us will fall by the wayside. But you will never have an industry wide union! That’s what makes America great “capitalism” at least for now. The railroad union was behind the initial hos regulations, they had nothing to do with safety and still don’t, why would they let all the propane drivers drive this winter and violate them pulling a giant bomb, if they where sooooo imperative to safety. ,only the driver can affect safety.
John Burleson says
This whole thing stinks. I think the only thing my driver brother Tracy didn’t do is remember the cardinal rule of truck drivers: four-wheelers are operated by idiots and commercial four-wheelers are operated by absolute idiots. Where’s the video every toll booth in America shoots? Where’s Tracy’s actual log book where every trucker in America can see he’s guilty of nothing more than an errant pencil mark? We won’t see them because they exonerate the driver. The video WILL SHOW the limo cutting in front of Tracy’s truck. The log book will show he went to sleep in Charlotte, or somewhere, and then got up in Denver BECAUSE HE DIDN’T KEEP THE LOG UP TO DATE. We’ve all seen drivers filling out logs by receipt (here’s a McDonald receipt from Atlanta…must have been in Georgia Tuesday). I’ve done it myself–show me a driver that claims to have never backtracked and I’ll show you a driver who never gets away from the Flyin’ J coffee counter.
There’s always somebody yelling to shut ’em down, and this is as good an excuse as any for all of us to act stupid. But remember Mr. Morgan. If they can railroad him, they can railroad anybody.
/s/ John Burleson
Jim says
First of all, the media loves to take isolated incidents and blow them out of proportion. They have taken this accident and amplified it so it looks like this is happening everywhere every day. Then you pair that with the government’s reactionary method of legislating and you have a manufactured “crisis”. It’s just like with the gun control push that we have seen in recent months. The media wants to vilify certain people and certain industries, so it creates these “mass tragedies” in order to get their agenda pushed through. I have watched with disgust how the media has worked hard to gin up public outrage against the trucking industry by using this one incident. It looks to me like the driver has been declared “Guilty Until Proven Otherwise” and the entire industry has been indicted based solely upon that. They had better be careful what they wish for, because once the trucks have been regulated away there will be severe shortages of everything from groceries to gas and all in between.
Ray says
If the guy was awake for more than 24 hours he was breaking the rules. If somebody breaks the rules what difference does it make what the rule are? As tragic as this is it should not effect HOS.
Linda Sexton says
I haven’t heard if the Walmart truck hit the limo from behind or the side. It is very possible that the limo was in the blindspot on the drivers right just as the Walmart driver had to make a quick decision to swerve to the right to miss a vehicle in front of him who had slammed on brakes. A very real possibility that no one has mentioned.
Taylor says
I guess we seem to be overlooking the fact that the new rules in effect since last July, did not and could not stop this accident. So more regs will do what exactly???
Northstar says
PLEASE…Enough already…Logs have and will forever ..Electronic or other be nothing more than a pile of nonsense.. Right now there are probably 20 thousand drivers ,sleeper birth, in some casino ..another 50 thousand, sleeper births, eating and playing video games at some idiot truck stop another 10 thousand watching tv, porn on the computer or laying in their bed like some bunk rat . All of which in so many hours will regain their “RIGHT” to head down the road…What a joke …. What the driver of trucking today has to realize is that you are not …COMPENSATED… for following the “LAWS”. Or the personal financial RISK you are taking because of said “LAWS”.. Compensation today to follow such “LAWS” the driver would have to (1) be paid from the time you checked out of the terminal or started work then (2) paid PER MILE . So the personal RISK of the entire job and WORK performed would probably average 3 to 4 thousand a week take home..But people are happy to take scraps and drive and sit for nothing.. and live like a rat …
chance says
This only said awake for 24, nobody ever said on duty. This could of been his first day back after home time. Elogs don’t track how you spent your time off or if you slept. Very easy to be legal on logs and not have slept in the last 24.
Timothy W Lucas says
The Department of Transportation does not need to manufacture results to create reasons to regulate this industry as they have. We now have a legitimate reason with this accident to make this industry jump through all the hoops necessary so that no one can be declared productive. We now have that decidedly bad apple no matter what his excuses are and we will never laugh again or drive over 40 hours. This is where it’s headed and no accident no matter how innocent it may be can be acceptable. No matter how stupid the other guy is we must apply for the right by paper to have that accident rendering insurance useless. This is no more twisted than this government of endless decree’s. The government of continued hoops and endless regulations of no particular use. After 40 years of service nearing my end and career I wish to be buried face down with inspection available. After 5 million miles accident free I think that’s one entitlement that I’m actually entitled to. No one starts their day off with “I think I’ll hit a comedian in the ass today”. Individual responsibility is required no matter how you wish to twist and shout against the entire industry. If we applied your scenario to politicians we could jail all of you for theft of a baby’s sucker because we know your going to steal it. It’s just a matter of time.
danny price says
I have pulled for Wal-Mart and there is no way this driver was behind the wheel for24 hours. He might have been awake that long but wasn’t driving. At every stop Wal-Mart hasa driver to check in with their available hours
Flower child says
This nor any other law has to do with reality in trucking. FEAR FEAR FEAR…..this is what motivates our government! Nothing more!!!!
Auctioneer says
I have never driven for Walmart, but I have looked at their driver application and qualifications, they are quite stringent. I am very sorry for the family of the person that was fatally injured and for the others that were injured. I will not judge the Walmart driver, I simply do not have the facts. However, if he had been awake for 24 hours then he, as a Professional, should have never gotten in the truck seat. Whenever a driver is excessively tired or has not had enough proper rest (regardless of the reason) he has to make the “call” to decide to be safe and not drive. (just my 2 cents worth.)
With that said, I am concerned with what the FMCSA and NJ law enforcement will do. We surely need the HOS rules of 2013 reversed and this type of accident does not help the trucking industry at all.
Auctioneer
OONIDA Life Member
Dorrine says
Just because the logs say your in sleeper birth doesnt mean your asleep. Or even in the sleeper birth when your eating or showering. Company’s want you ready when its time at the end of time of being parked.
Rick says
I drive for Tyson Foods and we have driver support trainers. They are the ONLY ones in the entire company that are allowed to edit logs. Not dispatchers, not fleet managers, he’ll not even Tyson himself can edit my log. And the Driver Support guys do NOT just go about changing logs to “magically” make more hours appear. They know they would complicit should an accident occur with one of their drivers and they changed the log. None of is wants to have an accident. But should it happen none of is surely wants to injure/kill another because we are in violation of HOS rules.
I know that at Tyson when your time is up your time is up. There is no special window or no extra hours. When you do your 14 you stop. End of story.
As for elogs. So many say they make the industry less safe and they are all about money. How’s that? 14 hours on am elog is exactly like 14 hours on paper. It’s not like time stops on a paper log. Elogs just make life easier. I don’t have to worry about when to take a break. My elog tells me. And I don’t have to worry about messing up a split break. It’s right there for me to see.
Working for Tyson is my first foray I to elogs and I am happy to have it. So much less work to do!!
August Gilbert says
That’s the problem. We are set up to do just 14 hours a day with a half hour break in there somewhere. When the old style hours were being used, if we got a little tired we would stop and take sometimes a two hour break and then continue on. The way it is now, you have to keep pushing on so you do not run out your 14 for the day. That 168 hour rule between resets is another thing causing problems, the driver keeps pushing it because next time out ,he may not have the reset and will have to run on recap, and that is usual short times due to time sitting waiting at shippers and receivers (time lost on the 14 that you do not get back.)I think they should set it up so that if you needed to take a short break, you would have to put it in bunk status and stop your clock so it would not burn up what little time we have for the day.
Ray says
I agree, but seriously, how many drivers stay on duty not driving status at the shipper’s?
Jim foster says
I’ve missed something here how did this guy drive to Delaware from Georgia to report for work does anyone know does he live in GA or was he on vacation this is an adult if he decided to work after being awake that long he’s the one to answere for it not walmart he didn’t violate HOS regs at all but he did violate common sense if that’s what happened
Ray says
If it turns out to be true that this guy was awake for 24 hours then he was breaking the rules. The lawmakers need to understand that if somebody breaks the rules it doesn’t matter what the rules say. I hope this is not used as an excuse to undo the new HOS revisions. My heart and prayers go out to all of the people involved.
Stephen Gibbons says
A driver of a ELog equipped CMV can be 100% DOT legal and still have no sleep. To put this statement in laymans terms it doesn’t matter if you have elogs the driver still has to be disciplined enough to go to bed. He or she can easily push the button on the computer and then go hang out in the truck stop all night and drink coffee. The government has succeded in their plan, they want the general public to think “Oh they put computer logs on trucks, they have fixed this” when in essence they as well as the drivers know just how manipulable the system still is. I sincerely doubt this will affect current HOS regs. Just another careless driver making a fatal mistake.
Larry says
Why is he more important than anyone else? I guess people on TV are better than the average Joe.
dave says
This is sad for all those involved. What shows its pure fuel for political reasons is no one heard of the 9mo pregnant woman with two young kids in the car getting hit by a Wal-Mart days before this accident in Connecticut. The car got crushed against a Jersey wall. Either way before talking garbage about trucks n etc. Take a ride or drive in the northeast and see how it looks from our perspective. The highways were designed n commissioned for military n transportation not cars. These highways are our workplace. Treat our workplace like you want your workplace treated.
Will b says
Walmart corporation needs to lose its rights to haul freight for numerous reason not just because of a famous person getting injured. Walmart drivers are reckless,dangerous and they have no manners to others on the road. My final statement is do not punish the rest of us drivers out there because of one non trucking company. Remove Walmart rights as interstate commerce .
me says
good luck there. walmart is pretty much done with the trucking side of the company. the fleet they have left only delivers to the stores from the dc and return empties to the dc…. everything else is brought in by contractors. and for you to sit and call Wal-Mart drivers reckless. is just flat out stupid of you. and you should really be keeping your mouth shut will. it is unheard of, to hear or see a walmart truck cause a wreck where lives are lost….
Charles says
Your argument is 100% invalided. Sure there are a couple bad apples but I bet 98% of there drivers are some of the safest, most courteous and respected drivers out there. Do show some evidence that supports your ridiculous and untrue accusations.
Charles says
So my question to the morons in Washington who obviously have no f**king clue about the laws they create, what does the HOS paper or e-log, old rules or new have anything to do with this guy choosing not to sleep but rather goof off doing what ever it was that was keeping him occupied and up all night?NOT A DAMN THING! So now what is the new babysitter gonna be to make sure we go to sleep on our break? One bad apple screwing it up for the bunch. In which case it sounds like this guy needs his ass stomped real good then sent to prison (which he will) and let him live with that fact. But yet it’s rather funny how this story is blown up before of a couple Hollywood stars but yet the others get passed off as if they are no one. Anyone who can’t stop and take into respect of other people and kids who are killed in car accidents on a daily basis even if their fault or not are purely a self centered, arrogant, sorry excuse POS for a human being. So what really makes this story so special over others? Dumb ass’ who choose to do so.
ted says
I agree with you driver about the babysitting. There are many problems in our industry and it is the truth that people who want to regulate the industry to the point of not just the industry shutting down but all of America as a country shutting down. I know that some folks scoffed at that statement but it is true, think about it for a moment. If an enemy is able to shut down a nation’s transportation system the nation will cease to exist, what more could Russia or China possibly wish than for our own government to shut down it’s ability to transport the countries daily goods. This particular Walmart driver lives in Georgia, he got in his car, drove to Delaware to get into his truck, picked up is load off of the yard and then started driving without sleeping there at the yard first. It was that reason that he was tired, it had little to do with his time behind the wheel of his truck. I know that there are many people in Hollywood and DC who would love to see American cease to exist and to raise the Black Flag over the White House but I pray that our nations major media outlets would at least try telling the truth about what is true and quit the lying before we as a nation have no nation.
Chris says
First! No one in there right mind drives for over 24 hours. I’m sure the state police found a paper log book that wasn’t filled out from the day before that was marked “driving” and went by that.
Second! You know how hard it is to find a parking spot in the North East after 5 p.m. They need to focus on FREE parking spots for trucks, not HOS.
carp says
Well it’s a shame what happened here but let me say this. I have been driving truck for over 30 years and when im not truckin I do a lot of traveling. Not to be a ass but i’d say 75 percent of you over the road guys drive like idiots. All ways 20 to 30 mph over the limit,on every ons ass if it’s raining you still drive like fools.If it’s snowing you drive like fools. I see it every day. I can’t believe they let a big rig go 70 mph. No way that is safe. Slow the hell down and maybe things like this wont happen so often. And it dose happen often believe me. Now lets try to be safer out there. Ya wright who am I kidding.
ted says
It would be nice if news anchors like Dianne Sawyer would either quit lying on the evening news programs about things like hours of service allowed. She put out these false numbers on national tv for people to ingest when she either lied or simply never bother to check if the numbers that she was given are correct, either way, she did not do her job and I have not seen anywhere that she recanted the false numbers she put out for her audience to see. She not just said, but put up on a large diagram which is used more when a person is trying to make a specific point numbers that were simply a lie, nothing short of it. If it was one of her producers who put out the lies then the producer who is supposed to check out the truthfulness of stories before they put them on the air as a lead story.
Anyone in the trucking industry knows that the diagram she put out about how much a driver can “drive” (70 hours per week) is a lie on several fronts.
A driver is allowed to “work” a total of 60 hours every seven days this total includes not just allowed driving time but includes all inspections, both by any law enforcement officers, these inspections must be marked as (on duty not driving” also, each and every time you do your daily inspections (usually 2 of them) you also have to mark in your logs as on duty not driving . The inspection times, all of your fueling time and all of the time you spend at a customers loading or unloading. For those who have no knowledge like Dianne Sawyer of what the truth is, 60 hours divided by 7 days = a little over 8 hours per day TOTAL time allowed to be working, driving and all other on duty times are included in the (60) hour work week. A little bit of truth from the national media would be nice instead of using their face time to lie to every person watching their program.
Sir Byrd says
Somebody is lying. I’ve pulled Walmart loads and their dispatch in Minneapolis/Saint Paul will not let you near a load until they have thoroughly verified a drivers duty status.
ladydi says
I agree with the comment that just because he was off for 10 hrs doesn’t mean he was able to sleep. The HOS prevents a company from sending a driver out b4 the 10 hr break is over, but most big companies pay no heed to sending a driver out and expecting 14 hrs of work out of him/her when/f they haven’t slept in those 10 hrs. Drivers can be dead tired and go to sleep as soon as they are finished 4 the day/nite, then be waiting for a trip assignment from their company for many hrs(unable 2 sleep cuz they woke up ready to go after 8-10 hrs) and then get sent out for another 14 hrs of work(including 10hrs of driving[consider that they might spend most of the “first” part of that shift on other required duties], and the companies will pressure them to put in the full 14hr shift! The bottom line is, a driver is sent out by a company when they are ready to go to sleep again after being up all day/nite, and then forced to drive up to another 10 hours! Some times the driver might be at a company terminal with their truck that they sleep in in the terminals company shop. Then, they figure that their truck will be back in time for them to get most of their sleep time, but it might be almost time for them to go back to start another 10hr shift b4 he/she gets the truck back. Sure, if he knew that he wasn’t going to have his place to sleep all nite, he might have opted tp sleep in a motel, but at his/her own expense and might have to pay a cabby as well to it and back, just to comply with company pressure to go when the HOS say he can!
Brian says
Let’s take a closer look at this – he was speeding. And he was nearing the limit of his HOS. Perhaps he was speeding BECAUSE he was getting close to his HOS limit. Perhaps the HOS needs to be RELAXED to take the pressure off of the drivers? I believe that the rigid 14 hour rule is the root cause of most of the HOS related safety issues. Stop allowing the government to tell a driver when he/she is too tired to drive, and let them make that decision for themselves.
JT says
WALMART Collision Avoidance Systems
Just a quick response about collision avoidance systems like the ones in all Wal-Mart trucks.
These systems are designed when the cruise control is set at a given speed. For example, if your set at 60 mph and you approach a vehicle traveling at a lesser speed that your truck, the system will sound an audible alarm alerting you of the eminent danger of a crash if you don’t slow down. If and ONLY IF your cruise control is set, if you DO NOT respond to the audible alarm the brakes will be applied electronically. Now…..if the cruise control IS SET and the driver has his foot on the floor OVERRIDING the cruise control, the audible ALARM will sound BUT….BUT…. the auto braking WILL NOT be applied. These systems as they are designed only work if the cruise is set and NO FOOT is applied to the accelerator……However, the audible alarm and also the brake system indicator on the dash will still show an AMBER color on the dial as you approach traffic in your lane.
The indicator on the dash changes color when you get too close to a vehicle in front of you from Green to Amber to Red. It also tells you how fast the vehicle in front of you is traveling and also the speed of that vehicle.
These systems are also equipped with anti-rollover control and anti skid control in advent of wet or icy weather. Go around a corner to fast and the trucks system will automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rollover. In case of ice or wet roads the system controls the skid electronically to keep you from having a jackknife. The most technically advanced braking system ever developed.
Make no mistake about it, if the technology is out there for a safer more advanced truck or trucking system, Wal-Mart trucks already have it.
Lynn says
If anyone paid attention to the press conference the driver gave then you would have learned he never told the police he hadn’t slept in 24 hours, and he actually just came off of home time, he said he doesn’t know where the officer came up with that statement, watch all the news if you want the facts not just stuff like this