On January 27, 2014, a truck being operated by a driver who had been on the job for likely 38 hours with only 3 1/2 hours sleep, struck three motor vehicles on I-88, killing a tollway worker and injuring an Illinois State Trooper. According to reports, the driver was likely exhausted after being on duty for 38 hours straight in direct violation of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FCMSA) Hours of Service regulations.
The FCMSA regulations require a driver to have 10 hours of sleep after 14 hours of driving which did not occur in this case. While officials have said the driver was not intoxicated at the time of the accident, lack of sleep was likely a factor in the crash. The driver of the truck has been charged with four felonies related to driving while fatigued and violation of his hours of service which resulted in severely injuring a trooper and killing a tollway worker who were responding to a disabled semi on I-88 when the crash occurred.
In response to this tragic accident, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin called for a federal investigation into the accident to determine if the driver or his employer, DND International, violated the hours of service rules set forth by the FMCSA. The hours of service rule was implemented, in part, to help protect the public on the road from fatigued drivers who are a danger not only to themselves but to everyone on the road. Every year, numerous accidents involving commercial motor vehicles are directly related to driver fatigue.