The feds should force truck drivers to install black boxes to track hours driven, a top New York lawmaker said Sunday, citing the fatal crash like the one that almost killed comedian Tracy Morgan.
Sen. Charles Schumer urged the federal Department of Transportation to force commercial drivers to utilize electronic logging devices to more accurately track the number of hours they are on the road.
The black box became law in 2012, but the federal government has not forced drivers or companies to install them.
“Each year, thousands of people are hurt and even killed in truck crashes in part due to overworked and fatigued drivers who shouldn’t be on the road,” Schumer said.
There were 333,000 crashes involving large trucks, causing 3,921 fatalities and more than 104,000 injuries in 2012, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
On June 7, Morgan, 45, was badly hurt after a Walmart tractor-trailer driven by Kevin Roper rear-ended the comedians’ Mercedes limo. Another comic, James McNair, 62, was killed.
Prosecutors charged Roper went more than 24 hours without sleep before the fatal wreck. The Jonesboro, Ga., native denies it.
Truck drivers are limited to 70 hours behind the wheel each week, under federal law. But paper-based logbooks can easily be falsified, Schumer said.
With Reuven Blau
