Despite an alarming amount of positive drug tests by commercial truck drivers, there is evidence that their illegal drug use is significantly underreported.
The dangers of commercial truck drivers using illegal drugs are obvious. A truck driver’s delayed reaction, impaired decision-making, or acute drowsiness can cause a fatal truck accident.
Commercial truck drivers are tested for alcohol and drug use. Previously, a failed drug test did not always threaten a truck driver’s job. That’s because there was no mechanism for sharing a failed truck driver drug test among ...
Technology can play a part in medical errors that harm patients. A top patient safety organization has identified this year’s top healthcare technology threats to patient safety.
Many serious medical errors are preventable, caused by a wrong action or a lack of action by healthcare providers. Healthcare provider actions or inactions that deviate from a standard level of care can be the subject of medical malpractice lawsuits.
ECRI is a non-profit organization that focuses on protecting patients from what it calls “unsafe and ineffective medical technologies and ...
Young commercial truck drivers – as young as 18 – driving across the nation may soon be a reality.
There is a commercial truck driver shortage. Even before COVID-19 the trucking industry was reporting a dire need for new truck drivers.
Responding to this truck industry concern, Congress passed the DRIVE-Safe Act, included in the federal infrastructure bill that was adopted in November 2021. It allows 18-year-olds to drive large commercial trucks across state lines.
18-Year-Old Interstate Commercial Truck Drivers
The new law mandates a two-year pilot program for young ...
A relatively new federal safety regulation to keep tired truck drivers off the road was found to be working in one respect, but not accomplishing its main goal: preventing commercial truck crashes.
Driving a commercial truck, especially long-haul trucking, can be exhausting. Long trips challenge the body and the mind.
Federal Hours of Service rules have existed for many years. Their objective is to make sure truckers get proper rest so they are mentally and physically sharp behind the wheel. Fatigued truck drivers have caused catastrophic accidents.
Truck Driver Hours of Service ...
Defective truck brakes can cause catastrophic commercial truck accidents. One organization recently documented just how prevalent this danger is on America’s roads.
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance annually conducts an event called “Brake Safety Week.” It identifies tractor-trailers and other commercial trucks with unsafe brakes. This year’s event was held August 22 through 28.
CVSA, a group of law enforcement and safety officials throughout North America, announced the 2021 Brake Safety Week results in October. Nearly 29,000 commercial trucks were ...
According to the latest report from the federal government, the number of fatal truck crashes is not slowing down.
In October the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the federal agency that regulates the nation’s commercial trucking industry, released a comprehensive review of accidents involving large commercial vehicles, including buses and trucks, for 2019 (“Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts 2019”). This is the most recent year that finalized crash data is available.
FMCSA defines large trucks as rigs with a gross weight of more than 10,000 pounds. A fully loaded ...
An organization focused on preventing serious diagnostic errors recently spelled out why they happen and how they can be avoided.
In October, MedPage Today, an online medical publication, reported on a presentation given at this year’s annual meeting of the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine. SIDM is a nonprofit organization that seeks to eliminate patient harm that comes from a misdiagnosis.
According to SIDM, misdiagnosis is the medical error that results in the most serious patient harm, with a third of medical malpractice lawsuits involving a patient’s death or ...
Motor vehicle crash deaths in the United States are at their highest this year since 2006. Fatal car accidents in St. Louis are such a growing concern that local police officials recently announced they are taking extra steps to stop dangerous drivers.
In October the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released its estimate of U.S. fatal car and truck crashes for the first six months of 2021. The projected number of deaths in motor vehicle accidents is 20,160, which is an 18% jump compared to the same period in 2020.
According to news reports, this nationwide year-to-year ...
How many St. Louis hospitals pass the grade for preventing serious medical errors that harm patients? One nationwide patient safety organization recently answered this question.
The Leapfrog Group is an independent, nonprofit organization focused on preventing medical errors made in hospitals, mainly through educational efforts. Its most ambitious effort is providing patient safety grades for U.S. hospitals twice a year; releasing one set of grades every spring and another every fall.
Leapfrog just released its Fall 2021 patient safety grades, which include nearly 30 St ...
While there’s been a spike in failed commercial truck driver drug tests, many of those drivers may still be on the road today.
In January 2020 the federal government established the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. This is the first nationwide effort to keep track of commercial truck drivers who fail a test for alcohol use or a test for illegal or illicit drug use.
Truck companies and truck fleet operators are required to check the database before hiring any new truck drivers. They must also annually check on their current drivers.
Truck drivers who fail drug or alcohol tests – ...
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