A piece of legislation that would substantially enhance the current network of truck stop facilities and rest areas for truck drivers, reducing the risk of fatigue-related accidents has been reintroduced in Congress. Truck accidents often result in the wrongful death of motorists or cause extremely serious injuries. The bill is widely supported by Atlanta truck accident attorneys, who believe that it would help reduce the severity of a major problem that currently faces American trucking – truck driver fatigue. Its promoters hope that Jason’s Law will be quickly approved, providing for safer rest and parking facilities for truckers nationwide.
While truck drivers are limited by the number of hours that they can spend consecutively behind the wheel, the lack of enough numbers of convenient resting and parking areas means that drivers are often forced to continue to drive even beyond their maximum work hour limits.Besides, the establishment of safe truck stops and rest areas would also keep truck drivers safe from assaults, burglaries and other crimes.
Jason’s Law is named after Jason Rivenburg, a truck driver who was killed during an assault at an abandoned gas station in South Carolina.Rivenburg was early for a delivery and parked his tractor-trailer at the gas station. After his death, his widow Hope lobbied for passage of legislation that would dramatically increase truck driver access to safe resting and parking facilities.