In the latest in a series by the New York Times examining the oil boom and its associated risks, Ian Urbina writes that workers in the oil and gas industry face the greatest dangers on our nation's roads and highways, going to and from well sites on the Eagle Ford Shale, for instance, not while actually working on the well sites themselves.
Road travel poses highest risk of serious injury for oil and gas workers: Part 1
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Truck driver gets prison time for making false entries in logbook
As David Chang reports for NBC 10, a truck driver who caused a major accident - when in his logbook he'd indicated he was sleeping in the cab of his truck - got more than a year in prison for making that false entry.
In fact, the driver was alleged to have made 15 false entries in his logbook over the course of roughly a year, during which he presumably drove and violated the hours-of-service rules.
It's not clear why the 58-year-old truck driver started making false entries; possibly, he began to think that he wouldn't get caught, or perhaps his employer began pressuring him to complete driving routes.
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A whole new take on texting while driving
In a story by the Associated Press and published on NJ.com, one case making its way through the court system involves a terrible accident that resulted in the loss of a leg for both a husband and wife. The driver who caused the accident was texting while driving.
Specifically, he was reading a text, sent to him by a friend. What makes this case unusual - but, in the age of texting, unsurprising - is that his friend (the one who sent the text) is a defendant in the injury lawsuit.
Driving while sleepy is a general problem for transportation workers
A recent survey indicates that people who work in the transportation industry, including truckers, train workers and pilots, report being sleepy on the job. And their sleepiness has directly contributed to "serious errors" or "near misses," as Ben Wolfgang reports for the Washington Times.
In fact, when it comes to truck drivers, 14 percent were said to have experienced the so-called "near-miss" as a result of being tired, and this is one of the major reasons that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) set down new hours-of-service rules.
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Karnes County 'not ready' for Eagle Ford Shale 18-wheeler traffic
As Joe Conger reports for KENS 5 News in San Antonio, "It's not if you're going to have an accident. It is when you're going to have an accident," said the Karnes County sheriff.
The sheriff is talking about the trucking traffic from the Eagle Ford Shale oil boom, which caused the death of a young Texas man who was killed when an 18-wheeler hit his vehicle not far from his home.
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Leave 'hydrofracking' to the states, say local officials
"Unreasonable," "unnecessary," "hijack," and "knee-jerk" are all words used by state lawmakers and other officials whose local economies largely rely on the oil and gas industry. They're referring to federal oversight of so-called "hydrofracking," oversight that poses a possible problem - or a solution, depending on your perspective.
Meanwhile, states like Texas continue to explore for oil and natural gas relatively unfettered, which has contributed to the rise of Eagle Ford Shale truck accidents.
Local city council concerned about 'exponential' growth in Eagle Ford Shale truck traffic
This story is just one example among many involving heavy truck traffic from the Eagle Ford Shale, which is making things difficult for Texas drivers. Speed limits are one local government's specific concern.
As Bob Thaxton reports for the Seguin Gazette, the local city council in Seguin wants the Texas Department of Transportation to look into speed limits; the council wants TxDOT to evaluate State Highway 46, a stretch of road that has seen its share of truck accidents.
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Truck drivers may soon be required to undergo sleep apnea evaluations
As Oliver B. Patton reports for Heavy Duty Trucking, sleep apnea can lead to drowsy driving, which is one common cause of truck accidents, and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) says that truck drivers with a body mass index of 35 or higher should be required to undergo an evaluation for the condition.
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420: 'National Pot Smoking Day'
At least some of the furor against drug and alcohol use has to do with the safety of our roadways. Every time something bad happens, like an alcohol-related truck accident, there is a certain amount of outrage.
Any person who drives under the influence of a substance, be it alcohol or marijuana, has much to lose if he or she causes an accident. Truck drivers, for instance, stand to lose their commercial driver's licenses.
Other drivers, such as those who are convicted of repeat impaired-driving offenses, or those who kill someone because of impaired driving, face significant time behind bars.
Injured in a car crash? Take the chopper, not the ambulance
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this one out: As Andrew Seaman reports for Reuters, people who sustain serious injury in motor vehicle accidents, like getting T-boned by a tractor trailer, have a better chance of surviving if they're taken by helicopter, rather than ambulance, to the hospital.
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