“Eleven hours at a time” (Aug. 20) sounds like it could be a movie title. It is very much reality for long-haul truck drivers, thanks to the Bush administration. The Federal Motor Carrier Association ruled truck drivers can work 14-hour days, 11 of which can be driving. It is nearly identical to the rule that went into effect in January 2004. This rule was unanimously struck down as flawed in July 2004 following a lawsuit filed by safety advocates.

Any increase over eight hours of driving increases risk of a crash greatly. Fatigue is a major problem in the trucking industry, so where is this truck-safety agency coming from? I wonder who is putting the pressure on them.

Nobody should be forced to work a 14-hour day. When it comes to driving a tractor-trailer, one must be alert at all times. In many cases, truck drivers are under pressure to get loads delivered at any cost, and sometimes that cost is human lives.

By reissuing this unsafe rule, FMCSA has failed to protect the health and safety of working truck drivers and American families on our nation’s highways.

Will it take an act of Congress to bring about changes? Parents Against Tired Truckers’ move to Washington, D.C., was a good one, and we will continue to fight for safer highways. Let’s hope it will not have to take a death of a congressman’s child to bring about a wake-up call.

Daphne Izer, co-chair, Parents Against Tired Truckers, Lisbon

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