Yes, drivers of cars cause many traffic collisions. But who causes the worst? And who has the most responsibility for avoiding such catastrophes? Big rig, diesel truck, tractor trailer, semi truck or 18 wheeler drivers, that’s who. Their enormous rigs take longer to stop, and when they crash they are far more destructive.

Also, too many of their drivers fall asleep at the wheel.

It’s an occupational hazard, since diesel truck drivers who haul large loads across the country often drive for long, dull hours, including the middle of the night. But it’s a crucial distinction, especially in view of two tragedies this week in Houston and Kentucky.

The latter suffered a historic truck accident calamity when a big rig plowing down Interstate 65 drifted across the median and slammed head-on into oncoming vehicles, including a van packed with people. So far the death count stands at 11, most of them passengers in the van.

The Houston tragedy, also in the early a.m. hours, involved one diesel truck slamming into the rear of another, which was reportedly going the speed limit on Interstate 10. The driver of the speeding tractor trailer died when it erupted into flames.

We don’t know that either diesel truck crash was caused by a semi truck driver falling asleep. They could have been distracted by all the electronics gear that 18 wheeler truckers put in their cabs, including personal computers. (And you thought car drivers who text are the worst.)

But falling asleep at the wheel of a diesel truck is a reasonable conclusion, and here’s why: Many long-haul big rig drivers are big themselves. In fact, they’re obese. They get little exercise, and they often eat as recreation or diversion. And their obesity leads to sleep apnea, a sleeping disorder which makes them sleep-deprived. As a result, they become sleepy — if not asleep — while at the wheel of a diesel truck.

Harvard University researchers studied more than 450 drivers who worked for 50 trucking firms and found that many were overweight and subject to sleep apnea. They concluded that perhaps 20 per cent of tractor trailer crashes involve a diesel truck driver falling asleep at the wheel. The researchers advocate mandatory testing of diesel truck drivers for obesity in order to identify such potentially deadly drivers.

Federal researchers say as many as 1,000 persons per year die on American highways due to semi truck drivers falling asleep at the wheel. This week may have added a dozen more. The trucking industry needs to wake up and police itself more thoroughly or it will continue adding to the devastating carnage of big rig, semi truck, tractor trailer, diesel truck or 18 wheeler traffic accidents.

Jim S. Adler & Associates supports such reform and stands ready to help truck accident victims or their survivors.

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