Lawmaker Takes Aim at Health & Eyesight Standards
for Drivers of 18-Wheelers in Texas
Vision-Impaired Trucker Leaves Dallas Man Brain
Injured,
Perry Haas Lawsuit Reveals Loopholes
DALLAS, TX - A Texas House member took aim at truck
driver safety regulations today in the wake of the tragic Sept. 20th
collision near Sherman that killed 10 persons - the deadliest Texas
highway accident in eight years.
State Rep. Lon Burnam, Dallas/Ft. Worth, said he will
propose legislation during the upcoming session that will require
all holders of commercial drivers' licenses in Texas to meet federal
health and vision standards. Burnam is a member of the House Law
Enforcement Committee.
Former District Court Judge René Haas,
of Corpus Christi, joined Burnam in calling for tighter regulations
governing truck drivers' medical condition and eyesight as one way
to curb fatalities.
In June, Judge Haas settled a lawsuit involving a truck
driver legally blind in one eye who rear-ended a car driven by a
Dallas resident in 2002, leaving him severely brain injured. The
driver also had a history of high blood pressure, which is known
to affect eyesight, but under Texas law was exempt from having to
meet federal physical and vision requirements because he limited
his driving to the state of Texas.
Lawmaker
Takes Aim at Health & Eyesight Standards
for Drivers of 18-Wheelers in Texas
Vision-Impaired
Trucker Leaves Dallas Man Brain Injured,
Lawsuit Reveals Loopholes DALLAS,
TX - A Texas House member took aim at
truck driver safety regulations today
in the wake of the tragic Sept. 20th
collision near Sherman that killed 10
persons - the deadliest Texas highway
accident in eight years.State Rep. Lon
Burnam, Dallas-Ft. Worth, said he will
propose legislation during the upcoming
session that will require all holders
of commercial drivers' licenses in Texas
to meet federal health and vision standards.
Burnam is a member of the House Law Enforcement
Committee. Currently, Texas law states
that a commercial truck driver who only
hauls within the state of Texas and who
has been driving since Aug. 28, 1989,
is not required to meet federal physical
and vision standards, Rep. Burnam said.
Further, Texas also grants an "eyesight
waiver" to intrastate truckers with
vision in only one eye, Burnam said.Federal
law clearly states that "Drivers
with monocular vision are not qualified
to operate a car or vehicle in interstate
commerce," Burnam pointed out. "There
is no federal waiver for truck drivers
transporting goods across state lines.
Why should there be a waiver for those
drivers within Texas borders?" he
said.The driver in the Sherman collision
has been charged with 10 counts of manslaughter.
The accident is still under investigation
as to its cause.Collisions involving
semi-truck trailers killed 438 people
in Texas in 2003, more than any other
state, according to the National Highway
Transportation Safety Administration.
Texas also had the second highest number
of total vehicles involved in fatal large
truck crashes, 5,040.Former District
Court Judge René Haas, of Corpus
Christi, joined Burnam in calling for
tighter regulations governing truck drivers'
medical condition and eyesight as one
way to curb fatalities.Now a lawyer in
private practice, Haas in June settled
a lawsuit involving a truck driver legally
blind in one eye who rear-ended a car
driven by a Dallas resident in 2002,
leaving him severely brain injured. The
driver also had a history of high blood
pressure, which is known to affect eyesight,
but under Texas law was exempt from having
to meet federal physical and vision requirements
because he limited his driving to the
state of Texas. "I was stunned to
learn in the course of this lawsuit that
Texas law is ambiguous on whether drivers
who have held a commercial driver's license
(CDL) since 1989 must meet any physical
health qualifications at all. A reading
of the law can be interpreted either
way, and unscrupulous companies are using
this as a defense in lawsuits that grow
out of collisions caused by sick or impaired
drivers. The law needs to be clarified
and strengthened," René Haas
said.Furthermore, Haas said current rules
allow CDL holders to take several health
exams until they can find a doctor or
nurse who will give them the longest
certification, which can be up to two
years. "This loop hole needs to
be closed and a system put in place that
will ensure impaired or sick drivers
are prohibited from driving until they
are found fit under specific, simple
and clear state rules," she said.
More information about the case and trucking
safety can be found at www.perryhaas.com/18wheelerlegislative.html.The
Haas case involved David Lee Jackson,
27, of Dallas, who was stopped at a stop
sign in Grapevine, TX, when he was hit
from behind by an 18-wheeler driven by
Jimmy Jones. It was later disclosed in
court proceedings that Jones, 55 at the
time of the collision, was legally blind
in one eye and experiencing significant
vision problems in the other eye probably
due to high blood pressure. Jones, who
worked for Prodrivers, was on lease to
Kimberly-Clark when the crash occurred.Jackson's
wife, Linsey, said that her husband suffered
a closed head injury and will require
24-hour supervision for the rest of his
life."I cannot convey to you the
heartache and the devastation we have
suffered. This driver should not have
been on the road. Because of this trucking
company's callous disregard for safety,
my husband will pay for the rest of his
life. It's wrong, wrong, wrong and I
beg the Texas legislature to make it
right." Mrs. Jackson said. While
the Texas Department of Transportation
officials may argue that the state has
adequate vision standards for drivers
within its departmental rules, Haas said
the defendants in the Jackson case could
have argued that Texas state law exempted
the driver from having to meet a vision
standard. "We may have settled this
case, but the tragedy that the Jacksons
suffered is certainly not over, and the
threat to Texas drivers is certainly
still present. It is time to do what
we can and must do keep unhealthy and
vision-impaired truck drivers off the
road. Texas needs to put all trucking
companies on notice that drivers have
to meet strict physical health requirements
to be considered safe behind the wheel," she
said.
FOR
MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Kelly 512-327-6788
(for a printable version of this release, click
here)
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