As a Georgia trucking safety trial lawyer based in Atlanta, I often see the tragic effects of fatigue among truck drivers who are pushed by trucking companies and shippers to perform beyond the normal limits of human capability.
On the other side of the Atlantic, SafeDrive Europe has released its Driver Fatigue Monitor, which is intended to cut the number of fatigue-related wrecks by alerting drivers to the first sign of drowsiness. The Driver Fatigue Monitor was developed by sleep expert Dr. Richard Grace alongside the Carnegie Mellon Institute in Pennsylvania and is already available in the US. According to a report in Logistics Manager, the device measures drowsiness by checking the per cent of eye closure through a real time camera and computer. If a driver appears to be reaching a dangerously fatigued state the monitor is designed to notify them through audible and visible indicators, giving them enough time to pull over safely.
It can be permanently installed into a vehicle or is available as a portable version, which plugs into the cigarette lighter.
Ken Shigley in Atlanta is a former chair of the Southeastern Motor Carrier Litigation Institute. He is a seminar speaker for the Interstate Trucking Litigation Group of the American Association for Justice, and is on the National Advisory Board and serves as a seminar speaker for the Association of Interstate Trucking Lawyers of America. A Certified Civil Trial Advocate of the National Board of Trial Advocacy, he is also a Master of the Lamar Inn of Court at Emory Law School, and Secretary of the State Bar of Georgia. He represents plaintiffs in big rig crash cases all over Georgia, from Menlo to Midway, and from Tallulah Falls to Doerun.