According to estimates from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, roughly 18,000 people died on American roads in the first half of 2016. That represents an increase of 10 percent from the same time period in 2015. It also represents the continuance of an upward trend that started in 2014 as the effects of the Great Recession started to recede.

According to the Federal Highway Administration, drivers logged 50.5 billion more miles between January and June 2016 compared to the period in 2015. The data will be used as part of a 30-year plan to reduce the number of people killed on the road. Sweden undertook a similar effort in 1997, and that effort reduced roadway deaths from seven per 100,000 to less than three per 100,000 in under 15 years.

In America, the goal is to get roadway deaths all the way down to zero. It is believed that the emergence of driverless cars will make that goal more realistic to attain. Research indicates that 94 percent of crashes are caused by driver error. However, it is important to note that there is no guarantee that a car will not get into an accident even if there is no human driver.

Those who are hurt in an auto accident may experience serious injuries that may take months or years to recover from. If negligence played a role in a car crash, a victim may be able to win compensation for medical expenses, lost wages and lost future earnings. An attorney may help an injured victim win a financial award through a jury trial or by negotiating a settlement outside of court.

Truck drivers in Mississippi might be required to undergo a screening for sleep apnea under a proposed regulation that will affect drivers nationwide, but many are speaking out against the proposal as well. The government received several hundred public comments about the regulation, and many objected on the grounds that the drivers would be required to pay for the screening themselves at a cost of more than $2,500.

Others pointed out that the cost was a small price to pay in terms of lives saved. One woman, whose father was killed in an accident with a semi-truck driver who fell asleep at the wheel, said such complaints were short-sighted. The co-founder of the group Road Safe America pointed out that airline pilots have to undergo such screening even though, unlike truck drivers, they do not need to be as alert for the duration of the journey.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration sponsored a study that found sleep apnea was a problem for more than one-quarter of all drivers. However, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association said that the organization had failed to demonstrate that sleep apnea was a major cause of accidents. Others suggested that drivers should be allowed to nap while on duty.

Truck accidents can be devastating to occupants of other vehicles. Injured victims could face months of recovery time during which they are unable to work as their medical bills pile up. When such an accident is caused by a truck driver who dozed off at the wheel, a personal injury attorney could help the victim seek compensation for those and other losses.

Some Mississippi commercial trucking accidents happen because of faulty brakes. Because these mechanical issues often go unnoticed, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration partnered for a week of nationwide brake inspections between Sept. 11 and 17.

During the week, law enforcement agencies conducted inspections in order to identify problems with brakes on commercial vehicles. According to the CVSA, the inspectors were looking for various problems, including worn brake pads, rotors, drums, and liners as well as loose components, missing parts and leaks.

During brake inspection week in 2015, 12.3 percent of the inspected trucks were placed out of service for faulty brakes. A total of 18,817 inspections were completed during the week.

This year, the inspections occurred both locally and across the country. According to the agencies, most of the inspections were full level-I inspections.

Trucking carriers are supposed to conduct regular inspections of their trucks and make repairs as necessary. If a company fails to do so, the driver and other motorists on the road will be put at risk of being seriously injured or killed if an accident happens. Because trucks are often large and heavy, truck accidents are more likely to be deadly and catastrophic. Injured truck accident victims, as well as the families of victims who have been killed, might benefit from consulting with personal injury attorneys who accept accident cases. An attorney might litigate the matter in order to recover damages that may compensate the client for all of their losses.

A proposed federal regulation may result in large vehicles such as buses and tractor-trailers being forced to travel at a lower speed limit than other vehicles in Mississippi and throughout the country. The proposal, which has been put forth by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, would reduce speeds to around 60 to 68 miles per hour for new vehicles with a weight higher than 26,000 pounds. The agencies will decide upon the exact number after receiving public comments.

It has taken a decade for the proposal to come this close to law since it was originally pushed forward by a nonprofit group called Roadsafe America. One founder of that group, whose son was killed in 2002 in an accident with a large truck, expressed frustration over how slowly such changes occur.

Some people in the industry are against the proposal. According to a spokeswoman for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, having vehicles going at different speeds creates another safety hazard. However, a 2015 report from the Associated Press found that more than a dozen states had speed limit laws for large vehicles that exceeded the safe limit for the vehicles’ tires and increased the chances that they would blow out or fail. Permitted to set their own speed limits since the 1990s, states were largely unaware of these dangers.

Truck accidents may cause serious injuries to occupants of other vehicles that require lengthy hospital stays. When such an accident has been caused by a truck driver who was speeding, distracted or negligent in another manner, an attorney could assist a victim in seeking appropriate compensation through a personal injury lawsuit filed against the driver and the trucking company.

In 2015, motor vehicle deaths in the United States were up 7.7 percent. According to a report by the Governors Highway Safety Association, drowsy driving results in 5,000 of those deaths each year that lead to societal costs of $109 billion. Drowsy driving may be especially dangerous because the full extent of the problem is not yet understood. This is partially because there are no set procedures for law enforcement to determine if a driver is drowsy.

It is also because a driver may not readily admit that he or she is drowsy after a crash. While it may be difficult to determine if drowsy driving causes a particular accident, it has been deemed a form of impaired driving by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This means it is considered as dangerous as driving while drunk, while distracted or while under the influence of drugs.

There are many ways that states are trying to combat drowsy driving, but public education is seen as the key. Public awareness is cited as the best way for people to take the issue as seriously as they do drunken driving or using a seat belt. Increased data collection, better law enforcement and changes to workplace policies are also cited as strategies to combat drowsy driving.

Individuals who are hurt in car collisions that are caused by a sleep-deprived driver often suffer serious injuries that require extensive medical care and treatment. Although proving that the motorist was drowsy may be difficult, personal injury attorneys representing victims will attempt to do so through the use of eyewitness testimony and other evidence.