Trucks make it possible to quickly transport goods from one part of the country to the other. Accordingly, they are a common site on major thoroughfares throughout the country including those in Pennsylvania. When a truck accident occurs, the magnitude of the resulting injuries is often serious. Under some circumstances they can be so severe that they result in death.

There are many potential reasons attributed to the causes of these crashes and because trucks are highly regulated by the federal government, investigations into these causes are routinely conducted. A Pennsylvania truck driver involved in a fatal accident in 2009, in which multiple vehicles collided, was recently sentenced after admitting to falsifying commercial truck driver log books and lying about it.

The accident took place one morning in January 2009 as the man drove east on Interstate 76, also known as Schuylkill Expressway. Police indicate that the truck the man was driving hit another car resulting in the death of its driver and causing the passenger to sustain serious injuries.

According to the trucker's log books, at the time of the accident he was in another state, sleeping. This type of falsification is generally done to get around the federal requirement that a driver of a truck have 10 hours of consecutive rest and does not drive more than 11 hours a day. The man in this case reportedly lied about the amount of rest he was actually getting, 15 times between the end of 2008 and the date of the accident, January 23, 2009.

In addition to a fine of $1000, he must also pay a $1500 special assessment and spend 18 months in prison. Whether a civil wrongful death lawsuit is in the works is unknown.

Source: NBC10 Philadelphia, "Truck Driver Sentenced for Falsifying Log Books: Investigators," David Chang, May 7, 2012