Shippers may delay you for hours and still expect you to be 600 miles away the next morning. Most drivers get paid by the mile, and so they must keep driving in order to make any money. This must be changed if you want driver fatigue to end. Nearly 16 years ago, the weight limit was raised from 73,280 pounds to 80,000 pounds. Trailer have increased from 40 feet to 53 feet in length and from 96 inches to 102 inches in width.
Many companies pull doubles and even triple-trailers on the Interstates.
These changes enabled shippers to move more freight per trip, which helped the economy but not the trucking industry. We haul more for less money, and that certainly has not helped safety. If safety truly is your highest priority, you need to look at all the things mentioned above and change the way the entire industry is being operated nationwide. You do not regulate the number of hours salespeople drive on the highway. You do not regulate the hours factory workers work and then drive home.