A semi truck driver was arrested on suspicion of operating a vehicle while intoxicated (OWI) in Juneau County, Wisconsin on January 23, 2016, when he caused an accident that injured five people. The truck was going south on Highway 58 north of 43rd Street near Mauston when it crossed the center line on Saturday night. The driver of a vehicle going north swerved to avoid a collision and went into the ditch.
Then the semi hit another vehicle heading north. That vehicle overturned and went into the ditch. There were five passengers in the second vehicle. All of them, and the semi driver, were taken to Hess Memorial Hospital in Mauston with injuries. The crash is being investigated by the Juneau County Sheriff’s Department and Wisconsin State Patrol.
Drunk driving is, of course, a serious offense and a threat to public safety. But truck drivers are held to a higher standard than the drivers of passenger cars, and their employers are responsible for the behavior of their employees.
Federal law tightly regulates the trucking industry. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) holds anyone who owns or leases commercial motor vehicles, for-hire motor carriers, private motor carriers, and anyone who assigns drivers to operate these vehicles to these regulations.