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Hours-of-service violations can prove catastrophic

On Behalf of | Sep 27, 2021 | Motor Vehicle Accidents

The sheer size of a semi-truck poses a threat to other motorists. Even a seemingly minor mistake on a trucker’s part can send one of these massive vehicles veering into traffic, threatening to leave devastation in its wake.

That’s why the federal government has taken steps to try to curtail dangerous trucking practices. Amongst them are the hours-of-service regulations. These rules seek to limit drive time for truckers, thereby ensuring that they are rested enough to remain attentive behind the wheel.

What the hours-of-service regulations entail

There are several regulations that affect trucker driving hours, and they just recently changed. Amongst those rules are:

  • A mandatory 30-minute rest break after eight hours of driving
  • A maximum of 11 driving hours after taking at least 10-hours off
  • Those 11 hours of driving must fall within a 14-hour window
  • A maximum of 60 hours driven in a seven-day period
  • A maximum of 70 hours driven in an eight-day period

Truckers should be logging their hours to ensure compliance with federal regulations, but the truth of the matter is that such recordation doesn’t always occur. Also, truckers don’t always abide by the rules.

Holding errant truckers accountable

Tragically, tired and fatigued truckers cause accidents all the time. These truck accidents can be catastrophic for victims, leaving them with physical, emotional, and financial losses that can be difficult to overcome.

Pursing a personal injury lawsuit is perhaps the best way to find accountability and recover compensation, which requires evidence of negligence. A trucker’s failure to abide by the hours-of-service regulations can certainly help support one of these claims, which is why it’s important that truck accident victims know about them and how to obtain trucking logs that may serve as powerful evidence.

 

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