Trucking hours of service laws exist for a reason. Tired and sleepy truck drivers cause more accidents, putting everyone else on the road at the greatest risk of injury or death.
In a collision between a passenger car and an 18-wheeler or tractor-trailer, the truck is bound to do worse damage to any smaller vehicle. Of the thousands of people who die in truck crashes every year, just 16% were truck drivers according to a 2019 survey. 67% of fatalities involved motorists in other vehicles, while 15% were pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.
These statistics aren’t surprising when you consider a fully loaded tractor truck could weigh up to 80,000 pounds – or the equivalent of more than 5 elephants.
To keep the roads safe for everyone, it’s crucial to minimize the possibility of large truck accidents as much as possible. Hours of service regulations do this by limiting how long truck drivers can work before they must take a rest break under the law.
But even with these laws in place, some companies push their drivers to work longer than allowed, pressured by unrealistic deadlines or chasing profits.
Trucking companies caught breaking hours of service laws can be fined and penalized by the government. But sometimes these bad actors don’t actually get caught until an accident happens – at which point, the damage has already been done.
If you get injured in a trucking accident because the driver was working overtime against the law, then you could have a lawsuit for personal injury against the company they work for. If you’ve lost a loved one in a trucking accident caused by hours of service violations, then you could take legal action through a wrongful death or California survivor’s claim.
According to research, driving while drowsy or sleepy can have dangerous effects similar to driving while drunk or under the influence, with catastrophic consequences.
A truck driver working past the allowed hours of service could suffer from:
Truck drivers who use stimulants to stay awake to meet demanding deadlines might have additional issues with aggressive driving, road rage, speeding, or other reckless actions.
These effects spell a recipe for disaster considering the size and weight of most trucks. The margin of error is tiny when you’ve got up to 40 tons of weight on a big rig.
Ultimately, the company that employs truck drivers is responsible for the actions of their workers while they’re on the job. Even if the individual driver was behind the wheel in the crash, the company must be held accountable for its illegal hours of service policies.
All trucking companies and truck drivers must follow local, state, and federal laws when operating their fleets and vehicles. These laws limit the number of hours truck drivers can work on the road before they must take a break to rest. For example:
Trucking companies are responsible for knowing these laws and making sure all of their drivers are following the rules. Otherwise, they’re putting lives in danger.
Even knowing all of this, some company policies not only allow but encourage or reward drivers for driving past their maximum hours of service. This is illegal – and if a truck driver gets into an accident because of these policies, the company can be held liable for damages.
If you or a family member gets caught up in a truck accident in California, you might suspect that hours of service violations played a role in causing the crash. But how do you prove it?
An experienced truck accident lawyer can help you investigate the cause behind the accident and get the evidence you need to hold bad actors responsible for their illegal policies.
Company policies that violate hours of service rules could look like:
Some companies may not look like they encourage illegal behavior. Their “official” company policies may follow the law, but managers may give different verbal instructions to drivers, “off the record.” There may be an entirely different set of unwritten rules – or employees may simply notice an unspoken pattern of rewarding rulebreakers and punishing rule followers.
To prove your case, your attorney may use the following types of evidence:
If you suffered a truck accident caused by hours of service violations, then the trucking company should be responsible for paying for the cost of your injuries. If your case is convincing enough, you could end up negotiating a settlement agreement for damages.