Fatigued Truck Driver Causing a Car Accident Due to Hours of Service Violations
FATIGUED TRUCK DRIVER CAUSING A CAR ACCIDENT DUE TO HOURS OF SERVICE VIOLATIONS
| Apr 3, 2020 | Truck Accidents |
QUEENS TRUCKING ACCIDENT LAWYERS EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A FATIGUED TRUCK DRIVER CAUSING A CAR ACCIDENT DUE TO HOURS OF SERVICE VIOLATIONS HURTS YOU
The trucking industry is an interstate business. This means that many deliveries take place over several different states throughout the country. It is common for a truck driver to be licensed from one state, the trucking company incorporated in another state, and the delivery starting and ending in two other completely different states. This makes compliance with the law more difficult as truck drivers and trucking companies have many different possible areas of law to comply with. This is why the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has enacted a broad federal regulatory matrix of rules which must be followed by all truck drivers and trucking companies no matter what state they are in, from, or going to. One of the most important sections of FMCSA regulations is aimed to prevent a fatigued truck driver causing a car accident due to hours of service violations.
Here at COHEN & COHEN PERSONAL INJURY LAWYERS, P.C. , we know how important the hours of service rules are from the FMCSA. These regulations help prevent a fatigued and tired truck driver from causing a catastrophic car accident. However, the trucking industry is a “time is money” business which means that truck drivers and trucking companies often willfully violate these regulations. Our Queens trucking accident lawyers understand how frustrating it can be when an innocent person is seriously injured or wrongfully killed by a fatigued truck driver because he or she just wanted to make more money. if you or a loved one have been seriously injured in any NYC, Long Island, Queens, or any other New York motor vehicle accident, ask our experienced and compassionate law firm how we can help you today in a FREE consultation.
HOURS OF SERVICE REGULATIONS
A fatigued truck driver causing a car accident due to hours of service violations should simply not happen. But unfortunately, it does way too often. These hours of service regulations, also known as HOS rules, is a very important thing to maintain safety on our roadways.
The most important hours of safety regulations are under the FMCSA regulations in 49 CFR section 395.3, which provides the following:
- Truck drivers must have 10 consecutive hours off shift before starting a new shift
- Truck drivers may only drive during a 14 consecutive hour shift on duty
- Truck drivers may only drive a total of 11 hours in the 14-hour shift
- Truck drivers may only drive for a maximum of 8 consecutive hours before being required to take a 30-minute rest
- Truck drivers may only be on duty for 60 hours in any 7 consecutive day period
- Truck drivers may only be on duty for 70 hours in any 8 consecutive day period; and
- Other HOS regulations.
TRUCK DRIVERS THAT VIOLATION HOS REGULATIONS MAY BE LIABLE
If the violation of a regulation causes personal injuries, it may be used as evidence of negligence under the doctrine of negligence per se. This doctrine provides that when a statute, rule, or ordinance is violated which protects a certain class of persons from a certain class of harms, the violator may be found negligent. If the violation is a state statute, it is an automatic finding of negligence. If the violation is a regulation, like the FMCSA regulations, it is evidence of negligence which must still be proven but helped by this finding.
INJURED BY A TRUCK DRIVER IN NEW YORK? ASK OUR QUEENS TRUCKING ACCIDENT LAWYERS TO INVESTIGATE
Hours of service violations are not always obvious. This is because many times a truck driver will actually change his or her logbook or lie about hours resting or off duty. Sometimes the trucking company will actually help with these lies. It is also hard to demonstrate that a truck driver was tired or fatigued without a thorough investigation, especially a few years after the accident at trial.
This is why you need an experienced and aggressive legal team like COHEN & COHEN PERSONAL INJURY LAWYERS, P.C. to protect your rights to compensation. Our Queens trucking accident lawyers can begin an investigation right away for you and your family to determine what hours of service rules a truck driver or trucking company may have violated. Learn what rights you have under New York law during a FREE consultation with our legal team. Call us today by dialing (718) 275-7779 for a free case evaluation or use our convenient and easy-to-use contact us box available here to get started.
