The Current Rule Regarding Driving Hours for Truck Drivers
For this reason, the government has sought to regulate the number of hours drivers of 18 wheelers, big trucks, tractor trailers and semis, as they are often called, can be on duty and drive those vehicles. The problem is that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has not been able to enact a rule that everyone can seem to live with. A balance needs to be achieved recognizing the dangers of driving too long and becoming tired and the need for truck drivers and companies and their clients to have products shipped across the United States as efficiently as possible.
On December 27, 2007, the FMCSA set forth what they called an Interim Final Rule which regulates the number of hours truck drivers can drive, also called a driver's hours of service. The rule provides that tractor trailer, and other commercial motor vehicle, drivers may drive up to 11 hours within a 14 hour non-extendable period following 10 consecutive hours of off-duty time. In this context, off-duty time does not just mean time not driving; it means time not doing any sort of work for the company. Weekly on-duty time can be re-started once the truck driver has had 34 consecutive hours of off-duty time.
If you have been involved in an injury accident with a tractor trailer, driver fatigue is one of the possible causes that needs to be explored thoroughly. In order to do that, it is important to obtain the documents, testimony and other evidence which can shed light on the number of hours a tractor trailer was driving prior to the crash. Compliance with the hours of service rule certainly does not mean a driver was not tired. However noncompliance with the rule could lead to the conclusion that the truck driver was not in condition to be driving due to fatigue.
