Driver fatigue is frequently cited as a factor in most truck accidents. While there are federal regulations in place to protect the public, violations still occur, often with devastating consequences. Truck accidents caused by driver fatigue leave victims and families facing overwhelming medical bills, lost income and long-term trauma. If you or a loved one has been involved in a truck accident, here are four critical things you should know about crashes caused by driver fatigue.
1. Driver Fatigue Is More Common Than You Think
Fatigue is one of the leading contributors to commercial truck accidents. Long-haul drivers often work grueling schedules, driving hundreds of miles in a single shift. Even with federal regulations in place, the pressure to meet delivery deadlines can push drivers beyond safe limits. Safety experts note that fatigue can impair a driver in ways similar to alcohol intoxication. A tired driver may experience slower reaction times, impaired judgment, reduced focus/attention and brief, uncontrollable lapses into sleep.
At highway speeds, even a few seconds of inattention can cause a devastating collision. A fully loaded tractor-trailer needs significantly more time and distance to stop than a passenger vehicle. If a fatigued truck driver drifts out of their lane or fails to brake in time, the impact can be life-altering.
2. Federal Hours-of-Service Rules Are Designed to Prevent Fatigue
To reduce fatigue-related crashes, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) enforces what are known as the Hours-of-Service (HOS) regulations. These rules limit how long commercial truck drivers can operate before taking mandatory rest breaks.
Key HOS rules include:
• A maximum of 11 hours of driving after 10 consecutive hours off duty
• A 14-hour limit on the total workday
• Required 30-minute breaks after 8 cumulative hours of driving
• Weekly limits on total driving hours
Most commercial trucks are equipped with electronic logging devices (ELDs) that track driving time automatically. These logs are critical evidence in fatigue-related accident cases.
However, violations still occur. Falsification of driver records and trucking companies encouraging or pressuring drivers to exceed legal limits in order to meet delivery schedules are sadly common practices in the industry. When this occurs and results in a tragic accident, both the driver and the trucking company can be held legally responsible for the injuries, damages and losses.
An experienced truck accident attorney will immediately request and review logbooks, ELD data, dispatch records, and GPS information to determine whether Hours-of-Service violations contributed to the crash.
3. Trucking Companies May Be Liable in Addition to the Driver
One of the most important things to understand about truck accidents is that liability often extends beyond the individual driver. In fatigue-related cases, trucking companies can be held responsible if they:
• Failed to enforce Hours-of-Service compliance
• Set unrealistic delivery schedules
• Encouraged or pressured drivers to skip rest breaks
• Ignored prior safety violations
• Failed to properly monitor electronic logs
Under the legal doctrine of “vicarious liability,” employers can be held responsible for the negligent (careless) actions of their employees when those actions occur within the scope of employment. A company may also face direct liability for negligent (careless) hiring, training, supervision or employee retention. For example, if a trucking company hired a driver with a history of logbook violations or prior fatigue-related crashes and failed to take corrective action, that company may share responsibility for a new accident.
This is significant because trucking companies typically carry large commercial insurance policies. Identifying all liable parties can dramatically impact the amount of compensation available to injured victims.
4. Fatigue-Related Truck Accidents Often Cause Severe Injuries
When a fatigued truck driver causes a crash, the results are often catastrophic. These collisions frequently involve rear-end accidents at high speeds, head-on crashes, rollovers and multi-vehicle pileups. Common injuries in fatigue-related truck accidents include traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord trauma including paralysis, broken bones, internal bleeding, organ damage and severe burn injuries. In such accidents, injuries often prove fatal.
Because commercial trucks are so much larger and heavier than passenger vehicles, occupants of smaller cars are far more likely to suffer serious harm. The financial impact can be staggering. Victims may face emergency medical expenses, ongoing rehabilitation costs, lost wages and benefits, reduced earning capacity, permanent injuries, etc. In wrongful death cases, families may be left with funeral expenses and the devastating loss of financial and emotional support.
A thorough investigation is critical to determining the full extent of damages. In many cases, experts such as accident reconstruction specialists, medical professionals and economic analysts are needed to calculate both current and future losses. Truck accident cases are also far more complex than typical car accident claims. They often involve multiple defendants, federal regulations, corporate insurers and aggressive defense teams. This is why injured victims and their families need an experienced truck accident lawyer on their side to protect their rights.
Contacting an Experienced Truck Accident Lawyer
If you or a loved one has been injured in a truck accident, or if you have lost a loved one in a motor vehicle accident caused by a negligent or careless driver, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you. It is in the best interest of injured victims and their families in such cases to contact an
experienced personal injury lawyer before contacting the people responsible for the injuries, and definitely before contacting or communicating with any insurance company, or their lawyers, investigators, or adjusters.
For over 54 years, our skilled accident attorneys have established a proven track record of helping injured victims get fair compensation for their losses. Our law firm recently recovered $5,600,000 for a bicyclist who was hit by a van, and $2,550,000 for another victim of a truck accident, and $3,000,000 for a pedestrian who was hit by a car, and $2,000,000 in a hit-and-run accident, and the full $1,000,000 insurance policy for a pedestrian who was hit by a truck, and $4,625,000 for a driver who was in a car and was hit by a van, and $2,500,000 for a man who fell through an improperly secured hole. We also recovered $1,500,000 for a lady who was hurt by a bus, although there was only a 1 million dollar insurance policy and we got $500,000 above that insurance policy.
We also obtained $295,000 out of a $300,000 insurance policy in compensation for the victim of a bicycle dooring accident (where a car door opens into the path of a bicyclist). One of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases. Also, we got a $1,400,000 verdict in a motorcycle accident.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury, lead poisoning, paraplegia cases and medical malpractice cases including, brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) and cerebral palsy cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
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1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
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External link: https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/hours-service/summary-hours-service-regulations