Semi-trucks, when involved in accidents, can cause severe damage and life-threatening injuries to the occupants of passenger vehicles. This is due to the size of semi-trucks, and the weight of these trucks only increases with the size of the load they’re carrying. The impact of a heavy semi-truck in a collision with a passenger vehicle can be incredibly destructive.
Truck Driver’s Travel Log
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulates and conducts oversight of the billion-dollar trucking industry to ensure safety for everyone on the nation’s roads. The FMCSA requires truck drivers are required to maintain a log of their travel and driving hours. This is called the truck driver’s travel log. They must methodically detail each day they are working, including how many hours they drive, rest, and sleep, as well as the miles they drive hour by hour for a 24-hour day.
Why a Truck Driver’s Travel Log Is Important After an Accident
The FMCSA has hours of service (HOS) rules that dictate how many consecutive hours a truck driver can drive, how many consecutive hours they must rest and sleep, and when they must take breaks during their driving shifts.
For example, a truck driver driving a truck that’s carrying property is only allowed to drive up to 11 hours. They must have been off duty for the entire ten hours before their 11 hours. If the truck driver drove for a consecutive eight hours, they must take an uninterrupted 30-minute break or longer.
Because of the detailed nature of a truck driver’s travel log, and because the government requires that it be strictly maintained, when there is a trucking accident, one of the first things that should be reviewed in the investigation that follows is the truck driver’s travel log. Viewing the truck driver’s travel log may provide insight into what caused the accident. The data from the travel log might strengthen the idea that the truck driver was liable for the accident.
For instance, if a truck driver was involved in an accident and it is found that they had driven more hours than is permitted by the HOS, that could help to prove that the truck driver is liable for the accident because he was fatigued while driving. Even further, if the truck driver’s employer required the truck driver to drive beyond the permitted HOS, the truck driver’s employer could also be liable.
Common Causes of Truck Accidents
Truck accidents can be caused by various actions or inaction taken by truck drivers and/or their employers. Some common causes of trucking accidents are:
- Driver fatigue
- Driver distraction, such as cell phone usage
- Speeding
- Mechanical failure
- Driving while intoxicated by alcohol or drugs
- Inclement weather
- Inadequate truck driving training
We will conduct a thorough investigation and gather as much evidence as possible to determine the exact or likely cause of your accident. Then we can ascertain whether the truck driver or both the driver and their employer might be liable for your accident.
Why Choose OnderLaw ?
OnderLaw was founded almost two decades ago with a mission to prioritize the needs of our clients and fight hard to help them get justice for the wrongdoing they’ve been subjected to.
Our attorneys have decades of experience representing clients who have suffered in different types of accidents, including auto and trucking accidents, product defects, slip and falls, nursing home abuse, workers’ compensation, and more, throughout California and in St. Louis, Missouri. We’ve helped our clients win over $4 billion in settlements and awards.
We believe in providing our clients with top-notch legal representation and service filled with compassion and understanding for what they’re going through. In addition, we believe that finances should not prevent our clients from obtaining stellar legal representation. To support this, we operate on a contingency-fee-basis. That means you will not have to pay us until and unless we win or settle your case.
Call Us Today
If you’ve been injured in an accident with a commercial truck that wasn’t your fault, call OnderLaw today for help getting the compensation you may be entitled to. A truck accident is a traumatic event, and you shouldn’t have to go through the aftermath alone.
The truck accident attorneys of OnderLaw can support you during this time by being your #1 advocate. We’ll work to help you get justice from the people that were responsible for your accident. Contact us today for a free consultation. You can also contact us online by completing our contact form or via chat for an immediate response from one of our representatives.
