After having been involved in an accident with a semi-truck in Hot Springs, your first thoughts are likely centered the personal toll the collision has exacted on your life. Once you have processed that, you may start questioning the actions that led up to your accident. How is that a truck driver, who is typically required to undergo extensive training before getting behind the wheel, could have driven in such a way as to cause a collision? Could the long hours on the road have left him or her fatigued? We here at the Tapp Law Firm have seen enough of such accidents to know that is often a factor.
Spending hours on the road is certainly going to have an impact on a driver. Knowing this, the federal government has placed restrictions on the hours that truck drivers can work. These are meant to ensure that truckers remain alert and attentive behind the wheel, even in cases where they are asked to cover great distances.
Per the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, a truck driver must observe the following hours-of-service guidelines:
- Only driving up to 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty
- Not driving beyond the 14th hour after having come back on duty (meaning he or she must get his or her 11 hours in during that 14-hour time period)
- Not driving more than eight consecutive hours without taking a break of at least 30 minutes
- Only driving 60/70 hours over a 7/8 day work week
Truck drivers must record their working hours while on duty. You can ask to see those records to review if he or she was in violation of the aforementioned guidelines. More information on assigning liability after a truck accident is available here on our site.