Truckers have a duty to ensure that they are in the right mental and physical condition to operate a rig. When they aren’t, catastrophic crashes can occur if the trucker dozes off or can’t react properly to what’s going on around the semitruck.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has strict regulations for how long truckers can operate a rig.
What are the Hours of Service regulations?
The Hours of Service regulations are set to limit how long truckers can drive and work. There are limits that cover how many hours they can drive, which are determined by whether they carry people or property. Truckers also have mandatory 30-minute rest periods for every 8 cumulative hours of driving.
If a trucker is carrying property, they can drive up to 11 hours per shift with a 10-hour break between driving shifts. There’s also a 14-hour limit if the trucker has other duties, such as loading or unloading cargo. This means that they can work a total of 14 hours in a shift, but only 11 of those can be driving and they can’t drive beyond the 14th hour working, even if they haven’t met their driving hours.
There are also limits to how many hours they can drive on a rolling seven or eight-day rolling period. This is 60 and 70 hours, respectively. These hours only reset if the trucker is off for at least 34 consecutive hours.
Victims who suffer harm in a semitruck crash will likely need to seek urgent medical care, which is costly. They may opt to pursue a claim for compensation, which can help them to recover the financial damages they’re dealing with because of their injuries. There’s only a limited time to file these claims, so it’s beneficial to work with someone who understands these matters.