Truck Driver Safety – Driving Time Limits

Anyone from the Beaumont area knows that I-10 turn into a parking lot at any given moment. When it does and traffic stops, it is much easier to see just how much 18-wheeler traffic flows through this area. Commercial trucks have safety issues that are unique to the trucking industry. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is the lead federal government agency responsible for regulating and providing safety oversight of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs), such as 18-wheelers. Its stated mission is to “reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities involving large trucks and buses.” Their efforts play a significant in reducing crashes throughout Texas and primarily in the Beaumont area where we have so much commercial hauling related to the petrochemical industry.

In order to fulfill its safety mission of protecting drivers from automobile accidents, the FMCSA develops and enforces regulations that balance safety and efficiency in the trucking industry. These regulations are known as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR). In them, you will find safety regulations about (1) driver qualifications, (2) truck and trailer inspections, (3) drive-time limits to reduce fatigue-related accidents, (4) required post-accident drug and alcohol testing, among other topics relevant to keeping our roads safe.

One way the FMCSA reduces accidents is through preventing driver fatigue by making sure truck drivers are physically rested and alert on the roadways. This is done by limiting the daily and weekly amounts drivers can operate a commercial vehicle. According to a study from the FMCSA, the sole cause of approximately 13% of all commercial vehicle crashes was driver fatigue. This doesn’t even include crashes where the driver made negligent driving choices in addition to being fatigued.

Below is a summary of the FMCSR driving time limits:

1. The 14-Hour Shift: Truck drivers can only work up to 14-hours a day. This includes all work-related activities, including both driving and non-driving work. After 14-hours, drivers must stop all work.
2. The 11-Hour Limit: During their 14-hour shift, truck drivers cannot drive more than 11-hours.
3. The Rest Break Rule: Drivers cannot drive more than 8-hours straight without taking a 30-minute break from driving. During this break, the driver can still work, but it has to be non-driving work.
4. 60-Hour and 70-Hour Rules: These rules pertain to how long drivers can work during a consecutive work period. Drivers cannot drive after having been on-duty for 60 hours in a 7-day consecutive work period or 70 hours in an 8-day consecutive work period.
5. 34-Hour Reset: If a driver takes 34 straight hours off, their 60-hour and 70-hour work week limitations reset completely.
6. Sleeper Berth Provision: During the 10-hours drivers are not working, drivers have to spend at least 7-hours consecutively in the sleeper berth. This rule is designed to make sure drivers are getting proper rest during their non-working time.
7. Ill or Fatigued Drivers: Drivers cannot operate a CMV while their “ability or alertness is so impaired, through fatigue, illness, or any other cause, as to make it unsafe to begin or continue to operate a CMV.”

These rules will not prevent every accident, and unfortunately, some drivers and motor-carriers will not follow or enforce them. Before electronic driver log books, it was much easier for unsafe drivers to manipulate their handwritten logs to show they were complying with driving time restrictions when in actuality they were not. Drivers would “pencil-whip” their logs to extend their drive times, putting the public at greater risk for accidents caused by driver fatigue.

We are experienced personal injury attorneys who have worked on many cases where we have uncovered drive-time violations that contributed to crashes. These violations are not always obvious, and they require having a legal team that is experienced in uncovering such things. If you have been involved in an 18-wheeler or commercial motor vehicle wreck, let a local Beaumont personal injury attorney review your case to see if driver fatigue played a part in your automobile wreck.