Truck drivers are under immense pressure to make sure their deliveries are made on time. In the past, trucking companies have put unfair stress on their employees to expedite a specific load for an impatient client. However, in the past few years, the federal government has placed stricter regulations on logging truck driving hours in Sandy Springs to minimize the number for trucking accidents caused by driver fatigue.
If you have been injured in a similar accident or would simply like more insight about the responsibility owed by trucking companies and their drivers to civilian drivers, speak with one of our knowledgeable attorneys at Hammers Law Firm today.
The hours a truck driver is allowed to drive depends on a few factors. At the moment, it heavily depends on how many hours the driver worked in the past week and the opinion of the federal government in regards to how much rest is necessary for the truck driver to complete their shift in a safe manner. Since these regulations may be subject to change, it is best to speak with a local truck accident attorney for help staying on top of certain trends and law changes.
The mandatory periods of rest a driver can take depends on how long they have been driving for. If the driver was working for a number of days, they will be required to take an 11-hour break at some point. However, the federal government is currently reviewing these breaks and may change them. The government will most likely set regulations allowing for shorter break time. However, decreasing the break times, they may also be increasing the risk of driving while fatigued.
In the past few years, the federal government has informed all trucking companies that they are to have an electronic logging system to track the number of hours driven by a driver. The way this works is that a device is placed on a truck that begins tracking the time traveled as soon as the truck is turned on, when it is moving, and when it is turned off. This device automatically tracks the truck driver’s movements without relying on the driver to write it down on a special form. Unfortunately, smaller trucking companies are having a tough time getting up to speed with this technology, but the vast majority of companies are using this device.
The most common accidents that occur if the driver is fatigued are rear-end accidents and also accidents where the truck driver drifts from his lane into another lane, causing a side swipe collision. In both of these cases, if the truck driver is fatigued, their ability to focus is hampered. As a result, they may doze off and forget to brake when approaching traffic or drift into oncoming traffic. At-fault truck drivers will usually have no excuse since they may not even realize they have been in an accident until it is too late.
Logging truck driving hours in Sandy Springs is crucial for trucking companies. If one of their truck drivers were involved in an accident where they may have fell asleep behind the wheel, the company could cite their driver’s log to try to absolve themselves of any liability and blame the driver. The victim can also try to access these records if they believe the trucking company may have contributed to the driver’s lack of rest. To learn more about how trucking companies track their employee’s drive times, feel free to reach out and schedule a consultation today.
