An accident recently reported illustrates how severe the problem of excessive driving hours for commercial truckers can get. The investigation following a fatality accident revealed that the truck driver had been on the road for 38 of the 48 hours previous to the accident. Not only is that a violation of any rule of common sense, it is highly illegal and obviously dangerous.
Following the crash, the State of Kansas charged Mora with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. He was also cited for following too close and for operating a commercial motor vehicle after being declared out-of-service for violations of federal hours-of-service regulations that are designed to prevent fatigued driving. Earlier the same day, June 13, 2018, at approximately 10:00 a.m., following a roadside safety inspection, Mora was placed out-of-service for 10 hours for failing to have any records-of-duty-status. The tractor-and-trailer Mora was operating likewise was placed out-of-service for numerous safety deficiencies, including inoperative/defective brakes and dangerously worn tires. Federal safety regulations prohibit any vehicle placed out-of-service from being operated until and unless all the safety violations have been repaired; Mora had repairs done on the tractor, but not on the trailer.
Using global positioning system (GPS) to reconstruct Mora’s trip, which began June 11, 2018, in El Paso, Texas, FMCSA investigators estimated Mora had been driving continuously for at least 38 of the 45 hours prior to the June 13, 2018, crash. Investigators found Mora has either disabled or deactivated the electronic logging device (ELD) equipped in his truck in prior trips.”
It is a well known fact within the trucking industry that driver logs are often falsified. In fact, many truckers will report that their companies more or less require them to falsify their logs in order to reach their goals. These goals include the number of runs, getting the cargo to the destination in a time frame that makes the customer happy, and so forth. And of course the truckers are on the road to support their families and want to send as much money home as possible, and the more miles, the more money.
This can have clear negative implications for the safety of a truck driver as well as others on the road. Truck driver is among the most dangerous occupations in the country, and truckers face pressure from their employers to stay in service on the road. If a trucker is injured in the course and scope of employment, even if having broken the law regarding time in service, would be entitled to workers compensation benefits.
As far as those other parties on the road, the problem is one of safety without knowing this crucial fact about the status of the trucker. It only takes seconds for the truck driver to fall into a daze because of sleep or exhaustion and cross over a center line or into another lane and cause a serious accident. In a personal injury action, it is relevant the number of hours the trucker has been in service, whether the trucker had rested or violated laws. It is also relevant to punitive damages whether the trucking company was aware of or even encouraged such breaking of the rules which proximately caused the accident.
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