When it comes to winning your 18-wheeler accident case in Sugar Land, having a clear and distinct understanding of Hours-of-Service (HOS) regulations isn’t just recommended – it can be a crucial component to your team’s strategy. Aside from their legal value, these regulations are vital for keeping roadways safe for all drivers. By choosing a seasoned 18-wheeler accident attorney, you can ensure that your case is full of the important HOS data needed to get optimal results.
HOS regulations are set by the federal government and establish a standard amount of time a truck driver is allowed to drive in one stretch without a break. The primary goal of these regulations is to prevent driver fatigue, something that accounts for nearly 13% of truck accidents per year. If you’ve been injured in a semi-truck accident near Sugar Land, learning more about how Maida Law’s team of 18-wheeler accident attorneys can utilize HOS regulations is imperative for your case.
HOS Regulations: How They Aim to Prevent Truck Accidents
HOS regulations are divided into two categories, consisting of property-carrying drivers and passenger-carrying drivers. However, regardless of the cargo, all commercial motor vehicles are required to comply with the rules. A commercial vehicle is defined as one that has a gross weight of more than 10,001 pounds.
When the regulations are not met, drivers and trucking companies can incur fines, penalties, out-of-service orders, and loss of their CDL license. Trucking companies can also be affected by damaged reputations, insurance costs, and timeline disruptions. By carefully adhering to these regulations, 18-wheelers can prevent accidents caused by fatigue, as well as promote a healthier overall work-life balance.
Key Components for 18-Wheeler Driver Regulations
While the list of HOS regulations can be complicated, it can be broken down into a few key components, all of which can be used by your 18-wheeler accident attorney. The primary categories are daily driving limits and weekly limits. The distinctions include:
- Daily driving limits: Within the daily driver limits, drivers are only allowed to drive a maximum of 11 hours within a 14-hour consecutive period. Additionally, drivers are only able to be “on-duty” for 14 hours total. This includes driver time, as well as breaks. Along with this, drivers are mandated to take a 30-minute break within the first 8 hours of their allotted drive time.
- Weekly driving limits: A driver’s weekly limits consist of 60 hours maximum within 7 consecutive days. A second option for drivers is to work a maximum of 70 hours within 8 consecutive days. These regulations also include a mandatory 34-hour restart system. This restart system means that the driver limits, whether they are on the 60-hour or 70-hour plan, can be restarted by taking a 34-hour break. Within these 34 hours, there must be two nights included – specifically, the hours between 1 AM and 5 AM.
Within these rules, there are a variety of exceptions; however, these schedules are the primary regulatory hours for truck driving. AT Maida Law, our team is fully equipped to find any inconsistencies in truck drivers’ adherence to HOS laws. Because of this, working with an 18-wheeler accident attorney is a non-negotiable.
Sleeper Berth Provision: Ensuring Vital Rest Breaks
This regulation allows drivers to break their mandated 10-hour break into two periods. The rules include that one break must be at least 2 hours long and the other must be at least 7 hours long. This aims to help drivers have flexibility with their breaks, especially when factors outside of their control dictate their deadlines, including loading delays or roadblocks.
When drivers take a sleep break, it completely pauses their 10-hour or 14-hour drive time. This makes it so they can optimize their driving time and meet deadlines accurately while still maintaining safety and mitigating hazards.
ElectricLoggings Devices: Keeping Semi-Truck Drivers Accountable
Most big-rig companies utilize electronic logging devices, which are something an 18-wheeler accident attorney can use to better fight your semi-truck accident case. These devices can track driving time, location, speed, and hours that the engine is running. This safety measure ensures precise, real-time monitoring to help incentivise drivers to avoid fatigue and achieve safer drives.
Not only does this protect the driver by ensuring there are accurate logs of their compliance, but it can also help optimize routes, schedules, and efficiency while staying within the limits of the HOS regulations. Above all, these devices can offer some of the strongest evidentiary support for your case.
Driver Fatigue and How it Contributes to 18-Wheeler Accidents
What is driver fatigue? Why can’t drivers just drink more caffeine? These questions are something that some people may consider when facing an 18-wheeler accident case.
The largest cause of driver fatigue is a lack of sleep. This is the primary reason for HOS rules like the daily and weekly driving limits. Despite the prevalence of lack of sleep and how it can affect driver decision-making, other factors that can lead to driver fatigue include:
- Long driving hours without breaks
- Irregular sleep patterns
- Monotonous driving routes
- Poor diet
- Insufficient hydration
- Stress
- Underlying health issues
These factors can lead to a slew of negative outcomes like impaired judgment, slow reactions, nodding off behind the wheel, and increased risk of swerving. Additionally, aside from the potential safety hazard, all of these outcomes can contribute to serious, long-term health issues for truck drivers, like cardiovascular illness, obesity, and depression.
HOS regulations are in place not only to protect other drivers on the road, but also to protect 18-wheeler drivers and their well-being.
How Your Attorney Can Utilize HOS 18-Wheeler Regulations
HOS regulations are an integral aspect of your 18-wheeler accident attorney’s strategy for winning your case and negotiating the best-case-scenario payouts. Most often, these can be useful for proving liability. Determining fault in truck accidents can sometimes be complicated for drivers or companies. By examining the electronic logs and comparing them to HOS standards, our team can determine if the driver was following rules or bypassing things like breaks.
By looking at this data, your 18-wheeler accident attorney will get a clear picture of whether driver fatigue may be a factor in your case. In some cases, it may even expose a pattern of misconduct like skipping breaks, pushing limits, and reckless disregard for fatigue prevention. This shows the vast importance of choosing a legal team like Maida Law. We understand the complex variations of HOS regulations and how they can impact the outcome of your semi-truck accident case.
Navigating Your Truck Accident Trial With HOS Regulations
When it comes to HOS regulations, they are much more important than just one case’s outcome. They are vital for ensuring that all drivers on the road can drive safely without fatigue impacting their reaction time, judgment, and regard for others’ well-being. We believe every trucking company and semi-truck driver should be accountable for these standards, and we expertly use data to create comprehensive cases for our clients.
By working with a reputable 18-wheeler accident attorney in Sugar Land, you can understand how vital HOS regulations are for winning your case. Let us help empower you and enforce the HOS standards that help contribute to safer roads for all.
Contact us today for a free 18-wheeler accident case consultation.