Being extremely tired can impair your reaction time and overall awareness just as much as being intoxicated from alcohol or drug consumption can. This means driving while fatigued can sometimes be just as dangerous as driving while drunk or high. State-level laws, unfortunately, cannot do much to proactively prevent drowsy drivers. However, federal law does take at least some measures to stop commercial truck drivers from being too tired on the road with driving time restrictions enforced by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
If you were hurt recently in a wreck caused by a truck driver who was drowsy because they were violating federal driving time regulations or for any other reasons, you may have grounds to file suit against more than one person over the incident. No matter the circumstances leading up to the crash, though, successfully taking legal action over fatigued truck drivers in Peoria accidents is not something you want to try doing without the help of a seasoned truck accident lawyer from Phillips Law Group.
How Federal Law Governs Driving Time for Commercial Truckers
Under current FMCSA regulations, commercial drivers transporting cargo instead of human passengers on long-haul routes cannot be on shift for more than 14 consecutive hours. Additionally, they cannot drive for more than 11 total hours within those 14 hours, with extensions of up to two hours allowed only for delays caused by adverse driving conditions. These limits only reset once the driver has been off-duty for at least 10 consecutive hours or for a split of two breaks, including at least one span of seven consecutive hours and one span of two consecutive hours in their truck’s sleeper berth adding up to a total of 10 hours off-duty.
Drivers must take a break from driving for at least 30 minutes once they have driven for eight hours without such a break. Finally, drivers cannot drive for more than 60 total hours in a continuous seven-day period or for more than 70 total hours in a continuous eight-day period. Both periods reset only once the driver has spent at least 34 consecutive hours off-duty.
A Peoria trucker who is found to have broken these regulations and driven while fatigued at the time of an accident could be held liable for the resulting damages.
Who Could Be Liable for a Fatigued Truck Driver Wreck?
While some truck drivers involved in Peoria accidents are fatigued because of their own ill-advised choices, many are tired because their employers forced them to disobey the driving time regulations mentioned above to keep their jobs. If a situation like this leads to a truck accident, the employer of the fatigued trucker may hold direct civil liability for accident-related injuries.
Alternatively, trucking companies can often be held vicariously liable for negligence by one of their employees, thanks to the legal doctrine of respondeat superior. During a private initial consultation, a qualified attorney can discuss possible defendants to name in a specific claim in further detail.
Work With a Peoria Attorney on a Fatigued Truck Driver Accident Claim
There is no shortage of reasons why a long-haul trucker might be drowsy behind the wheel, but none of those are a good excuse to be unsafe around other people on the road. Unfortunately, even if you know a fatigued truck driver was responsible for causing your Peoria accident, you may have a more challenging time than expected, demanding civil compensation for the harm their misconduct has caused you.
Assistance from knowledgeable legal counsel is essential to achieving a favorable result from this type of truck accident claim. Call today to learn what Phillips Law Group can do for you.
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