subject: Driver Fatigue Guidelines That Truck Accident Attorneys Are Required To Know [print this page] When looking at a specific incident, a trucking accident attorney examines every angle in order to determine what happened and who is at fault. The driver of the commercial vehicle is often at the center of the investigation because there are certain standards and requirements that must be adhered to. Here are a few of those regulations and how they can be responsible for an incident with another motorist.
Maximum Continuous Work Time
All drivers can only work for a certain amount of time before they are required to take a break. If a trucking accident attorney finds out that a driver drove over five hours without a break, there is a possibility that the driver is liable for the incident. While a driver may not be willing to talk about how much he has driven over the past few days or hours, there is a log that must be filled out regularly. The lawyer can get a copy of the log and use it to prove that the break was never taken.
Minimum Break from Driving
The regulations state that every five hours of continuous work time, a driver must take a break. This break must be between 10 or 15 minutes, depending on how long the drivers has been on the road continuously. These breaks are set up to ensure that a person gets out of the truck and walks around. Sometimes the monotony of the road can cause a person to become sleepy or less attentive to the road. The lack of break or not taking enough of a break is key evidence that a trucking accident attorney can use to prove his or her case.
Maximum Amount of Work
The average work schedule includes about 40 hours a week. The hours a trucker can drive are very different. It is possible to work for up to 168 hours over the course of 14 days. For most people, it seems like a lot of time to be in a commercial vehicle, concentrating on the road and keeping an eye out for other vehicles. How many hours can the average person drive over the course of a day or two while on a road trip? How much of that time is spent with an optimum level of care and caution on the road? These are all facts that any trucking accident attorney would bring up as the cause of a collision with another person.
Each of these regulations is put into place to protect several different parties. They should protect the driver and make sure that he or she is not working too much and putting unnecessary strain on the body. They are also set up to protect other drivers on the road.
