FMCSA Rules and Regulations for Trucking Accident Safety

FMCSA Rules and Regulations for Trucking Accident Safety

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is the government agency responsible for regulating commercial motor vehicles, such as semi-trucks and buses. As part of its official duties, the FMCSA has the authority to implement safety rules and regulations designed to reduce trucking accidents and related serious injuries and fatalities. It does this in several ways, including setting CDL requirements, mandating drug and alcohol testing, regulating truck driver work hours, and requiring tractor-trailers to meet certain safety standards.

As with most federal regulations, FMCSA trucking accident safety rules are complex. You should always speak with a personal injury attorney who has experience handling large truck crash claims, as FMCSA regulations are not optional. When truckers and trucking companies violate mandatory federal safety measures, a truck accident lawyer can hold negligent parties liable. This often results in higher and quicker financial settlements with commercial motor vehicle insurers. Speak with a dedicated truck accident injury firm near you to discuss your claims.

Dangerous Commercial Motor Vehicle Accidents

Tractor-trailers can outweigh standard passenger vehicles 10 to 1. When driven negligently, they’re extremely dangerous. Traffic accidents involving large trucks, especially on major highways and intersections, often result in serious chain-reaction crashes. These mass casualty events occur because semi-trucks frequently block multiple lanes of traffic during collisions, forcing drivers to take evasive maneuvers or crash directly into the trailer. The FMCSA exists because the following commercial motor vehicle accidents can result in serious and fatal injuries:

• Merging/Sideswipe
• Rear-end
• Jackknife
• Undercarriage/Underride
• Rollover
• Tire blowout
• Low underpasses (shearing)
• Speeding
• Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol (DUI/DWI)
• Swerving from drowsy driving

Federal and state safety regulations – including limiting truck speed limits, setting up safety checks, and prohibiting commercial vehicles on certain roadways – are there to prevent these mass casualty events.

Hours of Service (HOS) Regulations 

Long-haul truck drivers often spend days, if not weeks, on the road. They are also subject to bad traffic and weather conditions, slowing their delivery progress. The FMCSA identified fatigued driving as a major contributor to serious and fatal large truck crashes. As such, truck drivers must adhere to the following federal hours of service (HOS) regulations:

• 11-Hour Daily Driving Limit: Truck drivers may not drive for more than 11 hours (with some exceptions for extreme weather) after taking 10 hours off duty. They must then take another 10 hours off duty.
• 14-Hour Driving Window: Truckers can only drive the maximum 11 hours within a 14-hour window. They may not scatter these hours over 24 hours, as this impacts sleep.
• 60/70 Hour Weekly Limit: Truck drivers may not drive for more than 60 hours in a 7-day workweek (or 70 hours in an 8-day workweek) before taking a mandatory 34 hours off duty. The clock then resets.
• 30-Mintute Break: Whether it means pulling over or going to a rest stop, truckers must take at least a 30-minute break for every 8 hours driven.
• Sleeper Berth: While on duty, long-haul truckers must spend at least 7 hours in the sleeper berth during one of their mandatory 10-hour off-duty periods.

Certain exceptions exist if truckers hit adverse driving conditions, such as an accident or bad weather, or they’re making short-haul trips. Truck drivers must, however, keep detailed hours of service logs during every trip. Attorneys can request these logs following truck accidents to determine whether HOS violations contributed to the crash. The driver’s failure to keep a detailed log or follow hourly regulations can result in a favorable legal determination in your case. Sometimes, drivers will even admit that their employers pressured them into violating regulations to meet delivery deadlines. An experienced truck accident lawyer can obtain additional damages for claimants in these cases.

Drug and Alcohol Testing and Training Protocol

Truck drivers have stressful jobs, and some turn to drugs and alcohol. Whether they need prescription medications for back pain or drink during lengthy trips, driving under the influence contributes to many serious and fatal truck accidents. The FMCSA requires all drivers to undergo periodic drug and alcohol testing, which employers must implement. They must also attend certain mandatory drug and alcohol training programs. Though local law enforcement officers will check truck drivers’ blood alcohol levels immediately after suspicious accidents, a reputable truck accident lawyer can also demand all prior testing records from the driver’s employer. Evidence of prior drug or alcohol abuse can give rise to negligent hiring claims.

Vehicle and Tire Safety Checks

Truck owners must keep semi-trucks in safe working condition, including performing periodic maintenance, upgrades, and safety checks. Very specific federal regulations also apply to tires, especially on 18-wheelers, including those addressing:

• Load restrictions
• Defects
• Inflation pressure
• Tread depth
• Tires per axle
• Spare tires

Additionally, wheels and rims may not be cracked or broken, and nuts and bolts cannot be missing or loose. Commercial vehicle safety standards also apply to windshields, lights, brakes, reflective devices, turn signals, and warning devices. While trucking companies must provide safe vehicles, drivers are responsible for performing and documenting periodic tire checks. Law firms may hire expert commercial mechanics to inspect the truck for vehicle safety violations after tire blowouts. If these violations caused the crash, a legal professional can hold the truck owner and trucking company directly liable for your injuries. Violations can also be used as leverage to obtain higher insurance settlements in your favor.

Cargo Limitations

Trucks, especially open-bed trucks transporting logs and construction materials, have specific cargo weight and securement rules. Cargo loaders, often under the truck driver’s supervision, must load and secure the cargo to prevent shifting. This includes rearranging cargo if one side of the truck becomes too heavy, as this often contributes to rollover accidents. If you suffered an injury in a rollover accident or by loose debris spilled onto the roadway following a crash, you can have a negligent cargo loading claim.

Commercial Motor Vehicle Insurance Minimums

Large trucks frequently cause multi-vehicle accidents, significant injuries, and property damage. As such, federal and not state insurance minimums apply to commercial motor vehicles. The FMCSA has minimum commercial insurance requirements ranging from $750,000 to $5,000,000 per accident, depending on the cargo transported. Claimants suffering from life-altering injuries such as paralysis, third-degree burns, amputations, or traumatic brain injuries can demand the full value of these policies with a legal professional’s help.

Legal Grounds for Holding Truck Drivers and Owners Liable for FMCSA Violations

Experienced truck accident attorneys will work to identify every potential legal claim against truckers and trucking companies for their clients. In some cases, they may take your claims to court, but many viable personal injury cases settle with liable insurance companies. Common legal claims arising in semi-truck accident cases involving federal safety regulations include the following.

Negligence

After most commercial motor vehicle crashes, claimants can sue truck drivers – and, by extension, their employers – for general negligence. Negligence claims allege that the driver carelessly operated the vehicle and their carelessness caused your injuries. Employers can be found negligent on behalf of their employee (vicarious liability). Courts generally find truckers negligent if they did not drive as another careful truck driver would have, based on the facts and circumstances of each case.

Negligence Per Se

Another way to prove negligence is by showing that the driver or trucking company violated an applicable traffic law or safety regulation, including FMCSA rules. This is called negligence per se. Showing that a violation occurred often results in accelerated negligence judgments against the responsible party, which might mean you have a direct claim against the truck’s owner, trucking company, mechanic, or driver’s employer. These claims allow your attorney to obtain damages from additional umbrella liability insurance policies, not just the commercial auto insurer.

For this reason, you should work with a personal injury law firm that understands the complex federal safety regulations applicable to truck drivers and tractor-trailers. They might immediately identify potential safety violations and obtain additional financial awards for you and your family.

Negligent Hiring

Legal counsel can hold the truck driver’s employer directly liable for negligent hiring in certain cases. These claims allege that the employer either knew or reasonably should have known that the driver was not fit to operate a commercial motor vehicle. Evidence of negligent hiring generally involves past traffic accidents, DUI convictions, or warnings from previous employers about the driver. Because the United States is facing a major truck driver shortage, sometimes companies hire drivers they shouldn’t.

Reckless or Intentional Conduct

Many trucking companies intentionally violate safety regulations for financial purposes. In such cases, your attorney may claim the company had a ‘reckless disregard’ for the safety of others. These elevated claims can entitle you to seek punitive damages to punish trucking companies for their reckless or intentional conduct. Your lawyer can also report any intentional violations to the FMCSA. This can result in higher jury verdicts and financial awards for you and even others injured by reckless trucking companies. Some cases have involved truck drivers admitting they were pressured to violate HOS regulations to make quicker deliveries.

A dedicated local semi-truck accident attorney will review the facts of your case to determine which claims apply, if any, and can identify potential FMCSA safety violations.

Damages Available After Large Truck Accidents

Most tractor-trailer crash claims settle with the liable commercial insurer after dedicated legal advocacy. An experienced personal injury attorney will thoroughly investigate the truck accident to determine whether an FMCSA violation contributed to the crash. This often includes reviewing hours of service records, hiring expert truck mechanics to inspect vehicle maintenance records, and demanding employers provide drug and alcohol testing and driving records.

If the evidence indicates the truck driver or trucking company violated an FMCSA rule or safety regulation (and this violation contributed to the accident), your lawyer can demand the following damages:

• Lost Income and Benefits: Disabling truck accident injuries, especially brain injuries and back pain, often result in substantial lost earnings. An attorney can demand the lifetime value of your lost income, earning capacity, promotions, health insurance, and pension contributions.
• Medical Expenses: Catastrophic injury cases often result in significant medical expenses. Medical compensation after large truck accidents can include the cost of hospitals, ambulances, doctors, physical therapists, medications, medical equipment, and home nursing care.
• Pain and Suffering: Also called non-economic damages, these real but incalculable damages compensate claimants for their lost enjoyment of life, frustration, physical pain, and emotional anguish.
• Wrongful Death: If your loved one was killed in a large truck accident or succumbed to his or her injuries, experienced wrongful death lawyers can demand damages for families. This may include obtaining compensation for lost financial support and spousal companionship.

High-value commercial truck insurers will lowball unrepresented claimants after serious 18-wheeler accidents. Do not accept any money from an insurer, truck driver, or trucking company before speaking with a dedicated truck accident attorney near you.

Retain an Experienced FMCSA Trucking Safety Lawyer

Many serious truck accident injury cases involve FMCSA safety violations, but they are hard to find if you don’t know what to look for. Always retain a law firm with experience handling commercial motor vehicle accidents, as they will be familiar with the FMCSA rules and regulations applicable in your case. They can even provide personal injury representation on a contingency fee basis. Meaning, they don’t get paid unless they win your case. Confidentially discuss your case with a local truck accident attorney today.