Driving next to a semi-truck, you immediately feel their looming presence. Truck accidents can be devastating, with dire consequences for the involved parties, as their huge sizes make any collisions that much worse. Central to many of these accidents are truckers’ hours of service violations, a factor that significantly increases the risk of mishaps on the road. If you were injured in a truck accident on Florida roads, it may have been caused by one of these violations.
What Are Truckers’ Hours of Service?
There are very clear limits on how long truck drivers are legally allowed to be on duty, including driving time. These rules are designed with the dual purpose of ensuring that truckers have sufficient rest and reducing fatigue-related accidents on the highways. For instance, property-carrying drivers are limited to a maximum of 11 hours of driving after ten consecutive hours off duty.
The rationale behind stringent HOS regulations is rooted in safety. Fatigued driving is akin to impaired driving – it significantly diminishes reaction times, decision-making abilities, and overall driver alertness. By capping driving hours and mandating rest periods, the FMCSA aims to mitigate the risk of accidents caused by driver fatigue. Unfortunately, despite these safeguards, violations are not uncommon.
The pressure to meet delivery deadlines and pressure from trucking companies can sometimes lead drivers to stay on the clock too long. Through a combination of technological oversight and rigorous enforcement, strides have been made in curbing hours of service violations. However, the battle against fatigue-related accidents continues.
The Link Between Hours-of-Service Violations and Personal Injuries
Violations of hours of service regulations have real and often tragic outcomes. Commercial trucks’ sheer size and weight mean that any collision with a smaller vehicle can result in catastrophic injuries or fatalities. Victims of truck accidents may suffer from a range of injuries, including but not limited to traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), spinal cord injuries leading to paralysis, broken bones, and internal bleeding. While these can occur from any high-speed accident, the same accident between two smaller vehicles will nearly always be less severe than one involving a truck.
How an Attorney Can Help Victims of Truck Accident Violations
Following a truck accident, a personal injury attorney can help discover the circumstances leading to your crash. A truck accident investigation often involves scrutinizing the trucker’s logbooks (or their electronic equivalent) to identify any discrepancies or violations of hours-of-service regulations. For truck accidents with tons of debris and multiple vehicles, accident reconstruction experts are often brought in to help get a clearer picture of what happened before impact.
The ultimate goal of legal representation is to secure fair compensation for the victim. This is only possible by demonstrating the direct link between the trucker’s hours of service violations (or another violation) and the accident. Attorneys have experience with these types of accidents and lawsuits, so they can help strengthen your case and fight for a settlement or court award that reflects the full extent of your losses.
Accidents on the road happen for a wide variety of reasons, and it isn’t always possible to place the blame solely at the feet of one person or company. However, Hours-of-Service violations are massive red flags, and they alone can sometimes be enough proof to change the trajectory of your case and compensation.
We don’t know what kind of factors influence your case until we take a closer look. If you were injured in a truck accident in Florida, contact Probinsky & Cole today to schedule your free consultation with a member of our team.
