There is a tremendous amount of pressure within the trucking industry for drivers to push well beyond their physical limits and continue driving despite serious signs of fatigue. The protections granted in the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), such as the right to overtime compensation, do not apply to truck drivers. The lack of protection under FLSA coupled with rising consumer demand for overnight shipments has resulted in the exploitation of drivers employed by trucking companies who demand unsafe practices.
Drivers are typically paid by the mile and usually unpaid for time spent waiting for their truck to be loaded or unloaded, completing required driver logs, maintenance and/or repairs, mandatory inspections, and many other activities that, although required, do not include having their hands on the wheel and their foot on the gas.
In order to make enough money to live, truck drivers must continue traveling for obscenely long durations regardless of their fatigue and ability to operate a 10,001+ lb. commercial motor vehicle. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”), nearly 4,000 people are killed in trucking accidents every year and driver fatigue is cited as a leading factor.
THE FMSCA’S HOURS OF SERVICE RULE
The FMCSA is charged with preventing the kind of devastating fatalities and injuries that often occur when a very large commercial vehicle collides with the average citizen’s vehicle. In 2011 FMCSA updated its “Hours of Service” safety regulations to address the dangers of truck driver fatigue. The amended rules effectively limited truck drivers to a maximum of 70 hours work per week, reducing the previous limit of 82 hours per week. The decrease in the maximum number of work hours permitted per week was accomplished by requiring truck drivers to take a 30-minute break during the first eight hours of a shift and placing a limit on truck drivers’ ability to utilize the 34-hour “restart” provision.
The 34-hour “restart” refers to FMCSA’s provision allowing truck drivers who reach their maximum 70 hours driven within a week to resume driving and restart their time calculation after they have rested for 34 consecutive hours. The FMCSA updated this rule in 2011 by limiting a truck driver to one restart per week (168 hour period) and requiring the 34-hour rest to span two periods between 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. Prior to the 2011 update, truck drivers were only required to take at least 34 consecutive hours off without any other restrictions.
The FMCSA’s 2011 update regarding the 34-hour restart provision did not go into effect until July 1, 2013. In December of 2014, the newly amended restart provision was suspended pursuant to the President’s Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2015. The President’s Act requires the FMCSA to conduct studies to determine how the updated restart requirements would impact the health, safety, and fatigue of truck drivers. In the meantime, truck drivers are permitted to resume their previously unrestricted use of the restart provision.
Other rules the FMCSA kept in their Hours of Service 2011 update include:
- 10 consecutive hours off duty prior to the beginning of a work shift
- Maximum 14-hour workday (after which the driver must then take 10 consecutive hours off)
- 11-hour daily driving limit
WHO MUST COMPLY WITH THE HOURS OF SERVICE RULE?
In general, any individual who operates a commercial motor vehicle (“CMV”) must comply with the Hours of Service regulations. According to the FMCSA, a CMV is defined as a vehicle that is used as part of a business, is involved in interstate commerce, and fits a range of technical descriptions, the most common of which is that the vehicle weighs 10,001 pounds or more. Most of the semi-trucks you see on the highway or in your town that deliver goods/produce for businesses and cross state lines to do so are regulated by the FMCSA and therefore must comply with the Hours of Service rule.
The issues facing truck drivers today regarding the pressure to continue driving despite being fatigued is unfortunately complicated by the Hours of Service regulations. Although the regulations do contain some exceptions for unexpected, emergency conditions, the exceptions do not apply to delays caused by loading/unloading. Truckers must therefore include the time spent loading/unloading their trucks in their work shift calculations, despite being unpaid for that time, which makes it very difficult for a driver to earn a living and continue driving “legal” at the same time.
TRUCKER LIABILITY AND YOUR RIGHTS
If a truck driver violates any of the Hours of Service requirements by, for example, driving well over the allotted daily 11 hours, not only will they be subject to penalties but the motor carrier company the driver is employed by will be liable as well. The FMCSA has clarified the issue of liability as follows: “Neither intent to commit, nor actual knowledge of, a violation is a necessary element” of a carrier’s liability for the actions of their employees. Indeed, a motor carrier is liable under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations regardless of actual knowledge of violations.
The penalties that companies and drivers could face for violating any part of the Hours of Service regulation include a maximum of $16,000 fine for the motor carrier and a maximum of $3,750 for the driver per violation. Those may seem substantial, but nothing could compare to the loss of life and major traumatic injuries suffered by the victims of trucking accidents caused by driver fatigue.
Prior to the 2011 update to the FMCSA’s Hours of Service regulations, thorough research revealed chronic fatigue caused by long work hours is associated with a high risk of accidents. One of the more disturbing revelations was the evidence that drivers are frequently unable to detect signs of their own fatigue in time to take responsible action. Most drivers are unaware they are fatigued and driving dangerously until it’s too late and all too often that ignorance comes at a very tragic price.
Every accident involving large commercial vehicles is unique and the complexity of the laws that apply to each can be very difficult to understand. Without the advice of a qualified legal team with the kind of extensive experience in trucking litigation that our firm can provide, you and your family may not receive the compensation you are entitled to by law. If you or a loved one were injured in a commercial trucking accident, call our experienced legal team for a free and confidential legal consultation.
Written by:
Kelly Bennett
Approved by Francisco Guerra, IV
Watts Guerra LLP
4 Dominion Drive, Bldg 3, Suite 100
San Antonio, Texas 78257
Phone (210) 447-0500
© Watts Guerra LLP 2015
