Truckers and Employers Required to Keep Duty Hour Records
The stereotyped image of an overworked truck driver accompanied by a huge coffee mug or a multi-ounce big gulp of caffeine and sugar-laded soda is not, unfortunately, always far from the truth. Significant pressure is placed on commercial vehicle drivers to execute their jobs in spite of often long hours on-duty, both behind the wheel and working outside their truck or bus. Although regulations have been in place for decades requiring truck drivers and trucking carriers to limit driver work hours in order to reduce fatigued, dangerous driving, these limitations can only be enforced if the drivers and their employers accurately and diligently record on-duty, off-duty, and actual driving hours. Sometimes, law enforcement reports on truck accidents will explicitly note if driver fatigue is considered a contributing factor, but often only a careful examination of records required to be kept by drivers and carriers will reveal patterns of overwork. A skilled personal injury attorney will be aware of how and when to seek evidence in the written and electronic truck driver “hours of service” records required to be kept by truck drivers and trucking companies that may point at unsafe driving practices leading to driver fatigue.