Federal Trucking Regulations

Numerous aspects of truck driving and truck operation are covered by FMCSA regulations. For example, truck drivers are restricted in their hours of service to ensure that they get adequate rest and are not fatigued while operating heavy machinery. They are expected to keep accurate logbooks rather than falsifying them. Trucking companies are supposed to make sure that these logbooks are accurate, and they must conduct background checks to make sure that their drivers are qualified and competent to drive commercial trucks. They must also ensure that trucks are properly maintained and inspected and that they are not carrying loads that make it more likely for the truck to jackknife or rollover while on the road.

Unfortunately, some trucking companies put profits ahead of safety and fail to follow federal trucking regulations. In some cases, you may hold a driver or trucking company liable under a theory of negligence per se. This theory applies when a driver violates a safety law or regulation, and the violation causes an accident of the type that the law or regulation was designed to prevent. For example, some trucking companies encourage drivers to break the hours of service rules. They may look the other way even when a logbook is clearly false.

Why do drivers fail to abide by the hours of service rules? Generally, drivers are paid by the mile so that the more that they drive, the more that they are paid. They are paid more for overtime. Trucking companies encourage this because they want drivers to meet or exceed delivery deadlines. Some drivers do not understand how important the logbook is, and they may not understand that they may be audited in the future in case of an accident.

It is a crime to falsify logbooks to suggest compliance with hours of service rules. It is important to choose an attorney who understands how to evaluate evidence from the black box and pay records to determine whether logbooks have been falsified and present that evidence to a jury to show driver and trucking company negligence or negligence per se.

When trucking companies intentionally and willfully put a driver who breaks FMCSA regulations back on the road, they may be held liable not only for compensatory damages but also for punitive damages, depending on how egregious their conduct was. Punitive damages are awarded to punish egregious misconduct by the defendant, rather than make up for a plaintiff’s tangible or intangible losses. The amount awarded varies depending on several different factors, including the financial condition of the defendant and the egregiousness of the behavior.