If you have driven for any length of time in Indiana, you no doubt have been along side a semi truck or other large commercial vehicle like a dump truck, cement mixing truck or something else. When this happens, you can realize just how much smaller even the biggest passenger vehicle is than these commercial trucks. It is not surprising that when a tractor trailer and a passenger vehicle are involved in an accident together, the results can be extreme.
In an effort to curb trucker fatigue, a known cause of some large truck crashes, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has put in place very specific rules. These rules detail the number of hours a trucker can work in a day or a week and how many of those hours can be spent driving. The FMCSA also dictates when breaks must be taken and how long they must last.
Goods-carrying truckers can have seven- or eight-day workweeks that include up to 60 or 70 hours worked, respectively. Before a new week can start, the trucker must be off duty for at least 34 hours. A single work day can span 14 hours after 10 hours off duty. Of those 14 hours, only 11 are allowed to be spent actively driving. A half hour break is required after eight hours on duty.
If you would like to learn more about the federal laws in place designed to help curb trucker fatigue, please feel free to visit the trucking crash and safety page of our Indiana personal injury and motor vehicle accident website.