Ohio Truck Accident Fatigue Lawyer - Sawan & Sawan

Truck Accidents Caused By Driver Fatigue

Throughout Ohio, Semi-trucks, 18 wheelers, tanker trucks and other large commercial vehicles are common sites on roads and highways. Weighing as much as 80,000 pounds, they are significantly larger and heavier than the average consumer vehicle. Since these large trucks are capable of causing significant and devastating damage – both to property and bodily injury – they are governed by several federal regulations aimed at reducing the risk of harm. One of the most important regulations are known as “hours-of-service” regulations. These laws limit the total number of hours a truck driver is allowed to drive in any given time period. It further mandates how much time must be taken off between driving shifts.

Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, these rules are not always followed – which can have disastrous consequences. We advise anyone that have been injured by a suspected fatigued drive to contact an Ohio Truck Accident Lawyer today.

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Federal Hours-of-Service Regulations

In order to get cargo around the United States, truck drivers are often required to drive thousands of miles each way. The faster they can complete the run, the more contracts they can take and the more money they can make. Additionally, some companies provide financial incentives for speed. While this system incentivizes behavior that minimizes downtime, study after study has shown that fatigue impacts a person’s judgment, response time, memory and motor control. In order to prevent this behavior, Federal hours of service regulations place limitations on drivers. Commercial truck drivers are subject to the following regulations:

Commercial truck drivers can drive a maximum of 11 hours after taking 10 hours off duty
Truck Drivers can only drive if 8 hours or less have passed since the end of the Drivers last off-duty period
Truck drivers are limited to no more than 60 hours on duty in 7 consecutive days if the employing carrier does not operate 7 days a week (70 hour max if they do)

Stay Safe on the Roads

Top Causes of Truck Accidents

Using Regulations to Win a Truck Accident Case

As truck accident lawyers, we have experience investigating the case of truck crashes. Any violation of these hours-of-service regulations may be sufficient to establish legal liability in the event of a truck crash. However, it is important that anyone involved in a truck crash hire a lawyer that is familiar with these Federal Regulations.