Driver Fatigue and Falsified Log Books

Originally published by Texas Attorney.

Driver fatigue is the leading cause of trucking accidents.

When truck drivers push themselves to the point of exhaustion and spend too many hours behind the wheel they are simply more prone to wrecks. Despite stiffening regulations from the Department of Transportation and Federal regulators,  it is all too common to see truck drivers trying to maximize mileage. But, who could blame them? Truck drivers are incentivized to drive more miles– the more miles they drive and the more loads they carry, the more money they make. Truck drivers and the commercial motor carriers who force this conduct should be held accountable for those who recklessly drive their rig while fatigued, lose focus and cause a wreck with tragic consequences.

Hours On Duty

Federal and state lawmakers have attempted to restrict the number of hours commercial truck drivers may drive in a 24-hour period. These laws currently mandate that truck drivers may only drive for 11 consecutive hours within a 14-hour window following 10 consecutive hours off-duty. The 11-hour rule means that drivers may have a total of 14 hours on-duty within a 24-hour period. Regulation further stipulates that truckers can’t drive if they have been on duty for 60 hours in any consecutive 7-day period if the trucking company is not open for business every day of the week or if they have been on duty for 70 hours in any consecutive 8-day period if the motor carrier is open for business every day of the week. On duty time is not only time spent driving but any time the driver spends working or ready to work. In other words, anytime the truck driver is in their rig and is not sleeping.

To ensure that drivers comply with hours of service regulations, truck drivers are required to keep current and detailed records of their on-duty and off-duty time for every 24-hour period they work. Once the record is complete, the truck driver is required to sign it and send the original copy into his or her motor carrier employer within 13 business days. Drivers are required to keep copies of the past 7 consecutive days’ logs with them at all times. Employers are required to keep the hard copies of these trucking logs for at least 6 months.

Falsifying Driving Logs

The hours of service and record-keeping regulations are intended to prevent truckers who drive 18-wheelers from spending too much time behind the wheel because of the increased risks for devastating accidents. However, there are many truck drivers who inaccurately report their hours in order to pick up more miles or more loads (i.e.- to get paid more money). Unfortunately, drivers often feel pressured and incentivized to drive as much as possible, and often times refusal to break the rules can result in termination from their jobs.

This pressure leads many truckers to falsify their trucking logs. The issue of falsified logs is one that is well known inside and outside of the trucking industry, but difficult to stop. Some trucking companies have begun requiring drivers to use automatic on-board recording devices to record the changes in their duty status. Another way that companies track driver time is through on-board data from an Electronic Control Module (“ECM”), which is similar to the “black boxes” found in the cockpit of airliners.  The ECM is not only able to provide daily usage information, but also is able to help in accident reconstruction, calculate speeds, and give demonstrable evidence of hard stops.  These devices lessen the opportunity to falsify the trucking logs but they are not yet required in all 18-wheelers.

Regardless of enforceability, the falsification of hours is still wrong and in fact punishable by law. Unfortunately, the threat of prosecution for falsifying records seems not to do much to deter the activity.  When drivers are driving more hours and sleeping fewer hours than they should, driver fatigue makes them a threat to everyone on the road and innocent people may be injured or killed as a result. In these situations, experienced truck wreck attorneys can investigate the causes of the wreck and review the trucking logs for inaccuracies and even falsification. Your Texas truck wreck attorney should always make an effort to determine if fatigue played a role in any truck wreck or wrongful death accident.

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