Log Violations
Commercial freight truck drivers are required to keep a log for recording hours of service information at required intervals for over-the-road deliveries. Section 395.15 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations are clear that failure to complete the record of duty activities, or making a false report in the log, make the driver and/or the carrier liable to prosecution.
The FMCSR are clear about the number of hours a truck driver may be behind the wheel, determined by the class of load and vehicle being driven. The driver’s log is checked by FMCSA officials at weigh stations located along Interstates across America. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gathers annual records of accidents involving truck drivers and has found that accidents often involve driver log violations.
Don’t let the truck company lawyers tell you differently. A driver log violation is a serious violation.
It is important that truck drivers take the FMCSA regulations regarding log information seriously. Courts have found that inaccurate and incomplete log entries are legitimate reasons to suspect driver error and company negligence as a cause of the accident.
Common truck driver log book violations include:
* Lack of sleep
* Too many hours behind the wheel
* Inaccurate or incomplete information
* Driver errors
* Skipped entries
* Skipped meals
Case Study
Lofton v. McKee and Rogers Trucking, Inc.
Kevin Lofton sustained massive injuries and died after an oversized semi-tractor trailer traveling westbound and being operated by an employee of Rogers Trucking hit the tanker truck he was operating eastbound on Kentucky Road 80 in Adair County, Kentucky nearly head-on. An investigation of the accident revealed that the trailer being pulled by Rogers Trucking was too wide for Kentucky Road 80, and in fact, such sized trailers were prohibited from traveling on the road. If Rogers Trucking had followed the regulation, the accident would have been avoided Through representation by Tabor Law Firm, Kevin's wife and two minor children were able to recover an almost seven-figure settlement from Defendants, excluding costs and attorney's fees.