Obtaining a commercial driver’s license (CDL) requires compliance with numerous regulations. Keeping one’s CDL also requires following various rules and ordinances, including ones that limit the number of hours one can drive. Commercially licensed drivers who are drowsy or overworked are at a greater risk of falling asleep at the wheel and causing a major truck accident.
Those who attempt to skirt these driving hour limitations can face severe consequences, including heavy fines, CDL suspension, and being put out of service altogether. Moreover, drivers and companies alike can face civil liability in a truck accident lawsuit for injuries the driver causes as a result of drowsy or fatigued driving.
Overview Of CDL Hours Of Operation Rules
The hours a CDL driver is permitted to operate their rig before they must rest depends on whether they are transporting cargo or passengers. The general limitations are as follows:
Maximum Drive Time
A CDL holder may drive up to 11 hours if they are transporting cargo, provided that they have been off duty for ten consecutive hours prior to that journey. These drivers may not continue driving beyond the 14th consecutive hour after starting duty; at that point, the driver must be off-duty for those ten straight hours before they can resume driving.
Drivers who are carrying passengers may drive for up to ten hours after being off-duty for eight consecutive hours. They may not drive beyond the 15th consecutive hour after coming on duty and must instead go off-duty for those eight hours.
Break Periods Required
After driving for a total of eight cumulative hours, all CDL holders must stop and break for at least 30 minutes before continuing. A driver will satisfy that requirement so long as they spend 30 consecutive minutes doing something that does not involve operating or driving their vehicle.
Total On-Duty Limitations
Notwithstanding any other limitation, no CDL driver may continue to drive if they have been on duty for more than 60 hours in a seven-day period or more than 70 hours in an eight-day period. CDL holders transporting cargo may begin a new seven- or eight-day period once they have been off-duty for at least 34 consecutive hours.
Extensions Of Service Hours
During inclement weather, when travel may be slow, drivers may extend their driving limits by up to two hours. In other words, CDL holders with cargo can drive for a maximum of 13 hours and may continue to drive into the 16th consecutive hour after coming on duty. Likewise, those with passengers may drive for up to 12 hours and can continue for up to a 17th successive hour.
However, these exceptions do not change the rules mandating breaks after driving for eight consecutive hours or the on-duty limits for a seven- or eight-day period.
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What Happens When Truck Drivers Exceed These Limitations?
Drivers (and the companies that employ them) are responsible for monitoring their hours of service and ensuring they comply with each regulation. Law enforcement can inspect commercial drivers and their vehicles and require them to produce a logbook that proves they are complying with these hours of service rules.
How Hours Of Service Violations Affect Truck Accident Lawsuits
A fatigued truck driver and their company can also be liable for damages if the former causes a wreck that injures others while exceeding the hours-of-service rules.
Violating CDL regulations is a careless act that no reasonably careful CDL holder would commit. As such, legal counsel for injured victims will often obtain the trucker’s logbook after a crash and scrutinize it for hours-of-service violations.
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Contact a Houston Personal Injury Lawyer to Help You With Your Case
For more information, contact the Houston personal injury law firm of Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers by calling (713) 500-5000.
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