Driving a vehicle is something that most people do not think twice about as it is essential to getting you from point A to point B on a regular basis. However, if you have ever been involved in even the most minor fender bender accident, you will have a new awareness of the risks involved with being on the roads. Accidents can and do happen and when they involve semi trucks or other large vehicles, the results can be catastrophic.
Truckers are known for spending many long and lonely hours on the roads, often at night. This naturally may lead to situations in which they can become tired. If they drive while sleepy, the chance of an accident happening may actually be increased. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration acknowledges this risk and has developed a set of rules called the Hours of Service rule that governs how many hours in a day or a week a trucker can work.
The purpose is to reduce fatigue and keep people safe. In a given day, a trucker may work 14 hours but only drive 11 of those hours. They must take at least 10 hours away from work before starting a new shift in the same work week. A rest of 34 or more hours must be taken between work weeks.
If you would like to learn more about how you might be able to seek compensation after you or someone you love has been injured by a truck driver, please feel free to visit the tractor-trailer crash page of our Pennsylvania personal injury website.