Truckers have a much larger responsibility than just hauling their cargo to a destination. Because of their vehicle’s size and weight and the amount of time spent on the road, not to mention the amount of space they take up on the road, truck drivers also have a responsibility to other motorists to be extremely safe because of the catastrophic damage they can cause in an accident, resulting in fatalities and terrible injuries.
Ultimately, the onus is on the trucking company (unless the tracker is a private entity). They are responsible for vetting and hiring truckers with solid backgrounds and making sure that they have all the proper training and knowledge of the rules and regulations. Unfortunately, there are ways around many of the regulations that truckers are supposed to adhere to in terms of taking breaks, resting for hours also, and all within the famous 14-hour window. This is a federal regulation meant to force drivers to avoid driving while extremely exhausted. It means that they can drive 11 hours at a time within a window of 14 hours with 60-hour/7-day and 70-hour/8-day duty limits.
Unfortunately, truck drivers may still be extremely road-weary, and of course ways can be found around time restrictions. A drowsy driver is like a driver under the influence, but there may be even greater danger with the potential for closing their eyes and falling completely asleep—going on to cause serious problems on the highway. Making a law and attempting to enforce it is one thing, but making truckers sleep during their breaks is an impossibility too. For many reasons, they may not be able to rest when they are on an enforced break, and may even be forced to multi-task, taking care of other errands or work during that time.
Although most businesses in the US run on the ‘time is money’ concept, this is even more true for truck drivers. If they aren’t behind the wheel and on the road, they are not making bank, and they are not getting any closer to their deadlines. Truck drivers are well-known for pushing themselves to the brink of exhaustion, and this becomes more of a problem in the fierce job market present today.
If you have been injured in a truck accident due to the negligence of others, this is not the time to go it alone! Attorney Sgt. Pike has developed a system to combat the various forces in the trucking industry attempting to defeat the rights of those wrongfully injured or killed. Based on his training and experience as a Special Forces Operator (Army Green Beret), Attorney Sgt. Pike activates the Truck Accident Response Team or T.A.R.T. ™ immediately after being hired in appropriate cases. T.A.R.T. ™ then deploys to the area of the crash.
Please call the law offices of Andrew ‘Pike’ Piekalkiewicz, PLLC as soon as possible at (713) 748-7453 or visit AttorneySgtPike for a no obligation case review.
