Truckers are a common sight on Illinois’s roads and highways. Some carry cargo, while others transport passengers, but they are all subject to hours of service requirements.
Truckers are only allowed to drive for certain amounts of time before they must rest. Property-carrying truckers can drive 11 hours and be on duty for 14 before they must go off duty for a 10-hour rest. Some truckers are on an eight-day work cycle and can drive 70 hours, while others have a seven-day schedule and can be on duty for 60 hours, including driving and break times. When a trucker or trucking company violates these regulations and causes an accident, our team can help victims file a lawsuit to recover compensation for their damages.
Call the Rhatigan Law Offices at (312) 578-8502 for a free case assessment with our Chicago truck accident lawyers.
Federal Hours of Service Regulations for Truck Drivers in Illinois
The hours of service (HOS) requirements are put in place by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to ensure that truck drivers are not on the road too long, thereby reducing the risk of serious or deadly accidents. Trucking companies and their drivers must follow these regulations to the letter and can be held accountable in a lawsuit if they violate them in even the slightest way and injure someone. Our Illinois truck accident attorneys can help determine if HOS violations played a role in your accident and the type of trucker that injured you. Different rules apply depending on whether the trucker is carrying property or passengers.
Hours of Service Requirements for Property-Carrying Truckers in Illinois
Property and cargo-carrying truckers are the most commonly seen on Illinois roads, so they are much more likely to be involved in a collision. Truckers hauling property are held to strict daily and weekly driving time requirements, including how long they must rest before getting back on the road, according to 49 C.F.R. § 395.3. The HOS restrictions are further broken down into the total time they can drive and the amount of time they can be on duty.
For example, truckers can only drive for a maximum of 11 hours if they have been off duty for a minimum of 10 consecutive hours. Following the ten-hour off-duty period, truckers cannot be on duty for more than 14 successive hours. Drivers can meet the ten-hour off requirement by resting in a sleeper berth.
They must also take a 30-minute break after driving for eight hours. The 30 minutes must be consecutive, which can be satisfied if they are on duty but not driving, off duty, resting in a sleeper berth, or any of these options combined so long as they equal 30 consecutive minutes. However, drivers can extend the daily HOS limits up to two hours if they encounter adverse driving conditions or certain emergencies.
Truck drivers are also subject to weekly HOS restrictions, but the rules differ if the driver is on a seven-day weekly schedule or an eight-day one. Trucking companies are on a seven-day schedule if they do not operate every day and an eight-day cycle if they have truckers driving every day of the week. Truckers on a seven-day cycle cannot be on duty more than 60 hours in a week, while drivers on an eight-day schedule cannot be on duty more than 70 hours. In each case, drivers can restart the weekly period after 34 hours or more uninterrupted hours off duty.
What Can Happen if a Truck Driver or Trucking Company Violates Hours of Service Rules in Illinois
These rules are in place to protect truckers and others on the road while setting limits on trucking companies that might push truckers to the point of exhaustion. Tired truckers are dangerous truckers and are more likely to cause a devastating accident because of their lower reaction time. A trucker might claim they were not tired even though an accident occurred, but showing that they violated the HOS can prove otherwise. If so, we can help you file a lawsuit against them and potentially the trucking company they work for.
Our team can gather evidence, like the driver’s duty records, which might be manual driving logs they kept or information recorded on an ELD, commonly known as a “black box.” Drivers must also maintain the shipping records they receive, so if they falsify the logs to smudge the time, we can compare them with the shipping records to determine if the times do not match up. If we prove that they indeed violated the law, our lawyers can argue that they are negligent per se based on the violation.
It is also important to determine if the trucker is employed by a particular trucking company as opposed to an independent contractor. Trucking companies with traditional employees can usually be held liable for the negligent acts of their drivers under the theory of vicarious liability. If the trucker was on duty at the time of the accident and performing their normal duties, like making a delivery, the trucking company can be added to your lawsuit. Our attorneys can also argue for punitive damages if we have evidence that the trucking company willfully violated HOS rules or have a known history of committing such violations.
When to File a Lawsuit for Trucking Accidents in Illinois
It is always best to file your claim as soon as the accident as possible. While the trucking company is required to keep logs and maintenance records for a certain period of time, but filing sooner can ensure those records are not “lost” or misplaced before they can be used against the trucker and company. The more records we have, the more likely our team can prove how they violated the hours of service requirements.
Importantly, you only have two years to file a lawsuit in most truck accident cases, regardless of the rules of service violations, as per 735 I.L.C.S. § 5/13-202.
Contact Our Illinois Truck Accident Lawyers for Help Filing Your Claim
Get a free, private case evaluation from our Bolingbrook, IL truck accident lawyers by contacting the Rhatigan Law Offices at (312) 578-8502.
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