What Is Driver Fatigue In Virginia Trucking Accidents?
Key Highlights:
The typical scenario is that as a truck driver, you go on long tours day and night, which leads to road accidents. You may wonder, what is driver fatigue in Virginia trucking accidents?
- Fatigue while driving an 80,000-pound truck is one of the most hazardous things that can happen on the highways of Virginia.
- Driver fatigue at a severe level is equally impairing as alcohol.
- FMCSA Hours of Service laws have been formulated to prevent this from happening.
- The evidence of fatigue dissipates in a matter of a few months’ time.
- In Virginia, the trucking company liability and not only the driver can be liable for damages.
In driver fatigue in Virginia trucking accidents, driver fatigue is the exhaustion that reduces a person’s capacity to drive safely, and in the case of a commercial truck accident, this is one of the most perilous situations on the road. According to federal safety authorities, driver fatigue of this level is just like drunk driving, and when the fatigued truck driver is operating an 80,000-pound vehicle, the risk levels rise quickly.
I am Robert Tatum, founding attorney of Tatum & Atkinson Law Firm. Founded in 2006, we are an experienced team with more than 65 years of combined experience dealing with driver fatigue, trucking accidents, and commercial truck accidents in Virginia.
As your trusted Virginia truck accident lawyer, we know exactly how to prove liability using ELDs and FMCSA HOS infractions to secure every penny you deserve from your truck accident case.
What Causes Truckers’ Fatigue
Driver fatigue can be traced further than the driver himself: Many working hours with an obligation to meet delivery deadlines. Insufficient sleep due to night shifts. Unnoticed sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea. Side effects from taking medications. Health and other lifestyle-related problems.
Fatigue-Caused Accidents
Exhaustion affects all those qualities necessary for safe driving: reaction time, concentration, decision-making, and control of the vehicle. This leads to specific accident patterns:
- rear-end crashes where the fatigued truck driver fails to notice slowing cars
- lane departure accidents because of drifting
- jackknife and rollover accidents due to an attempt to correct the mistake, and
- head-on accidents because of crossing the center line.
Hours of Service: The Federal Fatigue Law
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulates the FMCSA Hours of Service, the maximum time a commercial driver may work. Here are the most important rules that apply to the carriers:
- An 11-hour drive time may be scheduled following 10 consecutive hours of not being on duty.
- A maximum of 14 hours in total on duty when no driving is done.
- 30-minute mandatory rest period before 8 hours of driving.
- 60 or 70 hours limitation during 7 or 8 days, respectively.
Neglecting these restrictions is not simply paperwork; a violation shows negligence by the driver and the company that sent out the driver.
Establishing Fatigue and the At-Fault Parties
The driver fatigue may have no breathalyzer test, but there is fleeting evidence:
- Electronic logging device logs
- dispatch records
- cell phone records
- GPS location information
- log books (which typically are kept for no more than six months)
- dash cam footage
- black boxes, and
- witness testimony
Can establish how long the fatigued truck driver actually had been working.
Trucking company liability may extend beyond the driver to the trucking company who set the driver an impossible work schedule or ignores a fatigued truck driver, and sometimes to the dispatcher. This is due to Virginia’s contributory negligence doctrine, which means liability falls if the other side is able to show any contribution to fault, even as low as 1%.
A truck accident claim can include compensation for medical expenses, loss of earnings and earning potential, pain and suffering, and permanent disability, on which Virginia puts no cap. The statute of limitations in such a matter is two years.
Hit by an Injured Truck Driver in Virginia? Discuss Your Case With Tatum & Atkinson Law Firm
An accident resulting from a fatigued truck driver is typically not as straightforward as one might think; it is usually linked to the decision made in terms of scheduling and sleep.
Tatum & Atkinson, the leading Virginia truck accident lawyers, are the ones who take up all commercial truck accident cases in Virginia from our Cedar Bluff office, in the southwest part of Virginia, where Tatum & Atkinson’s Virginia practice operates, and Jon Ward, who is licensed to practice in Virginia, is in charge.
The Heavy Hitters act quickly to gather the logs and evidence, investigate the scheduling of the carrier, and counter the 1 percent defense by the insurer with evidence.
Please feel free to contact us for a free case evaluation by calling (800) 529-0804 toll-free. Our fee is contingent upon winning your case.
Frequently Asked Questions!
If no one saw the driver nod off, how do you prove fatigue?
Based on the paperwork, rather than eyewitness testimony. There aren’t many witnesses to exhaustion, so you must determine the number of hours the driver has been awake based on records. Hours driven are seen in the electronic logging device, the route taken from the dispatch and GPS information, and late-night activities on the cell phone records.
Can the trucking company be held responsible, not just the driver?
In most cases, yes. Trucking company liability applies if the company had an unreasonable schedule, forced the driver to forego his rest period, allowed FMCSA Hours of Service violations in the logbooks to go unnoticed, or employed a poorly performing driver; the company may be held responsible for a crash caused by driver fatigue.
The driver’s logs looked legal. Could it still be fatigue?
Of course. Adhering to FMCSA Hours of Service rules does not always mean that the driver is well-rested. Another federal regulation at 49 C.F.R. § 392.3 states that operating a truck under circumstances where the driver is ill or fatigued is prohibited. An individual may be within his or her window but still a highly fatigued truck driver from poor sleeping patterns, driving at night, and even undiagnosed sleep apnea.
How quickly do I need to act to protect the evidence?
Without delay, driver fatigue documents tend to be retained only for a few months, and there is no obligation for the transportation company to retain them until they receive an official notice; thus, a prompt request for evidence is essential. According to Virginia law, there is a limitation of two years within which a truck accident claim can be filed; otherwise, the claim will be dismissed.
What does it cost to hire a Virginia truck accident lawyer?
Up front, nothing. Contingency is the rule with these types of cases; you won’t be charged if you don’t win, and the initial consultation is free. Contact a Virginia truck accident lawyer today.
