According to the National Safety Council, fatigue is a frequent cause of careless driving that leads to accidents. Tired drivers have slower reaction times, diminished capacity to focus on the road, and might even fall asleep while driving.
When the fatigued driver is operating a truck, a dangerous situation becomes potentially disastrous. Trucks can outweigh passenger vehicles by as much as 40-1, and the damage they do in a collision could lead to death or severe injury to the occupants of other vehicles.
If you or a loved one has been involved in a fatigued truck driver accident in East Hartford, do not wait to pursue legal action. A East Hartford truck accident lawyer could help you seek compensation and hold the negligent driver accountable for their actions.
Federal Rules Impose Strict Rest Requirements
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) governs working conditions for interstate truckers, which include detailed restrictions on working hours. Truckers in East Hartford are subject to the same rules, as Connecticut has adopted these federal regulations to apply even to intrastate trucking operations.
The FMCSA’s work rules limit a commercial driver to 70 working hours within any eight-day period. Drivers must take a 30-minute break after driving eight consecutive hours. Truckers may drive no more than 14 hours in a day, and if they drive for a full 14 hours, they must rest for 10 hours before driving again.
Federal regulations require drivers to keep a log of their activities, noting when they are driving, taking a break, and sleeping. In addition, most commercial vehicles are equipped with black box data recorders, which can provide information about the truck’s operation. If an East Hartford injury attorney suspects trucker fatigue was a factor in an accident, they could subpoena the log and black box as evidence.
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Economic Considerations Drive Trucker Fatigue
The success of a trucking company and a truck driver depends on their ability to get the goods to their destination quickly, so that they can fill the trailer again and deliver another load. Trucking companies might impose delivery schedules that incentivize a trucker to delay rest.
Truckers and trucking companies must operate in a way that protects the safety of others on the road. When they prioritize competitive advantage or profits over safety, they violate their legal obligations.
If a fatigued trucker gets into an accident and harms someone, their failure to get sufficient rest could be evidence of negligence in an East Hartford injury case. Similarly, if the company that hired the driver incentivized unreasonably speedy delivery, the company also could be found negligent.
Truck Wrecks Can Cause Life-Altering Injuries
Injuries suffered in collisions between passenger vehicles and trucks are often catastrophic to the occupants of the smaller vehicles. Common injuries suffered include spinal cord damage, traumatic brain injury, amputations, organ damage, blindness, and significant disfigurement.
Treating and learning to live with such devastating injuries often requires extensive support and financial resources. Injured parties could acquire the required resources through a monetary damages award.
Damages in a negligence lawsuit could include funds to cover all necessary medical treatment and incidental expenses related to the injury, including ongoing and future care. Damages also cover lost wages, missed economic opportunities, and diminished future earning capacity caused by the drowsy truck driver collision. An injured person also could receive damages to compensate for their emotional anguish, physical pain, and eroded quality of life.
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Trust an East Hartford Attorney to Handle Your Fatigued Trucker Claim
The aftermath of a fatigued truck driver accident in East Hartford can be highly stressful. You need a reliable and competent legal professional to handle your claim for adequate compensation so that you can focus on rehabilitation and recovery.
A knowledgeable lawyer could help you through the process of seeking compensation after a crash. To discuss your case with a dedicated member of our team, schedule a consultation today.
