Unrealistic Schedules for Truck Drivers

Austin, Texas

If you have been involved in a truck-auto accident you know that the injuries, damages and losses involved can be enormous. Our experience obtaining truck accident settlements for clients at Gonzales & Gonzales has taught us that no amount of monetary compensation can make up for these terrible losses.

So, we try harder to make sure that you are taken care of in every way. Our commitment comes, in part, from knowing that professional truck drivers have more training and knowledge about how to avoid accidents than the average driver, but, despite their expertise, some still make poor decisions that deprive others of their lives, quality of life, or property.

Skill and Safety

Commercial vehicles are driven by professionals who have commercial driver’s licenses, or CDLs. To get a CDL, a driver has to take both written and driving tests and demonstrate knowledge of the many driving and equipment safety factors that most of us don’t even know exist.

Each day drivers are required to do a full safety check of their entire rig. They are required to stop every two hours and check tires and do other routine safety checks. They are responsible to manage the weight and balance of their load, to maintain secure loads safely on flatbed trailers, to arrange for equipment repairs or tire changes en route, and much more.

They are required to drive within the Hours of Service regulations and to keep a log of the hours they are driving and resting. There is no training or exam, however, to prepare truckers for unrealistic truck driving schedules. Too often, it is the trucker who must make accommodations when he is delayed, or given too little time to reach his delivery destination.

Liability for Accidents Involving Unrealistic Schedules

As a victim of an accident involving a commercial truck, your rights depend upon how much your driving contributed to the accident. Assuming you did everything correctly and the truck driver was at fault, there are many types of evidence the attorneys at Gonzales & Gonzales look for during an investigation.

Certain pieces of evidence allow us to discover facts about the driver’s driving schedule. Driving logs, evidence of multiple logs indicating falsified driving records, fueling records, ATM and meal receipts indicate where and when the driver stopped, how many miles were traveled in relation to the FMCSR Hours of Service regulations. This added to data about road conditions and construction areas on that driver’s route, his destinations, and much more can indicate whether the driver, his employer, or both can be held liable just for factors related to unreasonable driving schedules.

Our investigation will determine whether the driver alone is liable, or if the company he was driving for was responsible for his actions.

Many other facts about the safety of the rig, proper loading and weight of the cargo, and more will be investigated. Sometimes a defect in the tractor, trailer or tires places liability with the manufacturer of that part of the vehicle.

When unrealistic schedules push a driver to take use substances such as amphetamines or barbiturates to help deal with fatigue, inability to sleep during the required times, or cope with stress, these medications can contribute to the cause of a truck accident.

If you need legal representation for an accident that might involve unrealistic truck driving schedules please contact the experienced personal injury attorneys at Gonzales & Gonzales in Austin, Texas for a no-cost evaluation of your case.