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Commercial trucks are the biggest, heaviest vehicles on the road, so professional drivers have a serious responsibility to stay alert. Unfortunately, many truckers push themselves to make tight deadlines, leaving them unable to respond to traffic changes or even falling asleep at the wheel. If you’ve been injured in a truck accident, a skilled personal injury attorney may be able to prove that the driver was too tired to drive.

Why Fatigued Driving Is So Common

Fatigued drivers are responsible for 13% of commercial truck accidents, resulting in thousands of serious injuries every year. Federal regulations require drivers to spend no more than 10 hours a day on the road, with at least 11 hours of rest between shifts. However, these rules aren’t always followed, as trucking companies pressure their drivers to stay on schedule.

In some cases, drivers may be required to meet deadlines that don’t factor in road conditions and traffic that cause delays. To make up time, operators may keep going when they should be pulling over to rest.

Proving a Driver Was Fatigued

personal injuryCommercial drivers are required to keep track of their hours in a logbook, and modern vehicles should be equipped with an in-cab tracking system. If your personal injury attorney believes that the driver who caused your accident was fatigued, they may subpoena this information to see how long they’d been driving at the time.

Logbooks and tracking devices can be damaged in an accident, or the driver may intentionally destroy them after a crash. If the original records aren’t available, your attorney may review the driver’s toll receipts, gas receipts, and bill of lading. These documents are timestamped, giving a skilled attorney the information they need to determine how long they’d been driving on the day the collision occurred.

 

If you’ve been injured in a truck accident anywhere in Middle Georgia, the personal injury attorneys at The Walker Firm will fight to bring the liable parties to justice. This skilled and compassionate team has been serving Houston County accident victims for 40 years, delivering exceptional results and effective representation in even the most difficult cases. Visit their website to learn how they can help after a truck accident or call (478) 923-4152 for a free consultation with an attorney.

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