How Hours-of-Service Violations Contribute to Fatigued Truck Driving
Our Indiana truck accident lawyers are ready to fight for accountability
Most people don’t give much thought to the trucks they pass on Indiana’s highways. But behind the wheel of every 80,000-pound rig is a driver with a schedule, a destination, and a whole lot of pressure. When that pressure leads to cutting corners on federally mandated rest breaks, the results of a truck accident can be catastrophic, even deadly.
Fatigued truck driving is one of the most dangerous and least talked about hazards on American roads. It’s the kind of danger that comes without sirens or warning lights. At the heart of the problem are hours-of-service violations. These are situations where truck drivers are behind the wheel longer than the law allows.
What are hours-of-service rules and why do they matter?
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration sets the rules for how long commercial truck drivers can be on duty. These hours-of-service (HOS) regulations exist to keep drivers alert and prevent crashes.
Here’s what the rules say:
- A trucker can drive up to 11 hours after taking 10 consecutive hours off.
- All driving must happen within a 14-hour window after starting the day.
- Drivers need to take a 30-minute break after eight hours of driving.
- There’s a weekly cap, which is no more than 60 hours in 7 days or 70 hours in 8 days.
- Drivers can split their rest time using sleeper berths, but certain conditions apply.
These rules aren’t optional. They’re designed to ensure drivers get enough rest to operate safely. But when money, deadlines, and poor oversight get in the way, these rules are often ignored.
How do truck drivers and companies break these rules?
There are many ways a driver or a trucking company can bend or break HOS rules. Some are blatant, while others are more subtle.
One of the most common violations is simply driving too long. A driver might stay on the road past the 11-hour limit to make up for delays at a loading dock or bad weather. They might skip their 30-minute break or start their day too soon after ending the last one.
Then there’s logbook fraud. Drivers used to keep paper logs, and many still do for backup. These paper logs were easily manipulated to hide how long a driver had really been on the road. Now, most trucks use electronic logging devices (ELDs), which track time more reliably, but they’re not foolproof. Some drivers create fake accounts or manipulate settings to hide overages.
There’s also misuse of “personal conveyance,” a rule that allows drivers to move the truck off-duty. Some drivers abuse this exception to extend driving time under the radar.
Sometimes, the problem isn’t the driver at all. Trucking companies may assign impossible delivery schedules or reward drivers who break the rules. Some dispatchers even encourage violations to keep customers happy.
Why is driving tired so dangerous?
Studies have shown that being awake for 17 hours is similar to having a blood alcohol level of 0.05 percent. After 24 hours, it’s closer to 0.10.
Fatigue slows reaction times, dulls judgment, and makes it harder to focus. It also leads to microsleeps, which are brief moments where the brain essentially checks out for a few seconds. At 65 miles per hour, that’s enough time to travel the length of a football field without ever seeing what’s in front of you.
Truckers often drive overnight, when their body naturally wants to sleep. They rest in truck cabs, which can be noisy, cold, or parked in poorly lit areas. They may also have health conditions such as sleep apnea that make restful sleep even harder to come by.
Fatigue builds up, too. A driver who loses a few hours of sleep over several days can experience the same level of impairment as someone pulling an all-nighter. Once a driver is in that state, they may not even realize how tired they are.
What kinds of crashes happen when drivers are overtired?
The wrecks caused by fatigued truckers are often the most tragic. These are the crashes where the driver never hits the brakes, slams into a line of stopped traffic, or drifts into oncoming lanes. They happen at highway speeds, and they’re often fatal.
One of the most well-known cases involved comedian Tracy Morgan, who was critically injured in 2014 when a Walmart truck driver (who had reportedly been awake for more than 24 hours) rear-ended his vehicle. That case brought national attention to the issue, but similar crashes happen every week across the country.
The truth is, we may never know how many truck accidents are caused by fatigue. Unlike alcohol or drugs, there’s no breathalyzer for sleep. Unless a driver admits they were tired, or logs show violations, fatigue may not even be listed as a factor.
How do trucking companies make the problem worse?
Many truck drivers take their responsibility seriously. They want to do things by the book. But when their employers make it hard or impossible to comply, it puts everyone at risk.
Some companies push drivers to deliver loads on impossible schedules. Others fail to audit their logs or turn a blind eye to violations. In some cases, carriers have been caught encouraging drivers to falsify records or punishing those who refuse to bend the rules.
There’s a financial motive, too. The faster freight moves, the more money carriers make. Many drivers are paid by the mile, not by the hour. That means time spent resting is time they’re not earning. It’s a system that rewards risk, and until companies are held accountable, the problem won’t go away.