Semi Trucker Fatigue

The Carabin Shaw Offices in Corpus Christi are located two blocks south of the Nueces County Courthouse in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Our Corpus Christi telephones are answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call 361.444.1111.

If you have been hurt or your loved one has been killed or injured in a Corpus Christi big rig truck accident, you need to think hard and consider your legal options. Many truck operators work for big companies who may have put their delivery of goods as a priority rather than your safety. Don't get burned for the hauling and transport industry's insensitivity and greed.

Many people don’t know that fatigued drivers are among the most common factors or causes in big rig and other truck accident. It is important that you understand driver fatigue as not only a dangerous hazard, but the driver’s behavior frequently violations Department of Transportation Rules and Regulations.

The United States Department of Transportation have set the maximum number of hours an operator of a big rig is allowed to drive and mandatory rest periods. These DOT Regulations differ between drivers that transport passengers and those that haul material or property. The Federal Regulations set out the total number of hours an operator may drive consecutively in addition to the maximum on duty hours a driver may work consecutively, whether actually behind the wheel or not. Also, these rules set out the maximum number of on duty hours that a driver may work during an eight or seven day time period, depending on the company’s operating schedule. Finally, the DOT rules set out the legal requirements regarding record keeping by the driver in their log book when they record duty status during each 24 time period.

A number of factors come into play when a thorough investigation happens after a big rig accident to figure out if driver fatigue contributed to the accident. Carabin Shaw, if retained, will determine the number of hours the driver was behind the wheel in the time leading up to the accident by reviewing, in detail, the driver’s log book. When deposing or interviewing the vehicle operator a veteran attorney will always ask about the operator’s period of sleep or rest, driving schedule and usual habits. This information can, when put together, be a good indication of the extent, if any, to which the driver fatigue factored into the accident.

If your attorney determines that operator fatigue was a contributing factor to the accident, an experienced attorney will look at the operator’s work environment, conditions or employer’s rules caused or added to the lack of sleep and or rest then determining liability of the employer’s trucking company. The operator’s fatigue is heavily influenced by their working conditions. Operators who are compensated by the load or by the mile have monetary incentives to drive before they have had the legally mandated rest periods. The more miles they driver and the faster they complete and deliver loads the higher the operator’s pay. Frequently trucking companies encourage operators to drive longer hours in order to benefit the employer’s bottom line.

To win your fight against the big trucking and hauling companies, you need an experienced veteran Corpus Christi Truck Accident Attorney. You need Carabin Shaw. We have years of experience making big truck companies pay what they owe for the harm they caused or contribute to. We will fight to get to all that the law entitles you too.

Are you in Corpus Christi? Have you been in an accident with an 18 wheeler or other big rig?

Give Carabin Shaw a call. We can help. Call us at 361.444.1111, local if you’re in Corpus.