If the Truck Driver Was Fatigued, What Might This Mean in Your Truck Accident Case? Ask a New Haven Lawyer
Drivers of automobiles are well familiar with the challenges involved in sharing streets and highways with semi tractor trailers. The same highways that carry us from one place to another for work, recreation or other purposes are also the workplace of truckers. Big rigs and delivery trucks alike transport goods every day through, into and out of Connecticut.
Truck drivers are typically paid by the mile and/or according to the amount of cargo they carry. There is built-in incentive for truckers to drive farther and faster — even if they are tired — than there is for them to get enough sleep and guard against fatigue.
Federal trucking regulations are intended to help keep trucking safe on our streets and highways. The Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT) has its own rules and regulations that specify allowable weight, length and other characteristics of 18 wheelers that operate in our state.
Government regulations and industry standards alike specify how many hours a truck driver is allowed to be on the road before stopping to rest. Lack of sleep can be considered a driver error. Driver fatigue resulting from too many hours driving and too few hours sleeping puts everyone on the highway at risk. The truck driver's log is supposed to record actual hours of driving and resting to help document safe operation of the truck.
If you were injured in a truck accident, the sooner you contact a lawyer, the more likely it is that the driver's log can be recovered and analyzed in a timely manner. Truck drivers are only required to preserve their logs for so long. Waiting to begin an investigation may be a big mistake. A negligent truck driver's fatigue may go undiscovered if the log is not obtained quickly.
Support When You Need It Most, After a Truck Accident
Call or e-mail the law offices of Jacobs & Jacobs, P.C. to discuss your injuries or a loved one's wrongful death in a trucking accident in Connecticut. If you are unable to come to our office, we are willing to come to your hospital room or home. We are ready to begin the investigation as soon as you and our attorneys make the commitment to work together. If truck driver fatigue was a factor, you deserve to know.
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