Trucking Accidents Caused By Drivers Who Fell Asleep While Driving
Whether you are on a family road trip heading across the country, or running errands around town on a Saturday afternoon, you expect to arrive safely at your destination. Unfortunately, thousands of people every day are involved in a variety of motor vehicle accidents that range from minor to major. Some of the worst are trucking accidents, in which the average family vehicle cannot stand up against the size and weight of a commercial vehicle. These accidents can result in vehicles that cannot be repaired and injuries that can have a lifelong impact on your life. As bad as these accidents sound, they can be even worse if the truck driver fell asleep while driving. If you have been injured in a trucking accident that occurred due to driver fatigue, call the Louisiana Law Lady at (504) 470-3511. Our legal team uses the knowledge of how the insurance companies operate and my training as a truck driver to assist you in getting the compensation you deserve under the law.
What Is Driver Fatigue?
Driver fatigue is what happens when a truck driver becomes mentally or physically tired to the point that it affects their ability to operate their vehicle safely. Everyone may have a restless night or a night where they only get two or three hours of sleep now and then, but driver fatigue results from a deeper exhaustion than just a single rough night. Additionally, their fatigue is worsened by the long hours spent alone in their truck, driving what are often long, straight stretches of road with few stop signs, traffic signals, or other things to help keep their attention engaged. While the average person may also get fatigued behind the wheel, the term driver fatigue is typically reserved for truck and other commercial drivers.
Common Causes of Driver Fatigue
There are many potential causes of driver fatigue. Even the same driver may be fatigued for different reasons at different times. Some of the more common causes include a lack of sleep, sleep apnea, long hours on the road, and irregular sleep schedules. Truck drivers are often on tight schedules, with a deadline to get their load from Point A to Point B that may require them to drive overnight for one load and during the day for the next. These irregular sleep schedules and long hours on the road can cause drivers to struggle to sleep when they should, particularly if combined with other concerns such as sleep apnea.
Substance and alcohol use may also contribute to driver fatigue. Drivers may rely on energy drinks to stay awake while driving, and then drink a beer or two to try to fall asleep. They may rely on other substances to help them stay awake or sleep as well. Even legal substances, such as over-the-counter sleep medications, can contribute to trucking accidents where the driver fell asleep while driving.
Consequences of Driver Fatigue
Driver fatigue can have many consequences for the truck driver. Fatigue leads to slower reaction times, impaired judgment, and decreased concentration. These can all lead to trucking accidents, whether the driver fell asleep while driving or not.
Potentially the worst consequence of driver fatigue is that the driver can fall asleep at the wheel. Whether the driver closes their eyes and drowses for merely a couple of seconds or they fall into a deep sleep that lasts minutes, the danger of being in an accident is significant. The driver may be involved in a single-vehicle accident, in which they are the only one who may be injured. More often, they hit another vehicle, or multiple vehicles, causing injury and property damage to others who were merely trying to live their lives and happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Driver Fatigue and Its Impact On Road Safety
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) indicates that driver fatigue is a factor in 13% of large truck crashes. These trucking accidents can occur any time of the day or night, but they tend to occur most frequently between midnight and 6 a.m., or in the late afternoon. This timing is likely due to the dips that most people have in their circadian rhythm at these times. In many accidents where truck drivers fell asleep while driving, the accident occurred most frequently on rural roads and highways. This may be because these are often long, straight stretches of road with no stop signs, traffic lights, or other things to break up the monotony. Even drivers who are not tired may find themselves feeling drowsy in these areas, which means the urge to sleep is even stronger for those drivers who are fatigued.
Ultimately, driver fatigue drastically increases the risk of trucking accidents because the driver is less capable of safely operating their vehicle. Truck drivers may start to rely on energy drinks, coffee, or other substances to keep them awake. The ingredients in these substances may cause headaches, heart palpitations, or other medical issues that can also distract the driver, potentially creating an even greater risk of an accident. Moreover, when trucking accidents occur because the driver fell asleep while driving, the crashes can be more severe due to the unexpectedness of the driver’s lapse in attention. These often result in higher-impact collisions.
Federal Regulations On Truck Driver Rest
The FMCSA’s Hours-of-Service Rules were established to limit how long truck drivers can be on the road in an attempt to improve safety for both truck drivers and those who share the road with them. These regulations include mandatory rest breaks and maximum driving hours per day and per week that truck drivers are expected to follow. There are four specific aspects to these rules that are critical for trucking accidents when the driver fell asleep while driving: the 11-hour driving limit, the 14-hour limit, the 30-minute break rule, and the 60/70 hour on-duty limit.
11-Hour Driving Limit
The 11-hour driving limit states that drivers can only drive a maximum of 11 hours after taking 10 consecutive hours off-duty. If the driver is at or near their home during their 10 off-duty hours, they are allowed to drive their personal vehicle as long as they are completely relieved of all job duties during that time. However, if the truck driver is driving their personal vehicle, they are not sleeping, which may contribute to trucking accidents when they return to their on-duty status.
14-Hour Limit
The 14-hour limit states that drivers must not drive beyond the fourteenth consecutive hour after coming back on duty after a 10-hour break. This may sound like a contradiction to the 11-hour driving limit, but it is not. What this rule does is allow for the driver to take breaks for meals, bathroom stops, filling their fuel tanks, and other necessary stops. The 14-hour limit simply means that while they are allowed to drive up to 11 hours per day, if they reach the fourteenth consecutive hour after they started driving, even if they have not driven a total of 11 hours due to breaks, they still must stop driving for the day.
However, some drivers have been known to falsify their records, claiming to have taken breaks so that they can drive for that full 14 hours, either on their own or at the trucking company’s encouragement. If this falsification can be proven, it may be used as evidence in trucking accidents when the driver fell asleep while driving.
30-Minute Break Rule
Truck drivers can drive a maximum of 11 hours after their 10 hours off duty, but if it has been more than eight hours since their last off-duty period, they are required to take a 30-minute break. The eight hours is cumulative rather than consecutive for this rule. Most drivers break up their driving time by stopping for fuel, filling out paperwork, or loading or unloading the truck. These tasks can be counted toward the 30-minute rest break if done consecutively. For example, the driver can spend 15 minutes fueling their vehicle, and another 15 minutes eating a meal or walking a couple of laps around the truck stop parking lot to create their 30-minute rest break. They cannot use different tasks throughout the day to total up the break, however. For example, they cannot use a 10-minute break fueling their vehicle at 9 a.m. combined with a 20-minute break for a meal at 2 p.m. to create their 30-minute break.
60/70 Hour On-Duty Limit
The truck driver’s motor carrier (their employer) will determine whether this is a 60-limit for seven days or a 70-hour limit for eight days, and will also specify what time the 24-hour period defined as a “day” begins. With this rule, drivers cannot be on-duty more than 60 hours in seven days or 70 hours in eight days. This distinction of “on-duty” is important because it means that the driver’s hours spent driving are not the only hours that count. Any hours that they are on-duty, whether driving or performing other tasks are counted and once they reach that 60 or 70 hour limit, they cannot drive anymore. They can complete other tasks that do not involve driving, but they cannot drive anymore until their hours have dropped below that threshold. Other hours spent working for the trucking company or any other employer also count toward those 60 or 70 hours, and should prevent the driver from getting back on the road until they have been off-duty long enough to allow their hours to drop below that limit.
The seven or eight days is a rolling period, which means that on day eight (for the seven day limit) or day nine (for the eight day limit), the hours from day one will drop off. Truck drivers also have the option of using what is called a 34-Hour Restart, which is when they spend 34 hours off-duty or in the sleeper berth of their truck, after which their clock is reset and they can begin driving again. However, what is important to note about all of these rules is that none of them specifically indicate the driver ust sleep during these off-duty or sleeper berth hours. Drivers may suffer from insomnia, sleep apnea, or other conditions that prevent or affect their ability to sleep, which means even drivers who follow these hours-of-service rules to the letter may still be in danger of driver fatigue and falling asleep behind the wheel.
Determining Liability: Is It the Driver or the Trucking Company?
When trucking accidents occur because the driver fell asleep while driving, it may seem very clear that the driver is at fault. However, both the driver and the trucking company may be liable for such accidents. For example, the driver may have violated hours of service regulations and the trucking company may have pushed the driver to meet a delivery schedule that was not realistic.
Individuals may be concerned when they have been involved in a trucking accident where the driver fell asleep while driving but the police have also assigned some fault to the individual, rather than all the fault being on the truck driver. Louisiana R.S. §2323 provides that even when both parties are found to be at fault for the accident, individuals can still recover damages for their injuries and property damage. The damages recovered may be reduced by their proportion of fault in the accident, however.
Louisiana’s “No-Zone” Laws and Their Impact on Liability
Most people have heard of the “no-zone” around commercial trucks. This is the area, such as directly behind the truck or alongside it, where the driver cannot see other vehicles. This “no-zone” makes it difficult for the driver to know what is happening in this blind spot, so other drivers are urged to avoid these areas. However, sometimes, drivers cannot avoid being in these areas, such as when attempting to pass a truck.
Louisiana “No-Zone” Laws
While drivers will not find these specifically stated in the Louisiana state statutes, they are laws that require truck drivers to take specific precautions when driving in Louisiana. For example, truck drivers must regularly check their blind spots before changing lanes. They must also use turn signals before changing lanes and keep a safe distance from other vehicles. They must use their mirrors to monitor the traffic around them, and slow down and use extra caution in hazardous weather.
Even if another vehicle is traveling unsafely in one of the “no-zones,” a truck driver’s failure to follow these regulations can be evidence of the driver’s negligence. The Louisiana Law Lady may be able to assist you in getting dash camera footage or other evidence that may prove that when the driver fell asleep while driving, they then failed to follow these regulations in a trucking accident you were involved in.
How These Laws Affect Liability
If the truck driver failed to follow the “no-zone” laws, this may be further evidence of the driver’s negligence when they fell asleep while driving. In these trucking accidents, this negligence can increase the truck driver’s degree of fault, even if the other driver is also partially at fault. This may potentially increase the compensation that the other driver receives.
Evidence in Fatigue-Related Trucking Accidents
Like any other accident, trucking accidents require evidence to support the victim’s claim. Some evidence must be collected sooner rather than later, as it can disappear or be harder to get as more time passes. The evidence should begin with photos of the accident scene, vehicles involved, any hazardous conditions, and any visible injuries anyone involved in the accident suffered.
Witness statements and police reports can also be critical pieces of evidence. Driver logs, black box data, and trucking company records can serve as evidence that the driver falsified records and overworked or if the trucking company did not enforce rest breaks. Additional evidence could be signs before the accident occurred, such as if the truck was swerving, making risky maneuvers, or seemed to have slow reactions. Finally, if the victim interacts with the truck driver after the accident, they should look for signs of fatigue such as slurred speech or sluggish movements. If they notice these signs, they should mention them to law enforcement so the signs can be noted in the police report. The victim can also attempt to take video of the driver’s behavior.
Damages You Can Recover After an Accident Where a Truck Driver Fell Asleep While Driving
There are two types of damages that can be recovered in trucking accidents: economic and non-economic damages. Understanding these two types of damages is important because one can be proven with evidence, while the other is less tangible and harder to quantify, but often just as important for trucking accident victims to receive. The exact amount of compensation a victim may receive or the precise damages they may be entitled to will vary depending on the specific circumstances surrounding the accident.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are those that can be proven with evidence. These are damages that the victim can prove they incurred by showing receipts, quotes, estimates, bills, and other records. These damages include medical expenses, lost wages, future loss of earning capacity, and property damage. Victims will want to save receipts, bills, and other proof of these damages to ensure they can prove and be compensated for all of these damages.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are intangible and often do not have evidence in the form of receipts or bills to prove they exist, but they exist nonetheless. These damages can include pain and suffering, loss of consortium, and others. Additionally, in particularly egregious cases where the truck driver who fell asleep while driving or the trucking company who encouraged the driver to continue driving when it was not safe, the victim may be awarded punitive damages as a punishment to prevent the driver or trucking company from acting in the same way in the future.
How a Louisiana Trucking Law Attorney Can Assist You
Trucking accidents can be terrifying. The severity of the injuries and property damage can be much worse than those in an accident between two more comparably sized vehicles. When the truck driver fell asleep while driving, the damage to people and property can be even more catastrophic. If you have suffered injuries as the result of a truck driver continuing to drive while fatigued and they fell asleep at the wheel, contact the first Louisiana attorney to become board-certified in trucking law by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, the Louisiana Law Lady at (504) 470-3511. I can review your case and may be able to use my truck driver training, bold determination, and compassion to protect your rights and assist you in receiving the compensation you deserve under the law.