When is a trucker legally required to take a rest break?

We all take risks now and then, but these risks should not come at the expense of others. For example, a trucker may take the risk of driving when they are very tired. While they may have their reasons for doing so, drowsy driving can easily lead to a truck accident that injures or kills someone else. For this reason, the federal government has rules that dictate how long a trucker can be on the road.

Federal hours of service rules

Under federal hours of service rules, truckers can be on the road up to 14 hours, as long as only 11 or fewer hours are spent driving. This period must be followed by a 10-hour minimum rest break. In addition, for the initial eight hours on the road, truckers must have a 30-minute rest break before they can keep on driving.

For many years, hours of service were entered into a physical logbook. However, written records are not always secure and can be easily manipulated. To address this problem, truckers are now legally required to have an electronic logging device installed on their vehicle. This device records time spent on the road. The goal of ELDs is to keep our roads safer both for motorists and truckers.

Drowsy driving is negligent driving

Still, if a trucker chooses to violate the hours of service rules, they could quickly find themselves becoming tired after long hours of driving. A drowsy driver is a dangerous driver. If a trucker causes a crash due to drowsy driving, and you were harmed as a result, you will want to make sure you take the steps necessary to hold the trucker accountable for their negligence.