Federal Truck Laws

The US Department of Transportation regulates the trucking industry through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. They have a long set of laws designed to regulate both trucks and their drivers to make sure that everyone is safe on America’s highways.

Driving Hours

One of the most important regulations for everyone’s safety involves the amount of time a driver can operate a commercial vehicle in a twenty-four hour period. Studies report that driving while sleep deprived is just as dangerous as drunk driving. If the truck is conveying property, the driver can not drive more than eleven hours without ten straight hours off-duty. Additionally, the driver can’t work for more than 60 hours within a seven-day timeframe or 70 hours within an eight-day period depending on their normal schedule. For drivers that operate passenger vehicles, the rules are similar except they are allowed to drive for ten hours with eight hours off each day. Every driver is required to maintain a log book in their vehicle that any officer may check at any time to confirm that they are complying with this law.

Overloaded Trucks

Another important safety consideration is the weight capacity of a truck. Overloaded trucks can easily over-turn or experience a blow-out making it critical to the safety of the driver and the general public to monitor cargo loads for proper weight capacities. Everyone has seen weigh stations along the interstate highways. This is an important part of monitoring the transportation industry to make sure they are in compliance. A little known fact is that a truck could be overloaded through no fault of the driver. Shippers often understate the weight of their freight in order to pay less in transportation costs. If a driver doesn’t have a way to verify the weight of every piece of freight, they are in danger of carrying too much weight without knowing they are doing so.

A driver is required to carry a commercial bill of lading that states the contents of their trailer along with the stated weight. As they pull onto the scales at the weigh station and produce their paperwork, they will soon know if they are overweight. Regardless of who is at fault, the driver is responsible. The maximum weight allowed per federal guidelines is 80,000 pounds for a full-sized trailer. No more than 20,000 pounds is allowed per axle, while no more than 34,000 pounds is allowed per tandem axle trailer.

Need help with your Atlanta truck accident? Contact Attorney Steven J. Gordon today.