Georgia and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulation 396.11 require tractor-trailer drivers to perform a daily inspection of their tractor-trailers and prepare a report on its condition at the end of each day they drive it. These reports are called Driver Vehicle Inspection Reports and are usually referred to as a DVIR. The regulations also require that each tractor-trailer and trucking company ensure that its drivers are properly inspecting their trucks and completing the DVIRs.
The inspection and DVIR must cover the following parts of the tractor-trailer:
- Service brakes including trailer brake connections
- Parking brake
- Steering mechanism
- Lighting devices and reflectors
- Tires
- Horn
- Windshield wipers
- Rear vision mirrors
- Coupling devices
- Wheels and rims
- Emergency equipment
If the driver does not find any problems with the tractor-trailer during his daily inspection or while driving it, he must list that on the DVIR. However, if the driver finds any problems that “would affect the safety of operation of the vehicle or result in its mechanical breakdown” he must list each problem he finds on the report.
The trucking company is then required to repair the problem with the tractor-trailer before it may be driven again and the company must sign the DVIR certifying that the problem has been repaired. This is called a “certification of repairs.”
The trucking company must keep each DVIR and certification of repairs for 3 months after the driver prepares the report.
In any tractor-trailer or truck wreck that is caused by mechanical problems, equipment failure or malfunction, obtaining the DVIRs for the tractor-trailer for the weeks and months leading up to the accident is critical. The DVIRs may show problems that went uncorrected, chronic maintenance issues, or that the driver was not properly inspecting the tractor-trailer. This can be very important evidence in proving that the tractor-trailer driver and trucking company were responsible for the wreck.
Investigating Unsafe Drivers
Our Georgia truck accident lawyers are experienced in prosecuting cases against tractor-trailer and trucking companies that hire unsafe drivers with histories of causing wrecks and getting traffic tickets.
To prevent trucking companies from hiring unsafe drivers, the Georgia and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations require that tractor-trailer companies investigate truck drivers’ driving qualifications and backgrounds. If a tractor-trailer company does not properly investigate a truck driver’s background and hires an unsafe driver that causes a wreck, the trucking company can be held responsible.
Georgia and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulation 391.21 requires each truck driver to complete and sign an application that, along with basic information, requests the following information:
- The truck driver’s commercial driver’s license number, expiration date and state that issued the license
- A description of the experience the truck driver has in driving tractor-trailers and other commercial motor vehicles
- A list of all accidents the truck driver was in during the last three years, including the date and location of the accident and whether there were any injuries or deaths in the accident
- A list of all traffic tickets and citations that the truck driver has paid or pled guilty to in the last three years
- Whether the truck driver has ever had his driver’s license suspended, revoked or denied and if so, an explanation of the circumstances surrounding it
- The name, address and dates of employment of each job the truck driver had during the last 10 years where he drove a tractor-trailer or commercial motor vehicle including an explanation why the driver left the job.
The truck driver must also provide the tractor-trailer company a written authorization that allows the company to investigate the driver’s previous employment.
Regulation 391.23 requires that each tractor-trailer company conduct the following investigation on each driver that applies for a position:
- Requesting the driver’s driving record from each state where he’s had a license in the last three years
- Investigating each job in the last three years where the driver drove a tractor-trailer. This includes requesting information on whether the driver was involved in any accidents and whether the driver tested positive for drugs or alcohol or refused any drug and alcohol tests while working there. The trucking company must document each attempt to contact the driver’s previous employers and keep records of attempts to contact previous employers
- Obtaining the original or a copy of the driver’s medical examiner’s certificate showing that the driver is medically qualified to drive a tractor-trailer
- Whether the driver tested positive for drugs or alcohol or refused a drug or alcohol test while employed there.
Our tractor-trailer attorneys are experienced in determining whether tractor-trailer and trucking companies properly investigated a driver’s background and driving qualifications. If a trucking company does not follow these rules and regulations and hires an unsafe driver that causes a wreck, the company can be held liable for negligent hiring.
Tired and Fatigued Tractor Trailer Drivers
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has adopted strict rules that are designed to keep tractor-trailer drivers well-rested and prevent wrecks caused by driver fatigue. These are called the “hours of service” regulations. In any wreck involving a tractor-trailer, truck or commercial motor vehicle, it’s important to investigate whether driver fatigue contributed to the accident and, if so, whether the driver had been driving more than he was allowed to under the hours of service regulations. It’s just as important to investigate whether the trucking company checked to make sure their driver was following the hours of service regulations or whether the company ignored evidence their driver was breaking the rules.
Below are explanations of the hours of service regulations we’ve prepared so you can learn about the regulations.
What Are The Hours Of Service Regulations?
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulates the tractor-trailer and trucking industry. The hour of service regulations set limits on how many hours a driver of a commercial motor vehicle can drive his truck in a day and how many total hours he can work in a week.
There are three time limits that drivers must follow: the 14-hour on-duty limit, the 11-hour driving limit and the 60/70 hour duty limit.
When Is A Driver Considered On-Duty?
Basically, anytime a truck driver is at work he is considered on-duty. This includes time the driver spends waiting to be sent to pick up or deliver a load, inspecting or maintaining his truck, driving, and loading or unloading his truck.
What Is The 14-Hour On-Duty Limit?
Once a driver comes on-duty, he has a period of 14 straight hours during which he can drive his truck. After that 14 hours, he can’t drive his truck anymore until he has spent 10 straight hours off-duty.
Here are two examples:
- A driver reports to work at 7 AM. He is considered on-duty at 7 AM. He can drive his truck between 7 AM and 9 PM (note the 11-hour driving limit rule below – this doesn’t mean he can drive 14 straight hours). At 9 PM, the driver must take 10 straight hours off before he can drive his truck again.
- A truck driver with a sleeper cab spends the night at a truck stop. He wakes up at 7 AM and begins inspecting his truck at 8:30 AM. He is considered on-duty at 8:30 AM. He can drive his truck between 8:30 AM and 10:30 PM. He cannot drive his truck after 10:30 PM.
What Is The 11 Hour Driving Limit?
During the 14 hour on-duty period, a driver can drive for a maximum of 11 hours. There are no restrictions on how many hours a driver can drive at once – he can drive 1 hour or 11 hours straight.
Once a driver has driven for 11 hours, he cannot drive again until he has spent 10 hours off-duty in a row.
Let’s use the two examples above to explain:
A driver reports to work at 7 AM and is considered on-duty then. He drives his truck from 8 AM to 7 PM, a total of 11 hours. He can’t drive his truck again until he has spent 10 straight hours off-duty. The truck driver with the sleeper car wakes up at 7 AM, begins inspecting his truck at 8:30 AM, when he is considered on-duty, and begins driving at 9 AM.
He drives his truck from 9 AM until 12 PM and takes a lunch break (that’s 3 hours of driving time). He begins driving again at 1 PM and continues driving until 9 PM for a total of 11 hours of driving time. He can’t drive his truck again until he has spent 10 hours off-duty in a row.
What Is The 60/70 Hour Duty Limit?
This rule is the maximum amount of time a driver can be on-duty during a 7 or 8-day period. Depending on how many days of the week a trucking company operates, it can decide to have its drivers on the 7 or 8-day period
Under the 7-day period, a driver may be on duty for a maximum of 60 hours. After a driver has been on duty for 60 hours in a 7-day period, he cannot drive his tractor-trailer anymore The driver cannot drive his tractor-trailer until his on-duty hours for the last 7 days drop below 60 hours.
Under the 8-day period, a driver may be on duty for a maximum of 70 hours. After a driver has been on duty for 70 hours in a 8-day period, he cannot drive his tractor-trailer anymore. The driver cannot drive his tractor-trailer until his on-duty hours for the last 8 days drop below 70 hours.
Basically, once the driver has been on-duty for 60 hours in 7 days or 70 hours in 8 days, he can’t drive anymore and is required to take some time off before driving again. This rule is designed to keep tractor-trailer drivers from working and driving too much, allowing them to get some rest and time off and making sure they are
However, if a driver takes 34 straight hours off, he can “restart” his 7 or 8-day period. If a driver is off for 34 hours in a row, his on-duty hours for the last 7 or 8 days “reset” to zero and he can begin driving again.
For example, a driver is on the 7-day/60-hour period. The driver is on duty for 14 hours Monday, 14 hours Tuesday, 14 hours Wednesday and 14 hours Thursday for a total of 56 hours. If the driver is on-duty for 4 hours on Friday, he cannot drive any more after that. If the driver takes 34 straight hours off, his on-duty hours reset to zero and he can begin driving again.
What Is The Sleeper Berth Provision?
Many tractor-trailers are now equipped with sleeper berths that drivers can use for sleeping when they’re parked at a truck stop or sleeping while a co-driver is driving the tractor-trailer. There is a provision in the FMCSA for spending time in the sleeper berth that extends the time a driver may operate a tractor-trailer.
If a driver spends at least 8 hours in a row in the sleeper birth, those 8 hours do not count towards the driver’s 14-hour on-duty limit. This allows the driver to extend the period during which he can drive the maximum of 11 hours.
Here’s an example that illustrates the sleeper birth provision.
A driver reports to work at 1 PM and is considered on-duty then. He spends several hours loading his truck and begins to drive it at 3 PM. He drives his truck until 11 PM, a total of 8 hours of driving time. At 11 PM he parks his truck at a truck stop. At that point the driver has been on-duty for 10 hours and has 4 more hours of on-duty time. He has been driving for 8 hours and has 3 more hours of driving time. The driver gets into his sleeper birth from 11 PM until 7 AM, which is a total of 8 hours in the sleeper birth. Those 8 hours do not count towards the driver’s 14-hour on-duty limit. At 7 AM the driver has 4 more hours of on-duty time during which he can drive the 3 hours he has left until he reaches the 11-hour maximum driving limit.