Trucking litigation is extremely complex and requires special knowledge and expertise that may not be required in a run of the mill car accident case. These cases require an extensive knowledge of the evidence and regulations particular to trucking accident cases. One of the most critical evidentiary tools in many San Francisco trucking accident cases is the driver logbook. Truck drivers are required to maintain logbooks of their driving and on-duty time as well as pre-trip and post-trip inspections of their tractor-trailer. The function of this logbook is to preserve evidence of compliance with hours of service rules and inspections of the rig to ensure that it is safe. Our experienced San Francisco tractor-trailer accident attorneys frequently use these logbooks in a variety of ways in trucking accident cases.
One of most prominent causes of San Francisco trucking accidents is a truck driver that is fatigued or over-tired. Many truck drivers are subjected to unrealistic schedules by trucking companies intent on increasing profits even if it must be done by violating hours of service (HOS) rules that dictate how long drivers may be on the road or on-duty as well as the time and duration of mandatory rest periods. While logbooks are intended to document such violations, these records are manipulated and distorted so routinely that they are referred to as “lie books” in the trucking industry. Our experienced San Francisco trucking accident lawyers are able to expose such fabrications by reviewing fuel receipts, lodging records and other records and comparing them to the logbook entries.
Hours of service rules are important because they are not only intended to prevent a driver from falling asleep when driving a tractor-trailer but they also help reduce the risk of tired drivers on the road with impaired concentration and slower reaction times. Truck drivers can face enormous pressure to violate these rules because truck drivers often are compensated based on the number of miles driven. Commercial carriers may not only turn a blind eye to the practice of altering logbooks but also promote such conduct by creating schedules that cannot be met by a driver complying with HOS rules.
The current HOS rules are as follows:
- Maximum of 14 hours of work time (including driving time) after starting a shift
- No more than 60 hours in a 7 day period or 70 hours in an 8 day period
- May not exceed 11 hours of driving following a minimum of 10 consecutive hours off-duty
While the logbook may be used to show violations of these hours of service limits in fatigue based trucking accidents, the logbooks may also be used for other purposes in a trucking accident case. A truck driver actually is breaking the law when distorting the information in a logbook. Based on Federal Motor Carrier Safety Rule 395.8, a truck driver must sign the logbook and attest to all the information being true and correct. If the record is false the driver commits a criminal offense and the misrepresentation or lie may be used to impeach his credibility on other issues beyond the misrepresentation. Our experienced team of San Francisco truck accident lawyers often communicates to juries that lying in the driver’s logbook is similar to lying in front of the jury.
Contact Us For Your Free Consultation
If you or someone you love has been injured or a loved one has died in a San Francisco trucking accident, our dedicated trucking accident litigation team has the knowledge and experience to expose logbook distortions and other efforts to hide critical evidence in San Francisco truck accidents. Our San Francisco truck accident attorneys invite you to contact The Law Office of Ian Zimmerman for your free initial consultation. We are open 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., speak Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese, and are available for weekend, evening, home and hospital meetings and visits. We also offer free initial consultations and work exclusively on a contingency fee basis so that you pay nothing if we don’t win your case.