Truck Driver Fatigue & Hours-of-Service Violation Lawyer in Houston
Driver fatigue is one of the most dangerous, and most preventable, causes of serious truck accidents. A driver who has been awake and driving for too long reacts more slowly, misses hazards on the road, and can even fall asleep at the wheel, sometimes at highway speed in a vehicle that weighs many times more than a passenger car.
At Herrera PLLC, Jonathan Herrera investigates fatigue-related truck accidents using both his legal training and his background as a former insurance adjuster who spent over a decade evaluating high-exposure trucking claims. He knows how to read a driver’s hours-of-service record and recognize when a company’s scheduling pressure, not just a moment of bad judgment, put a tired driver behind the wheel. For a broader look at how the firm handles truck accident claims, see the main truck accident page.
How Truck Driver Fatigue Causes Serious Accidents
Fatigue affects driving ability in ways that resemble alcohol impairment. Research cited by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that being awake for about 17 hours can produce impairment similar to a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05 percent, and being awake for 24 hours can produce impairment comparable to a blood alcohol concentration of 0.10 percent, above the legal limit for driving in every state.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s own Large Truck Crash Causation Study found that driver fatigue was a factor in roughly 13 percent of serious commercial truck crashes studied. Fatigued drivers experience slower reaction times, reduced awareness of hazards, and poor judgment. In the most severe cases, a fatigued driver can experience microsleep, a brief, involuntary lapse into sleep that can last several seconds. In a fully loaded commercial truck traveling at highway speed, even a few seconds of inattention can be the difference between a near miss and a catastrophic crash.
FMCSA Hours-of-Service Rules Explained
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulates how long commercial truck drivers can drive and work before they are required to rest. These rules, found in 49 CFR Part 395, exist specifically to prevent the kind of fatigue that leads to serious accidents.
Daily and Weekly Driving Limits
Under current federal rules, most property-carrying commercial drivers may drive up to 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty, within a 14-hour on-duty window. Drivers are also limited to 60 hours on duty over 7 consecutive days, or 70 hours over 8 consecutive days depending on the carrier’s operation, with a 34-hour restart available to reset the weekly total.
Required Rest Breaks
Drivers must take a 30-minute break after 8 cumulative hours of driving time. This requirement is designed to interrupt long stretches behind the wheel before fatigue becomes dangerous.
Electronic Logging Device (ELD) Requirements
Since December 2017, most commercial drivers have been required to use an electronic logging device, which connects to the truck’s engine and automatically records driving time and duty status. ELDs were adopted specifically to replace paper logs, which were far easier to falsify.
How Trucking Companies and Drivers Violate HOS Rules
Hours-of-service violations can come from a driver’s own choices, but they often trace back to company pressure. Common violations include driving beyond the 11-hour or 14-hour limits, skipping required breaks, falsifying logs, and exceeding weekly limits without a qualifying 34-hour restart. Some drivers are pressured into logging time as off-duty while actually still working, defeating the purpose of the ELD system entirely.
Federal regulations also prohibit trucking companies, shippers, and freight brokers from pressuring drivers to violate these rules. Under the coercion rule found in 49 CFR 390.6, a company cannot threaten a driver’s job, pay, or future work assignments to induce them to drive beyond legal limits or falsify their logs.
Using ELD Data to Prove Fatigue in Your Case
Electronic logging device data is often the single most important piece of evidence in a fatigue-related truck accident case. Because ELDs record duty status automatically and generally cannot be edited while the vehicle is in motion, they provide an objective record of how long a driver had been on the road before a crash.
Alongside ELD records, many trucks also carry an event data recorder, sometimes called a black box, which can capture vehicle data such as speed, braking, and steering input in the moments immediately before a crash. Both types of data are controlled by the trucking company and can be lost or overwritten if not preserved quickly.
Not every truck is required to have an ELD. Older and short-haul vehicles are sometimes exempt and use paper logs instead. When that data doesn’t exist, dispatch records, fuel and toll receipts, and witness statements can help reconstruct a driver’s actual hours.
This evidence does not last forever. Carriers are generally only required to retain ELD records for six months, after which the data may be lawfully deleted. Once a company has notice of a serious accident, however, it generally has a legal duty to preserve related evidence, and Texas courts can sanction a company that destroys records after that point, including an instruction allowing the jury to assume the missing evidence favored the injured person. A written preservation request should go out as early as possible, before records are lost. Learn more about Jonathan Herrera’s background and experience investigating trucking claims.
What Compensation Is Available After a Fatigue-Related Crash
Depending on the facts of the case, Texas law may allow an injured person to recover for a range of losses connected to a fatigue-related truck accident, including:
- Medical expenses, including future care
- Lost income and reduced earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Physical impairment
- Property damage
- Wrongful death damages in fatal accident cases
When a trucking company knowingly pressured a driver to violate hours-of-service rules, Texas law may also allow for exemplary damages under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 41, which generally requires clear and convincing evidence of gross negligence. The damages available in any case depend on the evidence, the injuries involved, and the specific facts of the matter.
Contact Herrera PLLC
If you or a loved one was seriously injured in a crash involving a fatigued truck driver, Herrera PLLC is available to review the details of your case. Jonathan Herrera personally reviews what happened, gives an honest assessment of whether a fatigue-related claim applies, and handles every matter from beginning to end. While the firm is based in Houston, it represents clients throughout Texas, including the Rio Grande Valley, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, and San Antonio.
These cases are handled on a contingency fee basis: no upfront costs, and no attorney’s fees unless compensation is recovered. Consultations are free, confidential, and come with no obligation, and every case is prepared as though it may go before a jury. Contact Herrera PLLC at 832-891-3210 or complete the online contact form to get started.
Frequently Asked Questions
Under 49 CFR Part 395, most property-carrying commercial drivers may drive up to 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty, within a 14-hour on-duty window, and must take a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving. Weekly driving is generally capped at 60 hours over 7 days or 70 hours over 8 days.
Electronic logging device data, dispatch records, and the driver's hours-of-service history in the days before the crash are typically the strongest evidence. An attorney can request this documentation and compare it against federal limits.
An electronic logging device automatically records a truck driver's driving time and duty status by connecting to the vehicle's engine, and generally cannot be edited while the truck is moving. Some vehicles, including older trucks and short-haul routes, are exempt and may use paper logs instead. When ELD data isn't available, dispatch records, fuel and toll receipts, and witness statements can help establish how long a driver had been working.
Yes. Federal regulations prohibit trucking companies, shippers, and brokers from coercing drivers into violating hours-of-service rules, and a company that does so can face liability if that pressure contributed to an accident.
Texas law generally requires personal injury claims to be filed within two years of the date of the accident under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 16, with a shorter six-month notice requirement, sometimes as little as 90 days in cities like Houston, for claims against government entities.
Texas follows a modified comparative negligence rule under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 33. You can still recover damages if you are found partly at fault for an accident, as long as you are not more than 50 percent responsible, though your recovery is reduced by your assigned percentage of fault.
Not necessarily. Officers responding to a crash scene generally do not have access to a driver's hours-of-service records, so fatigue is rarely noted on an initial police report. Evidence of fatigue, such as ELD data and dispatch records, is typically uncovered through a more thorough investigation after the report is filed.