How Truck Driver Fatigue Can Be Investigated

Fatigue may affect reaction time, attention, and judgment. In a serious truck crash, the driver timeline can be evaluated against logs, dispatch records, location data, fuel receipts, and other available records.

Federal Hours of Service (HOS) Rules

For many property-carrying interstate drivers, federal hours-of-service rules generally include the following limits, subject to exceptions and flexibility provisions:

• 11-Hour Driving Limit: May drive a maximum of 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty.
• 14-Hour Window: Generally may not drive beyond the 14th consecutive hour after coming on duty following 10 consecutive hours off duty.
• 30-Minute Interruption: A 30-minute non-driving interruption is generally required after 8 cumulative hours of driving without such an interruption.
• Multi-day limits: Separate limits may restrict driving after specified on-duty totals across consecutive days.

The applicable rule and any exception should be matched to the driver's operation and complete records.

Evidence That May Prompt Fatigue Review

• Lane departure without apparent cause
• No braking before impact
• Driver-hour records that require further review
• Long shifts or multiple short sleep periods

No single fact proves fatigue; the event sequence and available records should be evaluated together.

Records Used to Evaluate Fatigue

• Electronic Logging Devices: Duty-status and vehicle-movement records, subject to system limits and any permitted edits or annotations.
• Fuel and transaction records: Time-and-location evidence that may help test the trip chronology.
• Bills of lading and dispatch records: Pickup, delivery, scheduling, and communication evidence.
• Phone or device records: Legally obtained records that may provide limited timing or location evidence and require careful interpretation.
• Toll and location records: Additional data that may help corroborate or challenge parts of the timeline.

Company Scheduling and Supervision Records

Dispatch, scheduling, compensation, and supervision records may show whether company decisions affected the driver's schedule. Whether those records support responsibility depends on the actual communications, applicable duties, causation, and governing law.