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Truck Wreck Justice 

Given how many trucks are on our highways and 

the devastation they can cause when they crash

, you might assume that preventing drug use among truck drivers is a priority for government agencies. You’d probably also hope that a trucking company gets an immediate alert when one of its drivers is arrested for drug abuse or drugged driving.

Unfortunately, because of loose regulations and communications breakdowns between law enforcement agencies and trucking companies, it’s surprisingly easy for a truck driver to hide a drug-related arrest from their employer. Read on to learn about why this can happen and what you can do if you’ve been affected.

Kentucky Trucker Gets License Renewed After Drug Arrest in Ohio

In one 2017 case profiled by the news station WCPO in Cincinnati, police officers found a trucker passed out in his truck and arrested him after he admitted to using heroin. However, the driver’s employer never learned of the arrest, and 10 days later, the State of Kentucky renewed his commercial driver’s license (CDL).

Two weeks after that, the driver jackknifed his truck on a freeway in Ohio after he passed out from a heroin overdose.

“I could’ve died from an overdose, and I’ve never done drugs in my life,” said one witness whose car was nearly crushed by the truck as it slid to a stop.

Lack of Communication Leads to Dangerous Drivers on the Roads

The problem stems from poor communication. Unfortunately, there’s no requirement for states to tell each other or notify trucking companies when a driver gets arrested for intoxication or drug use. State agencies do try to notify each other about incidents, but sometimes cases fall through the cracks. And either way, employers rarely get notifications about driver behavior from state agencies.

Instead, drivers are expected to tell their employers about any arrests or other violations that could jeopardize their CDL status. As you can imagine, however, self-reporting isn’t a reliable method for catching drivers who abuse drugs.

”We all know that [driver self-reporting] doesn’t happen in most instances,” Kentucky State Police Sgt. Jason Morris told WCPO after the crash in Ohio. Morris also said he’s seen too many cases where truckers who cause crashes turn out to have previous drug arrests that their employer should have known about but didn’t.

“If the states do not communicate with each other, then you have that instance where the driver may never have anything come back on his driver’s license with a moving violation, much less operating under the influence,” he said.

In 2017, the Governors Highway Safety Association analyzed the most recent available traffic crash data and found that drugs were present in 43 percent of drivers who suffered fatal injuries in crashes and who received testing that could identify potential drug abuse.

Although similar data that focuses exclusively on trucking accidents isn’t available, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) listed drug abuse, including abuse of prescription and over-the-counter drugs, as one of the top 10 causes of trucking accidents in its landmark 2007 Large Truck Crash Causation Study.

Drug Testing Requirements Often Fail to Weed Out Problem Drivers

Right now, federal law mandates that trucking companies drug test drivers in the following circumstances:

After a driver receives their CDL and before they operate a truck on the road

After any crash that results in an injury or fatality

Whenever the company suspects drug or alcohol use

When a driver returns to work after an extended break

How Safety Regulations Will Affect Your Truck Accident Case

While random drug testing might sound like an effective means of keeping drivers honest and sorting out truckers who abuse drugs, it’s just a roll of the dice. Trucking companies are only required to drug test 25 percent of their drivers each year, and individual drivers can go for years without having to take a drug test.

What if Drug Use Played a Role in the Truck Wreck that Injured Me?

If you or someone you love suffered injuries in a truck crash and you suspect the truck driver was on drugs or otherwise intoxicated, you should contact a lawyer right away. An experienced truck accident lawyer should be able to use their resources and expertise to investigate the crash and get to the bottom of what caused it, but some of the most important evidence might only be available immediately after the wreck, so it’s important to get in touch with an attorney as soon as you can.

The Clock Is Ticking for Your Trucking Accident Case

If it turns out that drug abuse or other negligent behavior played a role in the crash, you may be able to file claims against the trucking company. These claims could provide compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and other losses you’ve suffered because of the wreck. However, statutes of limitations apply to truck accident cases, so you need to move quickly.

Contact Truck Wreck Justice Today If You’ve Been Hurt in a Trucking Accident

If you or a loved one suffered injuries in a crash involving a large truck or bus, please contact Morgan Adams and the Truck Wreck Justice team today. We’ll listen to your story and advise you about your legal options during a free consultation, and when you choose us to represent you, we’ll investigate all the causes of the crash that injured you and pursue every available option to get you the compensation you deserve.

To schedule your free initial consultation today, call us at 

fill out our quick and easy online contact form

. The sooner you reach out, the sooner we can move to preserve evidence and make sure your rights are protected – so call us now.

Hedlund, J. (2017). Drug-impaired driving: A guide for what states can do. Washington, D.C.: Governors Highway Safety Association. Retrieved from 

https://www.ghsa.org/sites/default/files/2017-07/GHSA_DruggedDriving2017_FINAL_revised.pdf

Lake, H., & Rosemeyer, J. (2017, October 26). Trucking companies don’t always know if a driver is arrested for drugs, and they keep driving. 

https://www.wcpo.com/longform/trucking-companies-dont-always-know-if-a-driver-is-arrested-for-drugs-and-they-keep-driving

The content provided here is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject.

Truckers Often Keep Driving After Drug Arrests

Imagine driving a tractor-trailer for 20 hours over a long, boring stretch of highway. You were supposed to stop for sleep hours ago, but the company threatened to fire you if you didn’t keep driving. Despite your best efforts, your eyelids feel like lead, and you start to doze off. Suddenly, there are brake lights ahead. Would you be able to stop in time?

Sometimes, unethical trucking companies put honest, hardworking truck drivers in exactly these types of dangerous situations. They must choose between driving longer than they should or losing their jobs, their trucks, and their livelihoods.

 occurs because of this kind of illegal behavior and you or someone you love suffers, you might have valid claims for compensation against the company. Read on to learn more about how trucking company coercion causes driver fatigue and what you can do if you’ve been affected.

How Does Driver Fatigue Cause Truck Wrecks?

Official estimates from government agencies show that driver fatigue causes about 100,000 motor vehicle crashes each year and about 6,000 deaths.

Fatigue impacts your ability to drive in many ways, including lowering your response time, shortening your attention span, and impairing your judgment. When you’re behind the wheel and traveling at highway speeds, even shutting your eyes for a few seconds can lead to a devastating crash.

Driver Fatigue Remains a Leading Cause of Trucking Accidents

According to some studies, driving after 20 straight hours behind the wheel is like driving with a 0.08% blood-alcohol content (BAC), which is the legal standard for intoxicated driving. Fatigued drivers experience short-term memory loss, decreased concentration, poor speed control, and slower response times. Even when you drive for shorter periods, fatigue and drowsiness can triple your risk for a collision.

Federal Law Limits the Number of Hours Truckers Can Drive

Truck drivers are especially at risk of fatigue because of the long, repetitive driving shifts they pull. Due to the crash risk associated with driver fatigue, the federal government imposes limits on the number of hours truck drivers can operate their tractor-trailers. Today, federal hours-of-service (HOS) rules typically limit truck drivers to no more than 11 hours of driving in a 14-hour period. After that, they must rest for 10 hours before hitting the road again.

Unfortunately, the tight margins and competitive nature of the trucking business (as well as old-fashioned greed) lead some companies to bend the rules and put their drivers at risk. Unscrupulous trucking companies, shippers, and other businesses pressure truck drivers to violate the HOS rules so they can squeeze out extra profits. When truck drivers resist these efforts, the companies sometimes try to coerce them with threats of lost income, reduced hours, or even termination.

It’s Illegal for Trucking Companies to Pressure Their Drivers to Break the Rules

In 2015, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) passed coercion rules that prohibit trucking companies from pressuring drivers to violate HOS rules and other regulations. The law allows the FMCSA to fine companies up to $16,000 for each violation. However, it’s clear that dishonest trucking companies are still encouraging their drivers to break state and federal safety rules.

3 Ways for Truck Drivers to Report Unsafe Trucking Companies

 said they found widespread violations of HOS rules among trucking companies in Los Angeles. The reporters found that multiple companies pressured their drivers to drive for up to 20 hours a day, 6 days a week.

If drivers objected, the companies threatened them with termination, suspension, decreased income, and the loss of their trucks. According to 

 contributed to a series of fatal truck wrecks in the Los Angeles area.

 story highlights an extreme case of widespread truck driver coercion, many trucking companies use subtler methods to encourage their drivers to break the rules. Most companies pay their drivers by the mile, which incentivizes them to travel long distances in the shortest possible time. And companies typically give the most “efficient” drivers the best, most profitable routes, regardless of which rules those drivers break to achieve their speed.

How an Attorney Can Prove Hours-of-Service Violations After a Truck Wreck

When truck drivers maintain paper logbooks, it’s relatively easy for them to falsify their logs so they can break HOS rules. With today’s electronic logbooks, however, it’s harder to hide inconsistencies—especially if you know where to look for them.

A skilled truck wreck lawyer should be able to identify whether hours-of-service violations contributed to a crash by studying:

Sometimes, a truck driver will admit to violations during deposition or in court. If you and your attorney can prove that the trucking company or truck driver violated a state or federal regulation, this can supply powerful evidence in your truck wreck claim.

Hit by a Truck Driver? They May Have Broken Rules and Regulations

However, trucking companies don’t have to keep logbooks and other evidence forever. After six months, a trucking company can legally destroy an hours-of-service logbook, and many trucking companies will automatically purge these records after that time. Companies are supposed to keep records indefinitely if they’re related to a truck crash, but as we’ve seen, many companies have little regard for the rules, so they may destroy important evidence anyway.

This is why it’s extremely important to get in touch with an experienced truck accident lawyer right away after a crash. Your lawyer can help preserve critical evidence with a timely preservation letter, but there’s no time to waste, so contact an attorney now if you’ve been injured or if someone you love has been hurt or even killed in a trucking accident.

Injured in a Truck Accident? Contact Truck Wreck Justice Today

If you’ve suffered injuries or even lost a loved one in a devastating truck crash, Truck Wreck Justice Attorney Morgan Adams is here to help. With years of experience and a sole focus on large vehicle cases, Morgan Adams has the experience and resources needed to guide you through a complex trucking accident claim and fight for justice on your behalf.

Please contact the Truck Wreck Justice team at 

 if you need help. We offer free initial consultations so we can review your case at no cost to you, and we handle cases on a contingent fee basis, which means that you won’t pay attorney’s fees unless we achieve a financial recovery on your behalf.

Drowsy driving is impaired driving. (2018). 

https://www.nsc.org/road-safety/safety-topics/fatigued-driving

Murphy, B. (2017, December 28). Asleep at the wheel: Companies risk lives by putting sleep-deprived port truckers on the road. 

https://www.usatoday.com/pages/interactives/news/rigged-asleep-at-the-wheel/

Prohibiting coercion of commercial drivers, 80 Fed. Reg. 74695 (2015, November 30). Retrieved from 

https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-11-30/pdf/2015-30237.pdf

Trucking Company Coercion Frequently Leads to Driver Fatigue

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