Regulating the hours truck drivers can be on the road in Tulsa

When you are too tired to drive, it is imperative that you refrain from getting behind the wheel of a car until you have had an adequate amount of rest. After all, a strong cup of coffee, rolling the windows down for fresh air or turning up the volume of the radio cannot erase the fact that drowsy driving is risky behavior. These risks are amplified when a driver is operating a semi-truck that weighs tens of thousands of pounds. When it comes to a collision between a semi-truck and a standard automobile in Tulsa, the semi-truck almost always wins, causing significant damage, injuries or even death.

For these reasons, the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulates the number of hours that truck drivers can be on the road. There are regulations that specifically apply to property-carrying drivers that most of our readers are used to seeing on the roads.

First of all, truck drivers are only permitted to drive for a maximum of 11 hours at a time, and only after they have been off duty for 10 consecutive hours. In fact, after coming on duty, truck drivers may not operate their vehicles more than 14 consecutive hours, and only after they have been off duty for 10 consecutive hours.

Moreover, truck drivers may operate their vehicles only if eight hours or less have gone by since they have last been off-duty or since their sleeper berth period lasting for half an hour or more. The sleeper berth provision holds that drivers must spend eight hours at a minimum in a row in the sleeper berth. In addition, they must spend an additional two consecutive hours either off duty or in the sleeper berth.

Finally, truck drivers cannot operate their vehicles after they have been on duty for 60/70 hours in 7/8 consecutive days. The 7/8 consecutive day timeline restarts after the driver has been off duty for at least 34 hours in a row.

It is important for truck drivers to adhere to these regulations, for the safety of all drivers and passengers on the road. A drowsy driver is a negligent driver. Those involved in truck accidents caused by a drowsy truck driver should make sure they take action to hold the appropriate parties liable.