New trucking regulations are good for personal injury lawyers

Significant new regulations were recently implemented for commercial truck drivers on our nation's highways. The rules mandate the use of electronic logging devices to automatically record data, such as drivers' hours of service, which had historically been tracked with hand-written log books. The rules promulgated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Dec. 18, 2017, were intended to standardize data reporting and improve safety on the nation's highways. These records will also make a personal injury lawyer's job easier when proving a driver involved in an accident had exceeded the time he or she could lawfully remain behind the wheel.

The rules were congressionally mandated as a part of the 2012 Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act. An electronic logging device synchronizes with the vehicle's engine to automatically record driving time for easier and more accurate tracking, managing and sharing of records of duty status data.

The final rules include technical specifications to ensure the devices are standardized and compliant, as well as provisions to help prevent data tampering and harassment of drivers. Standard data displays and transfer processes make for more efficient demonstration of legal compliance. Exempted from the rules are drivers who use paper records of duty for no more than eight days in any 30-day period, drivers whose business is delivering vehicles via driveaway-towaway operations, and drivers of vehicles manufactured before model year 2000. Operators of short-term rentals were granted a 90-day waiver from the rules to allow them to identify appropriate compliance strategies, including building cloud-based portal systems between device providers and purchasers of the devices.

An electronic logging device must connect to the truck's engine to record if the truck is in motion, and it must allow the driver to log in and select on-duty, off-duty, or on-duty not driving. Drive segments must be automatically selected based on vehicle movement. The device must graphically display a records of duty status so a driver can quickly see hours in a day, provide data in a format that's standardized and can be transmitted to law enforcement in a number of prescribed ways such as wireless web services, USB, or Bluetooth 2.0, and it must be provider-certified to meet specifications

The electronic logging device rules have been a long time in the making. Since 1938, drivers of commercial motor vehicles have been required to maintain on-duty/off-duty logs. Accuracy was always suspect, however. Automated reporting finally raises the prospect of verifiable records that can be used in court to support a claim of negligence under the law. Electronic logs capture not just hours of operation but also location, engine use, and other data that can be valuable during litigation or other legal proceedings.

When a truck accident is caused by human (driver) error, very often the underlying reason for the error is fatigue caused by logging too many hours behind the wheel. But using manual handwritten logs to prove that the driver has violated federal safety law regarding driving time limitations is often challenging. It is not uncommon for drivers to prepare false reports to comply with the law. A common method for falsifying reports to avoid law enforcement and responsibility to accident victims is for drivers to have two sets of manual driving logs. Automatic reporting eliminates drivers' ability to manually manipulate the driving time, which is maintained electronically in a centralized database and can easily be subpoenaed during litigation. This is a positive development for victims' attorneys.

Trucking companies, truck drivers and other commercial vehicle operators owe a legal duty to avoid creating dangerous situations on the nation's roads, and when they make mistakes that lead to accidents, the law entitles victims to seek compensation. Trucking company and truck driver negligence includes distracted driving (e.g., texting, talking on the phone, and reading behind the wheel), driving drowsy or fatigued, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, failing to conduct necessary truck maintenance, hiring unqualified and inexperienced drivers, loading truck cargo improperly, and logging too many hours behind the wheel.

So will the electronic logging device mandate result in fewer truck accidents? It is no secret that many truck drivers work long hours to meet demanding deadlines. The resulting fatigue and exhaustion can lead to a fatal accident. In 2015, the most recent year for which crash statistics were reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, truck accidents caused 4,067 deaths and about 116,000 injuries. This represents an 84 percent likelihood of a fatality and a 76 percent likelihood of an injury for each truck accident.

Federal law requires that drivers log no more than 14 consecutive hours, including 11 hours behind the wheel, before taking a mandatory 10-hour break. Using paper log books, drivers historically reported their time in 15-minute increments. Electronic device records instead round time up to the nearest minute. Some trucking groups argue that this reporting change reduces safety by limiting driver discretion in situations where, for example, the driver is minutes away from a destination but forced to park for 10 hours to comply with the rules.

The need to make minor revisions to the law to address that argument, however, in not enough to oppose and prevent this initiative to bring commercial trucking into the 21st century. Electronic logging devices will not hamstring drivers, but make them more productive by removing their paperwork burden, tracking the number of hours they have been driving, and calculating their remaining hours. The electronic device industry actually reports an increase of 15 minutes of drive time per driver per day, and a study by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration reports that automated electronic logs can reduce hours of service violations by as much as 50 percent and decrease a motor carrier's overall crash rate by 10 percent. The Center for Truck and Bus Safety of Virginia Tech Transportation Institute reports that drivers using electronic logs had an 11.7 percent lower total crash rate and a 5.1 percent lower preventable crash rate than trucks not equipped with electronic logs.

As compelling as these statistics are, accidents rates may not decline anytime soon. The FCSMA factored into its electronic log calculations significant costs for extra drivers and commercial motor vehicles needed to ensure compliance with hours of service limits. The American Trucking Association estimates that the industry needs to hire and train at least 900,000 new drivers to replace an aging workforce. Higher numbers of inexperienced drivers on the roads create a concomitant increase in accident risk. The electronic logging device regimen should help level the field for accident victims seeking compensation from drivers and trucking companies that have too often placed profits above public safety.