Semi-truck accidents and fatalities remain significantly high in Florida with slightly over 4000 deaths occurring throughout the nation every year. Our Tampa Semi-Truck Lawyers handle a large number of cases involving semi-trucks and remain educated on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations ("FMCSA"). The FMCSA are the federal regulations that were designed to improve safety and monitoring of semi-truck operations. Our lawyers are dedicated to representing individuals and loved ones who have been hurt as a result of an accident involving a semi-truck.
Driver fatigue among semi-truck drivers is one (1) of the leading contributing factors involved in semi-truck accidents. Effective July 1, 2013, the FMCSA implemented new rules concerning truck drivers' hours of service. The newly implemented FMCSA hours of service rule contains three (3) main parts:
- Truck drivers must take a thirty (30) minute break during their first eight (8) hours of a shift;
- Limits the maximum average weekly driving hours to seventy (70), which is down from eighty-two (82); and
- Permits truck drivers who reach the maximum of seventy (70) driving hours in a week to resume driving provided they rest for thirty-four (34) consecutive hours, including no less than two (2) nights that include the hours from 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m.
Our lawyers continue to handle semi-trucking cases involving victims who have been injured through the negligence of a semi-truck operator throughout Florida, including Hernando County, Hillsborough County, Pasco County, Pinellas County, Manatee County, Polk County, Orange County and Sarasota County. Should you have any questions regarding a Florida semi-trucking accident and/or Florida trucking regulations, please contact us, your Tampa Personal Injury Lawyer.