State police say company driver was over hours before fatal wreck

This is something for all drivers to consider. Doesn't matter how creative you are at fixing things. There is no fix to something like this. You will get burned sooner or later. Get in an accident and even if you are not at fault you will face charges or lose everything you have worked for. Just not worth it anymore.

 

I agree with you notarps4me,

Although I don't agree with some of the charges that come from such a thing. Man was over his hours and is wrong I agree, but I believe those charges should be investigated and charged separate from the accident. Just cause this man was over his hour (and we don't know by how much) he is more then likely going to be charges with mansluater even if the accident was not his fault. Bad decision to run over HOS yes most defiantly. Should it result in manslaughter charges? I don't think it should. Now there should be a big penalty of some type but not manslaughter..

That's just my opinion.

 

Yes I wish they would only listen. This is why I preach understanding the regulations to the fullest so you can use them legally when needed. Logging illegal might catch up with you in a raw deal as this story and unfortunately it is the drivers fault as much as the company.

I know what you are saying I really do understand. You have to keep in mind that drivers are clearly taught the DOT regulations (well some schools do?) and drivers are not to take any loads they can not run legally. Drivers have to learn to say NO! It's like drug dealers pushing you to buy drugs and you do because you was pressured, if you are caught with those drugs you are held accountable; unless maybe a gun was held to your head and you can prove that.
In this case if both are proven to be at fault they will both be put in jail or possibly the driver will get off the hook with fines and home arrest or community service. With everything going on in the Trucking Industry, I have a feeling they will make examples out of both the company & driver, to get the point acrossed to other companies and drivers
The saying is: If you wasn't over your hours of service you would not have been at that spot for that car to crash into you. Just like a drunk driver. Many have not been at fault, but they was charged because they was drunk.
It bites I know! This is why I stay home when I drink

Proving the company at fault does not sound hard. If they was making up pay for their days off and the driver logged the day off (to get their 34) this should be simply proved.


You drivers have a tough world out there as many 4 wheelers set you up for accidents for their gain, thus you must be legal for when this situation arisses!

 

Sorry logsRus i enjoy debating LOL...

This comment is a 2 sided one from the laws point of view.. I understand exactly what you are saying, but look at this point.
A person who is driving a car with suspended license can get into an accident, and it was not the person who doesn't have a license fault.
The comment "you would of not been at that spot" is not a factor in such a case. Another words the person who does not have a license is not instantly at fault for not having a drivers license.
So, with that said there is a double standard when it comes to "you should of not been at that spot" when a law is a law it should be enforced in the same manner...
LOL this is why I believe there should not be an instant manslaughter charge for HOS violation..

 

Stories like this are why if I end up back out on the road again like I am thinking about doing, I will be legal this time. Not because I want to, and not because I agree with the Hours of Service rules, but simply because of stories like these.

I will be the first to admit that I have never driven by the book in my life. I didn't over-extend myself, but I simply got my work in, and fixed the book after the fact. Seeing how the mistake of someone else can so quickly cause you grief for this now, I just don't think it is worth it any longer.

Maybe it is time for all drivers to prove to the government just how ridiculous these rules are by actually following them "exactly as they are written". Between staying legal, combined with the common sense of not driving when you are fatigued, seems to me that severely limits your ability to get your job done.

 

not 100% true this is state by state...

In New York, if you are involved in a Fatal wreck, you can be charged with manslaughter, even if you weren't at fault in the accident, if you are operating with a suspended or revoked license.

Is it right, no.

And is it right to send someone to prison because he simply worked too much? Mistakes doctors make kill thousands each year, and some mistakes are most certainly a result of being too tired, or working too long a shift, do they go to jail, #### NO....they get a slap on the wrist and away they go.

Problem is laws and common sense do not go hand in hand.....

take this one....

Almost everyone is on a random dispatch, meaning if you cheat your books a week ago, it could mean you are on a load, and driving on a road at a time you would not have otherwise been on. I wonder when they will start taking your cheating from yesterday and charge you for something that happened today???

K

 

GREAT THINKING THERE! If every trucker would follow the rules maybe either 1) the truckers would see it is really ok??? 2) the production would fall which means we all suffer and everyone would stand up for you all:spinny:

 

Hey debating is how we learn things and how we get our point across so I have no PROBLEMS WITH you DEBATING.

But if I have a suspended licences and I run across a drunk driver and the one with the suspended licences was at fault they will still hold the drunk driver accountable and the suspened licences driver will get a ticket and go through the normal process as if he was just busted.

The point is a truck driver is supposed to be a proffessional. They have to know the DOT Regulations and what is required of them to be behind that vehicle. If they are breaking the law and someone gets killed it is partially their fault (in some cases a truck driver was parked and it was their fault, I believe that is just down right not right for the driver) do I believe it is fair to you drivers. NO! But I feel the law works that way to get drivers to understand their punishment if they falsify their logs?
I am not really debating against you, I really agree with you. I am just stating the way they are looking at it and sometimes you have to agree with it. Sometimes you just want to say no it isn't fair. But in the case above it is fair the driver and the company both was running illegal.

The driver could be "saying" the company made him do it , when really the driver wanted to do it and made it know he wanted to do it. I am not in any way saying this is the case, but I am stating many drivers make it know to their dispatchers "I am willing to do whatever it takes". Heck many drivers tell me to turn the other way and I just put them on my list (the bad list, you know the bad boy list, l.o.l.).

Ok I rushed through this message I hope it made sense.:biggrin100 (36):