What Are Some Common Exceptions to Hours-of-Service Regulations?

Very few people in New York would likely classify a truck accident as a minor “fender-bender.” Indeed, the devastating potential that the massive size of semi-trucks and tractor-trailers presents all but ensure that if you experience such an incident, you may likely end up dealing with serious medical expenses and vehicle repair costs.

You might wonder how is it that a highly trained truck driver could operate their vehicle so recklessly as to cause your truck accident. The truth is that no matter how skilled a truck driver may be, they are still subject to simple stresses such as fatigue. You know that strict hours-of-service regulations exist to help prevent truck driver fatigue. Yet a case involving a seemingly drowsy truck driver may not necessarily mean that they were in violation of them.

The 100 air-mile radius provision

There are exceptions to the standard hours of service regulations set forth by the federal government. The most well-known of these may be the 100 air-mile radius provision. According to the Code of Federal Regulations, this exempts a driver from following the regular regulations (including keeping driving logs) when the driver’s route does not venture outside of a 100 air-mile radius of their point of origin. In addition, the driver must return within 12 hours of their route commencing in order for this exception to apply.

Examining other common exceptions

Several other special exceptions exist that allow truckers to exceed their normally mandated working. For example, if the truck driver that caused you accident was driving in adverse weather conditions, then the law allows them to work for two hours beyond their normally mandated driving time in order to accommodate them. In addition, you should also remember that standard hours-of-service regulations do not apply to vehicles with a gross vehicular weight under 10,001 pounds.