Falsified truck driver logs have been a problem in the commercial truck driving industry for decades. Truck drivers are often coerced by their employers or customers into driving longer hours than allowed by federal law. Some claim they are even encouraged or forced to produce falsified logs showing they have driven fewer hours than they actually have. Falsified logs not only break the law, they also leave innocent people on Missouri and Illinois roadways at risk of serious injury in fatal truck accidents.
This was the case for one Illinois state trooper in March of 2013. State Trooper James Sauter was fatally injured after a semi-truck driver reportedly fell asleep while driving along the Tri-State Tollway. An Illinois Tollway worker perished in a separate crash in which a truck driver was actually violating law to drive. Five people perished in yet another Illinois truck accident, this one along I-55 outside Channahon back in July. All of these accidents apparently involved violations of truck driver limits for being behind the wheel.
One truck driver in another state is attempting to take a stand against the truck company employing him. He maintains that he was ordered to falsify his driving logs or risk losing his job. According to him, he was told that this is something that is just “part of the job.” He believes that if he refused to falsify his logs, his company would just find other drivers willing to do as required.
The man further claims that he was made to mark that someone else drove him on one leg of a delivery trip to make it appear that he was complying with driver hour regulations. In reality, he says that he drove 16 hours on one leg of the trip, and 19 hours on the second. This is in direct violation of safety regulations which state that drivers cannot drive for longer than 11 hours, at which point they must take at least a 10-hour break.
The company which employs this truck driver has received citations from the Federal Motor Carrier Administration at least twice over the past two years for supposed falsified logs. The National Transportation Safety Board is gaining a reputation for becoming much stricter in enforcing safety laws related to truck driver hours. Unfortunately, this may come too late for many innocent victims on Missouri and Illinois roads.
If this has been the case for you or a loved one, please call our St. Louis personal injury law firm at 1-888-586-7041, free of charge. We can help you determine if filing a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit in civil court could benefit you or your family. Financial restitution awarded by a judge or jury may help injured victims or surviving dependents recover economically while they also try to heal physically and emotionally.
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Source Article: http://www.nbcchicago.com/investigations/Driver-Accuses-Trucking-Company-of-Forcing-Him-to-Falsify-Logs-279081831.html#ixzz3GEZ9M7QO