There are many different types of vehicles on the roads in Pennsylvania. There are scooters and motorcycles, cars and pick-up trucks, both of which come in various different sizes. There are also moving and cargo vans, buses, tractor-trailers and other types of vehicles. While these vehicles come in various different sizes and serve different purposes, one thing that is common to all of them is that if they are not driven safely, they could end up in an accident.
This can be devastating to the people involved in the accident no matter what type of vehicle is involved, but it can be particularly devastating when a tractor-trailer is involved. Due to the massive size difference between them and the other vehicles on the road, truck accidents oftentimes leave the other drivers involved with catastrophic injuries or could even kill them. That is why it is important that truck drivers drive safely. To ensure this happens, there are many regulations they must follow.
One of these regulations is that truck drivers are must rest periodically, and they can only drive a certain number of hours each day. This is intended to cut down on driver fatigue, which can easily lead to accidents. So, drivers are only allowed to drive within a consecutive 14 hour period each day. Within these 14 hours, the driver can only drive for a period of eight consecutive hours without taking at least a 30 minute break and can only drive a total of 11 hours within those 14 hours.
While most truck drivers and trucking companies in Pennsylvania are well aware of these rules, they also are trying to make money, and therefore they may break these rules in order to complete their routes. If this leads to an accident, the victims could be left with devastating injuries, which can completely change their lives. They can also be costly. Therefore, victims of truck accidents may want to determine if they can seek compensation from the truck driver and truck company in order to ease that burden.
