On behalf of Rooz Law posted in Truck Accidents on Friday, October 24, 2014.
In order to protect truck drivers and the public, Canada requires commercial drivers to drive a specific number of hours and take regular breaks. These measures are meant to prevent fatigue, a significant risk factor for truck accidents. To ensure that these regulations are being followed, commercial drivers are required to keep logs.
The logbook should be filled out on a daily basis and should track the driver’s off- and on-duty time for that day. Some commercial drivers are exempt from having a logbook. These are primarily drivers who stay within a certain radius of their home terminal, return to the terminal daily and have a minimum of eight consecutive hours off each day.
If a driver is required to keep his or her own logbook, it is supposed to contain certain information. Logbooks must contain the date for each entry, the driver’s name and the start time. If the driver is part of a team, the names of the other drivers should be entered in the log. A section for remarks is reserved for calculating off- and on-duty time. There are also other logbook requirements that pertain to specific industries. In addition, the employer is required to keep accurate records of its employee’s driving time.
A personal injury lawyer may review a commercial driver’s logbook to see if exhaustion might have been a factor in an accident. If the driver or his or her employer broke state statues regarding the amount of time he or she was behind the wheel on a given day, it may be possible to prove liability on the part of the driver and his or her employer.
Source: Justice Laws Website, “Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service Regulations”, October 21, 2014
