Every day, exhausted truck drivers share Houston’s highways with you. They’ve been behind the wheel for hours. Their eyes are heavy. Their reaction times are slow. And many of them are violating federal law to stay on the road.

Hours of service (HOS) violations are one of the leading causes of fatal truck accidents in Texas and across the United States. Federal rules exist to stop fatigued drivers from operating 80,000-pound vehicles. But pressure from trucking companies, impossible delivery deadlines, and dishonest recordkeeping put fatigued drivers on the road anyway.

When a fatigued trucker crashes into your car on I-10, I-45, or the Katy Freeway, the consequences can be devastating. If you’ve been hurt in a crash that may have involved driver fatigue, you need to know your rights.

What Are Hours of Service Rules?

Hours of service (HOS) rules are federal rules from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) that limit how long a truck driver can work without rest. The rules apply to trucks (CMVs) operating in interstate commerce.

The FMCSA created these rules because the research is clear: fatigue kills. Their own studies show that being awake for 18 hours is comparable to having a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% — the legal limit for drunk driving in Texas. A driver who slept only four to five hours in the past 24 hours has a crash risk equal to a BAC of 0.05%.

Despite these facts, driver fatigue is a factor in about 13% of all large truck crashes in the United States, according to the FMCSA’s Large Truck Crash Causation Study. A separate NHTSA analysis found that fatigue contributed to 31% of fatal crashes involving large trucks.

In Texas — one of the top states for commercial truck traffic — these numbers translate into hundreds of serious and fatal crashes every year. The highways around Houston, including I-45, I-10, and the Sam Houston Parkway, see heavy commercial vehicle traffic around the clock.

The 5 Key Hours of Service Rules

Understanding HOS rules helps you understand when a driver was violating the law at the time of your crash. Here are the five main federal rules:

The 11-Hour Driving Limit

A truck driver can drive a maximum of 11 hours after taking 10 back-to-back hours off duty. This is the core rule. Any driving beyond 11 hours is a violation — full stop.

The 14-Hour On-Duty Window

A driver cannot drive beyond the 14th back-to-back hour after coming on duty. This includes all time on duty, not just time behind the wheel. Loading cargo, paperwork, pre-trip inspections — all of it counts. A driver can’t simply “pause” the clock by taking a break. Once the 14-hour window starts, the clock runs.

This means even if a driver only drove 9 of those 14 hours, they can’t keep driving into hour 15. The window closes at 14 hours, period.

The Mandatory 30-Minute Break

After eight back-to-back hours of driving, a driver must take a break of at least 30 minutes before getting back behind the wheel. The break must be off duty or in the sleeper berth. It cannot include any other on-duty work.

The 10-Hour Off-Duty Requirement

Before starting a new shift, a driver must take at least 10 back-to-back hours off duty. This is designed to give drivers a full night’s rest. The FMCSA requires this because chronic sleep deprivation is just as dangerous as acute fatigue.

The 60/70-Hour Weekly Limit

A driver can only be on duty for a maximum of 60 hours in a 7-day period, or 70 hours in an 8-day period. Once a driver hits that limit, they must take 34 back-to-back hours off before driving again.

This weekly limit prevents trucking companies from simply running their drivers until they collapse. Without it, companies could technically comply with daily limits while pushing drivers to the edge week after week.

How Electronic Logging Devices Track Following the rules

Before 2017, drivers were required to keep paper logbooks to track their hours. These paper logs were easy to falsify. Drivers and dispatchers called them “comic books” because the entries were so often made up.

In December 2017, the FMCSA began requiring most commercial drivers to use Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs). An ELD automatically records driving time by connecting to the truck’s engine. It tracks when the engine starts, when the truck moves, and how long it runs.

ELD data is one of the most powerful pieces of evidence in a truck accident case. Unlike paper logs, ELD records are difficult to alter. A skilled attorney can subpoena ELD data from the trucking company’s system within days of a crash — before it gets deleted or overwritten.

ELD data can show:

• Exactly how many hours the driver had been behind the wheel before the crash
• Whether the driver exceeded the 11-hour driving limit
• If the driver had taken the required 10-hour off-duty break
• When and if the 14-hour on-duty window had already expired

This data can make or break a negligence case. It’s one of the reasons you need to contact an attorney quickly after any truck accident in Houston.

If you were hit by a truck driver who may have been fatigued, call (713) 349-1500 now. Evidence disappears fast.

Why Trucking Companies Pressure Drivers to Violate HOS Rules

You might wonder why any driver would risk their job — and their safety — by driving past legal limits. The answer is pressure.

The trucking industry runs on tight deadlines. Shippers and retailers demand on-time delivery. Dispatchers push drivers to keep moving. Contracts set delivery windows that are nearly impossible to meet if drivers stop for the required rest.

Some companies have been caught creating “unofficial” ELD workarounds. They’ve been found logging drivers as “off duty” while they were actually working. Some have pressured drivers to falsely record their status in ways that hide violations.

Beyond the schedule pressure, many truck drivers are paid by the mile, not the hour. That means every minute they’re parked at a rest stop is money out of their pocket. Drivers who are already financially stressed may choose to skip required breaks to keep their income up.

Trucking companies know this. A company that creates a culture of HOS violations — even indirectly through its pay structure or scheduling practices — can be held liable when a fatigued driver causes a crash.

The Physical Reality of Fatigued Driving

Most people underestimate how dangerous fatigue is. It doesn’t just make you sleepy. It changes how your brain works.

Fatigued drivers experience slowed reaction times that are similar to drunk driving. They miss hazards they would normally see. They misjudge gaps in traffic. They drift out of their lane without realizing it.

Microsleep is one of the most dangerous effects of fatigue. A microsleep episode lasts between one and 30 seconds. The driver’s eyes may stay open, but the brain is not processing what they’re seeing. A 10-second microsleep at 60 mph means the truck has traveled nearly 900 feet — almost three football fields — with no driver input.

Fatigued drivers also experience “highway hypnosis,” where they drive for miles in an almost trance-like state with no real awareness of their surroundings. By the time they realize something is wrong, it’s often too late.

An 80,000-pound fully loaded semi-truck takes about 525 feet to stop at 65 mph under normal conditions. A fatigued driver with slowed reactions may not begin braking until they’re already inside that distance.

HOS Violations and Your Accident Case

If a truck driver violated hours of service rules at the time of your crash, that violation is powerful evidence of negligence. Texas law allows you to pursue damages from the driver, the trucking company, and potentially the cargo shipper.

To build a strong case, your attorney will need to obtain:

ELD data from the truck’s electronic logging device, showing the driver’s hours leading up to the crash.

Driver training files maintained by the trucking company, which show the driver’s training history and any prior violations.

Dispatch records and communications that may show the company was aware of — or actively encouraged — HOS violations.

Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act records, which track a company’s history of safety violations, including HOS issues.

The driver’s daily log for the week leading up to the crash, to compare against ELD data for discrepancies.

This evidence must be preserved quickly. Federal rules only require trucking companies to retain most records for six months. After that, critical evidence can be destroyed — legally. An attorney can send a legal hold notice to the trucking company within days of a crash to prevent destruction of evidence.

Our Commercial Case Medical Management Team

Truck accident injuries caused by fatigued drivers are often severe. High-speed rear-end collisions and lane-change crashes cause traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, and internal injuries that require immediate and ongoing medical care.

The Law Office of Domingo Garcia has a dedicated Commercial Case Medical Management Team to help clients navigate this process. Our registered nurses coordinate your care from the moment you hire us. They schedule appointments with appropriate specialists, arrange transportation, and monitor your recovery.

While our medical team manages your healthcare, our attorneys work in parallel. We’re obtaining ELD records, preserving black box data, interviewing witnesses, and building your legal case. You focus on healing. We handle the rest.

Evidence That Supports an HOS Violation Claim

The following evidence is critical in a fatigue-related truck accident case. Your attorney should act quickly to preserve all of it:

The truck’s Event Data Recorder (EDR or “black box”) records speed, braking, and throttle data from the moments before a crash. This data can confirm that the driver failed to brake in time — consistent with fatigue.

Cell phone records can show whether the driver was using a phone while driving, which compounds the fatigue issue.

Toll records and fuel receipts can help reconstruct where the driver was and when, verifying or contradicting their official hours log.

Security and traffic camera footage from highways, truck stops, and businesses along the route can show the driver’s actual path and timing.

Weigh station records track when commercial trucks passed through inspection stations. This data can back up or contradict reported hours.

All of this evidence can vanish quickly. Video footage is often overwritten within 30 days. Trucking companies aren’t required to keep many records beyond six months. The sooner you contact an attorney, the better your chances of preserving critical evidence.

What to Do After a Fatigue-Related Truck Crash in Houston

The moments after a crash are critical. Here’s what you should do:

Call 911. A police report is essential in a truck accident case. Make sure the responding officer notes any observations about the driver that could indicate fatigue — bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, or confusion.

Seek medical attention right away. Even if you feel okay, get evaluated. Truck accident injuries — including traumatic brain injuries and internal bleeding — often don’t show obvious symptoms right away.

Write down everything you remember. Time of day, road conditions, how the crash happened, anything the driver said.

Photograph the scene if you can do so safely. Get shots of both vehicles, the road, skid marks, and the truck’s license plate and DOT number.

Do not give a statement to the trucking company’s insurance adjuster. They will try to use your words against you.

Contact an experienced truck accident attorney right away. The trucking company already has a response team working to protect their interests. You deserve the same protection.

Your Right to Payment After an HOS Violation Crash

If a fatigued truck driver hurt you because they or their company violated federal hours of service rules, you have the right to pursue full payment. That includes medical bills, lost wages, future medical expenses, pain and suffering, and in serious cases, punitive damages against the company.

The Law Office of Domingo Garcia has over 35 years of experience handling truck accident cases in Houston and across Texas. We’ve helped hundreds of victims obtain the payment they deserve. We work on contingency — you pay nothing unless we win.

Call us today at (713) 349-1500 for a free, confidential consultation. Don’t let the trucking company’s legal team get a head start on your case.

For more information about how truck accident cases work, see our guide: How to Choose the Right Truck Accident Attorney in Houston.