The trucker who hit you may have been behind the wheel since before sunrise, and the truck’s own records could prove it. Federal law caps how long commercial drivers can stay on the road, yet tired drivers still share Dallas highways like I-35E and I-20 every day.
After the crash, questions pile up fast. Your medical expenses keep growing, the trucking company’s insurer is already calling, and nobody is telling you whether the driver broke any rules. Under Texas law, you generally have two years from the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit, so early evidence about driving time matters.
At Trujillo Gonzalez PC, we represent people hurt in commercial truck crashes across North Texas. Our Dallas truck accident lawyers review driver logs, compare them with fuel receipts and Global Positioning System (GPS) data, and find the gaps carriers hope no one notices.
Knowing how many hours a truck driver can drive, and how carriers bend those limits, can change the value of your claim. Here is what the hours of service rules require and how we use them to build your case.
How Many Hours Can a Truck Driver Drive Under Federal Law?
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) sets hours-of-service rules for interstate commercial drivers, meaning drivers who haul freight across state lines. A property-carrying driver can drive up to 11 hours per shift, but only within a 14-hour on-duty window, according to the FMCSA hours-of-service summary. These limits appear in Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Section 395.3.
Hours of service refers to the total time a driver spends driving and working. On-duty time includes loading, inspections, fueling, and waiting at a dock. We review every category because a driver can break the rules without ever passing the 11-hour driving limit.
The 11-Hour Driving Limit
So how many hours can a truck driver drive in a day? A trucker may drive a maximum of 11 hours after spending 10 consecutive hours off duty, under 49 CFR § 395.3(a)(3). After those 11 hours, the driver must stop driving until another full 10-hour break is complete.
For example, a driver who starts at 5:00 a.m. and drives with only short stops will hit the limit by late afternoon. Driving after that point violates FMCSA hours-of-service requirements, even if the driver feels alert.
The 14-Hour On-Duty Window
The 14-hour rule creates a daily window that starts the moment the driver begins any work. Driving after the 14th hour is prohibited, and lunch breaks or naps do not pause the clock under Section 395.3(a)(2).
This rule surprises many people. A driver who spends five hours waiting at a warehouse dock has only nine hours left to drive that day.
The 30-Minute Break Rule
Truckers must take a 30-minute break after eight cumulative hours of driving. That break can be off duty, in the sleeper berth, or on duty but not driving, such as fueling, according to the FMCSA.
Weekly Limits and the 34-Hour Restart
Truck driver hours of service also have weekly caps. A driver cannot drive after 60 hours on duty in seven consecutive days, or 70 hours in eight consecutive days, depending on the carrier’s schedule under Section 395.3(b).
The 34-hour restart lets a driver reset that weekly total by taking 34 or more consecutive hours off duty. When dispatch records show back-to-back long weeks with no 34-hour restart, we treat that as a red flag.
How Many Hours Can a Trucker Legally Drive in Texas?
Not every truck on Dallas roads crosses state lines. Intrastate drivers, who haul freight only within Texas, follow state rules under 37 Texas Administrative Code § 4.12, which adopts the federal regulations with several changes.
So how many hours can a trucker legally drive inside Texas? An intrastate driver may drive 12 hours after eight consecutive hours off duty and cannot drive after being on duty for 15 hours, according to Section 4.12. These drivers also face a 70-hour limit in any seven consecutive days, with a 34-hour restart available.
Drivers who exceed the 12-hour or 15-hour limits are placed out of service for eight consecutive hours under the same Texas rule. We use those violations to show that a carrier ignored basic safety standards.
Exceptions That Can Stretch a Trucker’s Day
Carriers often point to a few exceptions in 49 CFR § 395.1 to explain away long shifts under the hours of service rules:
- Adverse driving conditions. Drivers who run into unexpected snow, fog, or unusual traffic may drive up to two extra hours, and the 14-hour window can stretch by up to two hours.
- Sleeper berth provision. Drivers can split their 10-hour break, spending at least seven hours in the sleeper berth and at least two hours in a separate period.
- Short-haul exception. Drivers who stay within 150 air miles of their work reporting location and finish within 14 hours may skip detailed logs.
Each exception has strict conditions, and a carrier that claims one must have records to back it up.
How Electronic Logging Devices Track Driving Time
Most interstate truckers must use an electronic logging device (ELD), which connects to the engine and records driving time automatically, according to the FMCSA. These devices track truck driver hours of service far more reliably than the paper logbooks they replaced.
An electronic logging device still has blind spots. Drivers can mislabel driving as off-duty time, misuse the sleeper berth provision, or claim “personal conveyance,” a status for personal use of the truck that does not count as driving time.
Carriers must keep records of duty status and supporting documents for six months under Section 395.8(k). A preservation letter is a formal written demand that the trucking company keep all evidence related to the crash. At Trujillo Gonzalez PC, we send these letters within days of taking a case.
How Hours of Service Violations Cause Truck Accidents
Fatigue slows reaction time, narrows attention, and leads to microsleeps, which are lapses lasting a few seconds. In the FMCSA’s Large Truck Crash Causation Study, 13% of large trucks in the studied crashes had a driver coded as fatigued.
Drowsy driving is dangerous in any vehicle, but a fully loaded truck can weigh up to 80,000 pounds. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that drowsy driving crashes happen most often between midnight and 6 a.m. or in the late afternoon.
Many drivers are paid by the mile, and tight delivery windows reward drivers who skip rest. Dispatchers who set impossible schedules share responsibility when a worn-out driver causes a crash.
Consider a driver told to deliver in Houston by 6:00 a.m. after a full day of loading in Oklahoma City. Meeting that deadline legally may be impossible, so the driver keeps going and the log gets edited later.
Common warning signs include drifting across lanes, rear-ending stopped traffic, and leaving the road without braking. When we see these patterns on Dallas interstates, we look at the driver’s hours right away.
Proving a Trucker Drove Too Long After a Dallas Crash
Proving an hours of service violation takes more than the driver’s word. Trujillo Gonzalez PC builds a timeline from independent sources and checks each one against the others.
We typically gather the following records after a truck crash:
- Electronic logging device data and records of duty status
- Engine control module data showing speed and braking
- Fuel, toll, and weigh-station receipts
- Dispatch messages and delivery schedules
- Bills of lading showing pickup and delivery times
- The driver’s cell phone records
When a fuel receipt places the truck in Oklahoma at a time the log shows the driver asleep, the log loses credibility fast.
A violation of federal safety rules can serve as strong evidence of negligence, which is the failure to use reasonable care. Texas also follows proportionate responsibility, so your compensation drops by your share of fault and is barred if you are more than 50% responsible.
Carriers know this rule, so they often try to shift blame onto the injured driver. The two-year statute of limitations under Section 16.003 sets the legal deadline to file, but key evidence can disappear in months. Talking with a truck accident lawyer early gives us time to secure ELD data before it is lost.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are answers to questions we often hear from people hurt in truck crashes.
How many hours can a truck driver drive without a break?
Federal rules require a 30-minute break after eight cumulative hours of driving. The driver can still reach the 11-hour daily limit after taking that break.
How many hours a day can a truck driver drive in Texas?
Texas intrastate drivers may drive 12 hours after eight hours off duty. Interstate drivers may drive 11 hours after 10 hours off duty.
Can a trucking company be responsible if it pushed a driver past legal limits?
Yes. Under Texas law, a carrier can be liable for its driver’s negligence on the job and for its own negligence in setting unsafe delivery schedules.
How long does a trucking company keep electronic logging device data?
Carriers must keep records of duty status and supporting documents for six months. We send a preservation letter right away so that data is not lost.
Can I recover compensation if the trucker followed the hours of service rules?
Yes. A driver within legal hours can still be negligent through speeding, distraction, or unsafe lane changes, and a Dallas truck accident lawyer can evaluate those factors.
Talk to a Dallas Truck Accident Lawyer About Hours of Service Violations
A carrier that keeps its driver rolling past the 11-hour limit puts everyone on the road at risk, including you and your family. If a tired trucker caused your injuries, the proof is often sitting in records the company controls.
At Trujillo Gonzalez PC, attorneys James Trujillo and Ramon Gonzalez lead a team that starts investigating truck crashes from day one. We pull ELD data, compare it with receipts and dispatch records, and build a timeline that shows when the driver should have stopped.
Some cases resolve through settlement, and others go to trial, and we prepare every file so you have strong options either way. We handle truck accident cases on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you. Our team serves clients in English and Spanish.
Call (972) 550-6818 or contact us online to explore your legal options.
We proudly serve Dallas County, Collin County, Webb County, Bexar County, and throughout Texas. Contact one of our convenient office locations near you to schedule a free consultation.
Trujillo Gonzalez PC – Dallas
1111 W. Mockingbird Ln. Ste. 260
Dallas, TX 75247
Phone: (972) 550 6818
Trujillo Gonzalez PC – Allen
931 Hwy. 121, Bldg. 4 #4100
Allen, TX 75013
Phone: (972) 550 6818
Trujillo Gonzalez PC – Laredo
216 W Village Blvd #102,
Laredo, TX 78041
Phone: (956) 606-4878
Trujillo Gonzalez PC – San Antonio
700 N St Mary’s St 1400 52
San Antonio, TX 78205
Phone: 210-202-4878
