Information

Minnesota Truck Driver Regulations

Truck drivers must be licensed to drive their trucks. This license is known as a CDL (Commercial Drivers License) and is instated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Act.

The purpose of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Act is to help reduce or prevent truck and bus accidents, fatalities and injuries are requiring drivers to have a single commercial motor vehicle drivers license and by disqualifying drivers who operate commercial motor vehicles in an unsafe manner.

Certain drivers are required to have a commercial drivers license. These include the following:

1) Every person who operates a commercial motor vehicle interstate or intrastate that has a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more.

2) A person who operates a commercial motor vehicle with a gross combination weight rating of 26,001 or more inclusive of a towed unit with a gross vehicle weight rating of in excess of 10,000 pounds.

3) A person who operates a commercial motor vehicle which is designed to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver.

4) A person operates a vehicle that is transporting hazardous materials.

CDLs are state issued licenses and each state has its own license classes and specific requirements and exemptions.

Drivers are also required to perform basic safety inspections of their rigs and are held to a higher standard of care in operation of their truck, especially when the weather is bad. Federal law provides that:

Extreme caution in the operation of a commercial motor vehicle shall be exercised when hazardous conditions, such as those caused by snow, ice, sleet, fog, mist, rain, dust, or smoke, adversely affect the visibility or traction. Speed shall be reduced when such conditions exist. If conditions become sufficiently dangerous, the operation of the commercial motor vehicle shall be discontinued.

In addition to rig inspection, Federal law requires all commercial vehicle drivers to keep a daily logbook to record their duty status. The truck drivers log must include a 24 hour grid so that the driver can record his duty status as being off duty, in the sleeper, driving, or on duty and not driving.

For each change of duty the drive must insert the name of the closest city, town or village with a state abbreviation. Each log must also contain minimum information, including the date, total miles driven, truck and trailer number and the name of the carrier. A driver must update his logbook throughout the day and keep the record of duty status current to the time shown from the last change of duty. The logbook must be submitted to the motor carrier or employer within 13 days. A duplicate must be kept by the driver. The truck company or motor carriers are required all driver logs for a six month period.

Based on the Federal rules and regulations, truck companies and drivers can be held liable for punitive damages. Punitive damages can be awarded due to a truck companys adverse or poor safety record, including prior accidents, inspections, out of service violations, and records of enforcement actions. In law firms specializing in truck accident law is able to obtain these records and out of service inspection reports including prior violations pertaining to the driver. These can then be used to show a pattern of conduct that is unsafe and may result in injury A skilled Minnesota Truck Accident Attorney will insure all of these laws have been followed.