Trucking companies often destroy or falsify their logs in order to hide the fact that their drivers were exhausted at the time of an accident. This according to an article in the Dallas Morning News on September 17, 2006.
"The trucking industry appears to spend more time doctoring records, falsifying logs and covering up fault than they do screening drivers and training drivers," said Frank Branson, a nationally prominent Dallas plaintiffs' attorney who has handled truck accident cases for 37 years. "The end result is a lot of catastrophically injured and killed Texans."
Lawyers representing victims who have been hurt or killed by a truck driver often subpoeona these logs to show that the drivers were on the road for many hours, often days, without rest. Faced with having to produce damning evidence, many trucking companies choose simply to shred the evidence rather than face the consequences of their action.
Under Federal law, truck drivers must keep a log of time spent driving or resting during a day. Interstate truckers are limited to 11 hours of driving in a 14 hour period and are supposed to rest for 10 hours straight.
Because of the risk of destruction of evidence, victims of trucking accidents must act quickly to make sure the evidence is preserved.
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