Trucking Crashes Caused by Driver Fatigue: Replacing Circumstantial Evidence With Forensic and Expert Analysis

This CLE webinar will discuss trucking cases alleging that driver fatigue caused or contributed to a commercial motor vehicle crash, that the company's practices and procedures are responsible for the fatigue, and how the evidence in these types of cases is affected by the implementation of electronic logging devices (ELDs) and other digital evidence. 

Proving (or disputing) driver fatigue in a trucking case is complex and requires expert analysis.  Since ELDs became mandated, all motor carriers and drivers are required to keep records of duty service under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's hours-of-service regulations. Plaintiffs and Defendants focus on forensic analysis of data from ELDs, GPS, vehicle telematics, distraction detection technologies (FDDTs), in-cab cameras, Qualcomm/Omnitracs messaging, ECM or "black box" data, cell phone location records, dispatch communications, and all manner of other electronic data sources. Counsel in these cases must understand what and where this new evidence is, how to obtain it, who can introduce it, and the privacy interests in it. 

But, digital devices can be tampered with and digital records can be falsified. All the electronic data now must be cross-checked. Driver fatigue cases now involve litigating regarding ELD editing, unassigned driving time, ghost-driver schemes, multiple logins, device tampering, non-certified ELD usage, and more. A company's dispatch and scheduling practices, pay incentives, or poor ELD oversight are almost always on trial, as well as whether anyone attempted to cover them up. 

While expert analysis of digital evidence may prove that a driver was fatigued at the time of the collision, expert analysis must also prove that fatigue was a cause the crash by showing that a non-fatigued driver would have reacted differently. Key causation experts include accident reconstructionists, sleep experts, and human factors experts. Drivers and companies in multi-vehicle accidents may have significant contributory negligence or other defenses. 

Listen as our experienced panel discusses how fatigue cases have dramatically changed since ELDs became mandatory and offers practical guidance for arguing fatigue cases.