http://www.arnoldsafetyblog.com/swift-transportation-takes-365-m-hit-from-crash/ Helping Companies Comply With D.O.T. Safety Regulations Sat, 31 Jul 2010 19:48:47 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 http://www.arnoldsafetyblog.com/swift-transportation-takes-365-m-hit-from-crash/comment-page-1/#comment-211 What happens if I violate the Hours of Service Rules? at Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:46:56 +0000 http://www.fmcsacompliance.com/?p=123#comment-211 [...] The main thing you must keep in mind is legal jeopardy.  If you are operating over the hours limits, you are civilly and possibly criminally liable should a big accident occur.  A few days ago I posted an article about how Swift Transportation has to pay a $36.5 million judgement because their driver was (probably) over hours at the time of a fatal wreck.  Or, the driver himself can be prosecuted and put in jail.  It may not even matter if the accident wasn’t your fault.  The prosecutor can use the argument that you wouldn’t have been there to be invovled in the accident if you were following the hours rules…. an argument he will win.  Here’s an example of a driver who violated the rules, and was found guilty this year.  Most of time, there are little or no consequences for violating the rules.  If something happens, though, there can be devastating consequences. [...] [...] The main thing you must keep in mind is legal jeopardy.  If you are operating over the hours limits, you are civilly and possibly criminally liable should a big accident occur.  A few days ago I posted an article about how Swift Transportation has to pay a $36.5 million judgement because their driver was (probably) over hours at the time of a fatal wreck.  Or, the driver himself can be prosecuted and put in jail.  It may not even matter if the accident wasn’t your fault.  The prosecutor can use the argument that you wouldn’t have been there to be invovled in the accident if you were following the hours rules…. an argument he will win.  Here’s an example of a driver who violated the rules, and was found guilty this year.  Most of time, there are little or no consequences for violating the rules.  If something happens, though, there can be devastating consequences. [...]

]]>