Hours-of-Service, ELDs, and Cell-Phone Rules: How Violations Prove Negligence

In a serious Kentucky truck crash, the story isn’t just “who hit whom.” It’s why it happened. Three rule sets often answer that: Hours-of-Service (HOS) limits, Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) that record them, and federal bans on texting/hand-held phones. When drivers or carriers break these rules—and we can tie the violation to fatigue, distraction, or delayed reaction—you have powerful evidence of negligence. In extreme facts, these same violations can support a punitive-damages theory.

The rules in 60 seconds (what matters to your case)

• HOS limits (49 CFR Part 395): For most property-carrying drivers, the basics are 11 hours driving within a 14-hour on-duty window, a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving, and weekly on-duty caps with restart rules. There are specific exceptions (e.g., short-haul 150 air-mile and adverse driving conditions). 

• ELDs (Part 395, Subpart B): The electronic logger automatically records duty status, drive time, location/time stamps, and more; drivers/carriers must produce and transfer records to officials and retain them (with a 6-month back-up on a separate device). Tampering/editing is restricted.

• Phones & texting (49 CFR 392.80–392.82): Texting and hand-held phone use while driving a CMV are prohibited; carriers can’t allow or require it either. “Driving” includes being stopped in traffic; it doesn’t include pulling off safely and parking. Limited emergency exceptions apply. 

How these violations prove negligence (and causation)

1) Fatigue from HOS violations → slower reaction + lane departures

• What we show: ELDs/RODS reveal excess drive time or a 14-hour window overrun; dispatch messages and fuel/scale receipts corroborate.

• How it ties to the crash: Fatigue explains late braking, failure to perceive hazard, or drifting across lanes—often seen in dashcam or event-trigger data.

• Why it’s persuasive: Jurors get it—too many hours, too little rest. FMCSA created the limits to prevent exactly these errors.

2) Phone use → eyes/hands/mind off the road

• What we show: Cell-phone records + telematics timestamps + dashcam. The regs ban texting and hand-held calls; dialing beyond one button or reaching for a phone in an unsafe way is out-of-bounds.

• How it ties to the crash: Unexplained drift or no brake lights before impact often pairs with screen interaction.

• Why it’s persuasive: Rule is bright-line and safety-based; even momentary hand-held use violates 392.82 and 392.80 (with narrow emergency exceptions). 

3) ELD/record tampering → credibility + spoliation inferences

• What we show: Inconsistent ELD data, edits without driver annotations, missing supporting docs, or “malfunction” codes around the crash window.

• How it ties to the crash: If time records are unreliable, we lean on ECM speed/brake channels, GPS breadcrumbs, and video to reconstruct the truth—and ask for adverse inferences if data was altered or erased. Regulations restrict ELD editing/erasure. 

Building the proof (our step-by-step)

1. Lock the data in week one. Send spoliation to the carrier, broker, shipper/loader, and maintenance chain demanding ELD/RODS, ECM, camera/video repositories, dispatch chats, and driver phone records. (We also pull 911 audio and nearby surveillance.)

2. Cross-validate. Match ELD time/location stamps to fuel/scale receipts, toll transponders, and GPS breadcrumbs. If the “paper” looks clean but dashcam shows nodding, we push fatigue.

3. Recreate the timeline. Use ECM to map speed, throttle, and brake inputs; overlay with dashcam to show no braking or a late brake.

4. Phones. Subpoena usage records; compare to the crash clock. If the device was “replaced,” we build the spoliation record.

5. Explain it simply. We turn logs into a visual timeline any juror can follow.

When do these facts support punitive damages?

Kentucky juries can consider punitives when conduct is so reckless it signals indifference to safety (fact- and law-dependent). Examples that move the needle:

• Knowingly dispatching a driver who’s already beyond HOS or encouraging log edits to “make delivery.”

• Pattern evidence: multiple phone-use coaching violations in the driver’s record with no corrective action by the carrier.

• Tampering/erasure of ELD or camera data post-crash.

We frame punitives carefully—anchored in objective regs, data, and prior warnings—not just labels.

FAQs

Is a short-haul driver exempt from all HOS?

No. The 150 air-mile short-haul exception alters some requirements but doesn’t give a free pass; there’s still a 14-hour limit, and drivers must meet the exception conditions to use it. 

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Do drivers have to hand over ELD data at the scene?

Drivers must be able to display and transfer records to enforcement; carriers must retain records (with a back-up) for 6 months and produce them. 

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Can a driver ever text or hold a phone legally?

Only narrow emergency communications (e.g., with law enforcement). Otherwise 392.80/392.82 prohibit texting and hand-held use while driving, even when temporarily stopped in traffic. 

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How Morrin Law Office uses these rules to win cases

• Early preservation & downloads: We secure ELD/RODS, ECM channels, and camera repositories before they overwrite—then align them with third-party data (tolls, fuel, scale).

• Phone-use proof: We obtain records and sync them to the crash timeline; when devices vanish, we build a spoliation record.

• Fatigue modeling: We retain human factors and reconstruction experts to translate rule-breaking into reaction-time and stopping-distance deficits.

• Commercial-vehicle reach: In addition to the driver/carrier, we examine brokers, shippers/loaders, and maintenance vendors if their conduct helped cause the crash.

• No upfront fees: Free consult; contingency fee—we’re paid only if we recover.

References & Further Reading

Authoritative rule summaries

• FMCSA – Summary of Hours-of-Service Regulations (11-hr/14-hr, 30-min break, exceptions). FMCSA

• FMCSA – Hours of Service (what changed; short-haul, adverse conditions, break rule). FMCSA

Primary law (eCFR / LII)

• 49 CFR Part 395 (HOS) & Subpart B (ELDs) — data elements, transfers, edits, malfunctions. ECFR.io

• 49 CFR 392.80 (Texting ban) — definition of “driving,” emergency exception. ecfr.gov

• 49 CFR 392.82 (Hand-held phone ban) — carrier may not allow/require; “driving” includes temporary stops. ecfr.gov

Background/education

• FMCSA Mobile-Phone Restrictions Fact Sheet — explains the rationale and “one-button” dialing threshold. FMCSA

• FMCSA Safety Planner – RODS/ELD retention — 6-month retention and back-up copy requirement. CSA Compliance

• FMCSA Safety Planner – Electronic Devices/Phones overview — quick reference to 392.80–392.82. CSA Compliance