In The News

Cheating on logbook makes a driver first target after a crash

You cheat on your logbook. You might even brag about it.

Have you ever thought about what would happen if you were in a wreck? The crash might be totally the cause of the other vehicle’s driver, but because you falsified your logbook — or used the old switcheroo with the extra one that you carry — you automatically are suspected to be at fault.

We’ve all seen the billboards that tell us truckers are “dangerous,” and if we are in an accident with a big rig the first thing we need to do is dial the number for whatever law firm is paying for the billboard.

Or we’ve heard the commercials on television and radio that tell us truckers are tired, drug users, and just generally bad.

Face it: the general public, who have not worked in the trucking industry, does think truckers are the bad guys.

For instance, here’s an online ad about how scary truckers and their big rigs are:

“Did you know that every 16 minutes a person is killed or injured in a truck accident? Did you know that big rig truck accidents continue to increase? Even with these frightening scenarios and statistics, powerful trucking industry lobbyists continue to call for the weakening of truck safety rules and regulations to reap a higher profit. Large trucking companies have their own investigators and attorneys fighting for them, you need someone on your side.”

You may have attorneys from your company who will be “on your side” if you are in a wreck, but remember: they are there for the company (i.e. the one financially responsible, the source of the money), not necessarily for you; and if you’re an owner-operator who will defend you in court?

Or how about this one from another law firm:

“Our truck accident attorneys have learned that truck drivers go long periods of time without a break. While regulations limit the number of consecutive hours they can spend on the road, these regulations often go ignored. Some truckers illegally drive for over 24 hours without pause. Countless hours on the road will take a toll on a driver's ability to focus, concentrate, and remain alert. Truck drivers are already at a maneuverability disadvantage due to the size and nature of their vehicle. As a truck driver falls in and out of sleep, he becomes deadly. Our truck accident attorneys have learned what logbooks, receipts and other telltale evidence to look for in discovery. Experience counts.”

Face it — there are those who seek to make money off of you if you are involved in a wreck. An inaccurate logbook just gives them fodder for their cause.

I know before I started working at The Trucker about a decade ago I thought that truckers were pretty bad guys and dangerous. I mean, that’s what I had always heard.

So now for about 10 years I have talked to an untold number of you who tell me you “fudge,” “lie,” or otherwise cheat on your logbook.

Now that I’ve talked to so many of you, and have become a bit more educated in the life of a trucker, I don’t think all truckers are bad. I don’t even believe that those of you who “cheat” on your logbook are necessarily evil, but you are setting yourself up for trouble.

Is it worth a few extra dollars to risk driving tired, to take a chance on what would happen if you were involved in a wreck?

I know you don’t falsify your logbook just for the heck of it. You do it so you can drive longer than you’re supposed to because you are trying to make a living. You already have a 14-hour day if you log correctly, though. Why would anyone want to work more than 14 hours in a day when you are paid by the mile and not the hour anyway?

Yeah, I know, I hear you yelling at me as you read this. I’m sure you think that I don’t understand. And while I do understand the struggle to make ends meet on pay that is not the greatest in the world, I don’t agree that lying and cheating to make a few more dollars is worth the risk of killing anyone.

As you all know, the Hours of Service rules have been a hot topic since before 2003, when a new rule was finally introduced and later became your regulations. You got an extra hour to drive per day, and one less hour to be on-duty each day. These rules didn’t just magically get written. There were studies done. Testing was administered. Debates occurred. And it was determined by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that the HOS rules were the safest they could make them.

The rules are in place for a reason. Safety is job one.

And despite these rules written for safety, here’s another online ad that tells motorists not to trust you because you drive tired, because, as they say, you cheat:

“18-wheeler truck wrecks. 80,000 pounds of steel, traveling at highway speeds can easily injure and kill when it crashes into your car.

“Because they are so dangerous, many laws and safety regulations have been written to protect the public from 18-wheelers. Semi-trucks and trailers are supposed to pass rigorous inspections and the drivers are supposed to be well-trained and have limits on how long they can drive without sleep. Yet many times when a tractor-trailer is involved in a wreck, an inspection uncovers problems with the rig — like worn-out brakes or brakes out of adjustment. The truck drivers involved in wrecks are often found to be under rested and in violation of safety regulations. Get a free consultation. ... Contact [Bad Truckers] Law for a FREE review of your case. We are here to help you.”

You really have an uphill battle to fight that kind of advertising which is even more intense when you hear it and see it on TV with pictures of mangled vehicles.

A trucker who was involved in a wreck in 2005 which resulted in the deaths of five people is facing federal charges after initially being charged with falsifying his logbook.

The crash happened in the early morning hours of Oct. 16, 2005, when Michael Kozlowski lost control of his truck and it landed on its side blocking the westbound lanes of Interstate 94 near Osseo, Wis. He was found not guilty in April 2007 on all counts filed against him for his role in the crash.

In September 2008 the National Transportation Safety Board ruled that the bus driver that hit him did nothing wrong after the bus carrying band members slammed into the overturned semi.

The NTSB said the probable cause of the wreck was human fatigue after it was determined that Kozlowski fell asleep at the wheel.

However, while he wasn’t convicted for the deaths of five people, Kozlowski faces 20 federal charges relating to his logbook violations. He claimed he was sleeping at times when he was actually driving his truck. Each of the charges carries a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison.

His life will never be the same. Even if he gets off on all of the charges, he was initially blamed for the wreck because of his falsified logbook and had to go through a stressful criminal trial.

And another sobering thought, would those five people still be alive if he had not driven when he was supposed to be off duty and in his sleeper berth? In other words, he was fatigued because instead of taking his breaks to sleep, he kept driving and that’s why his truck ended up on its side blocking the road and then getting hit by the bus.

Think about that the next time you wish to falsify your logbook. Is it worth the risk?

Barb Kampbell of The Trucker staff can be reached for comment at [email protected] .