The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulates every aspect of commercial trucking — how long drivers can operate, how trucks must be maintained, who can hold a CDL, and how cargo must be secured. When a trucking company violates these regulations and someone gets hurt, the violation itself becomes powerful evidence of negligence under Colorado law.
Most people have never heard of the FMCSA. But if you’ve been hit by a commercial truck, these regulations may be the most important factor in your case. Here’s what they cover and why they matter.
Hours of Service: The Fatigue Regulations
Fatigued driving is one of the leading causes of truck accidents nationally. FMCSA hours-of-service (HOS) rules exist specifically to prevent it.
Property-carrying drivers (most commercial trucks) are limited to 11 hours of driving after 10 consecutive hours off duty. They cannot drive beyond the 14th consecutive hour after coming on duty. They must take a 30-minute break after 8 cumulative hours of driving. And they are subject to a 60-hour/7-day or 70-hour/8-day cumulative limit.
Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) are required on virtually all commercial trucks to automatically record driving time and prevent falsification of paper logs. Before the ELD mandate, drivers routinely kept duplicate logbooks — one showing legal hours, one showing actual hours. ELDs eliminated that specific form of cheating, but drivers and companies still find ways to circumvent the rules: driving on a co-driver’s credentials, disconnecting ELDs, or logging driving time as “off-duty.”
When an ELD shows that the truck driver who hit you had been driving for 13 hours straight, that’s not just evidence of negligence — it’s evidence of a federal regulatory violation that can establish negligence per se under Colorado law, meaning fault is presumed.
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Driver Qualification Standards
Not just anyone can drive a commercial truck. FMCSA driver qualification rules (49 CFR Part 391) require a valid CDL with appropriate endorsements for the vehicle type, a current medical certificate from a DOT-approved examiner, a clean driving record (no more than one serious traffic violation in the past three years), passage of pre-employment drug and alcohol screening, and participation in ongoing random drug and alcohol testing.
Trucking companies must maintain a driver qualification file for every driver, documenting compliance with each of these requirements. When a company hires a driver without verifying their CDL, skips the drug test, or ignores a history of DUI convictions, that’s negligent hiring — and it can support both compensatory and punitive damages.
Vehicle Maintenance and Inspection
Commercial trucks must undergo regular maintenance and inspection under FMCSA standards (49 CFR Parts 393 and 396). Trucks must be inspected by a qualified inspector at least annually. Drivers must conduct pre-trip and post-trip inspections every day. Any defect that affects safe operation must be repaired before the truck is driven. And the trucking company must maintain maintenance records for every vehicle in its fleet.
When a truck’s brakes fail because the carrier skipped a required inspection, or when a tire blows out because it wasn’t replaced when it should have been, the maintenance records (or lack thereof) become central evidence. Jordan Law secured a $26.6 million verdict in a case involving a truck brake malfunction — the kind of case where maintenance violations are directly traceable to the injury.
Cargo Securement
FMCSA cargo securement rules (49 CFR Part 393, Subpart I) specify how different types of cargo must be loaded, restrained, and inspected during transit. Improperly secured cargo can shift during transit, causing the truck to become unstable and roll over. Cargo that falls from a truck creates immediate hazards for following vehicles. And overweight cargo can exceed the vehicle’s braking capacity, increasing stopping distances.
When a load shifts and a truck jackknifes on I-25, the cargo loading company, the shipper, and the carrier may all be liable depending on who was responsible for loading and securing the freight.
Drug and Alcohol Testing
FMCSA requires pre-employment drug testing, random testing throughout employment (at least 50% of drivers annually for drugs, 10% for alcohol), post-accident testing when a crash involves a fatality or moving violation, and reasonable suspicion testing when a supervisor observes signs of impairment.
A trucking company that fails to test — or that continues employing a driver who tests positive — faces both regulatory penalties and civil liability. In 2024, 21 drivers involved in Colorado trucking accidents were suspected of alcohol use, and 11 were suspected of drug use (including 8 involving marijuana).
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How FMCSA Violations Strengthen Your Case
Under Colorado law, a violation of a safety regulation can establish negligence per se — meaning the defendant’s fault is presumed based on the regulatory violation. This is a significant advantage because you don’t have to argue about what a “reasonable” trucking company would have done. The FMCSA already defined the standard of care, and the defendant failed to meet it.
FMCSA violations can also support punitive damages under C.R.S. § 13-21-102. When a trucking company knowingly pressures drivers to exceed HOS limits, falsifies maintenance records, or hires unqualified drivers, that conduct rises to the level of willful and wanton disregard for safety — opening the door to damages designed to punish, not just compensate.
At Jordan Law, we know how to obtain, interpret, and litigate FMCSA records. Our truck accident verdicts — $26.6 million, $20 million, and $18.6 million — reflect our ability to connect regulatory violations to catastrophic outcomes in front of a jury.
If you were involved in a Colorado 18-wheeler accident, call our team of experienced attorneys. We’ve helped clients in Denver, Greenwood Village, Aurora, Arvada, Boulder, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, Grand Junction and more.
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