In any profession, employees have certain rights to standards of working. This means that they should be employed in a place that is reasonably safe, and they should not be forced to work to an extent that is detrimental to their health or could potentially cause an injury.
When it comes to commercial truck drivers, there can be a lot of pressure faced on a day-to-day basis. Many truck drivers have extremely ambitious deadlines which means they can be forced to drive long hours across states. However, suffering from exhaustion as a commercial truck driver can be extremely dangerous. Being overworked or forced to work when you are fatigued can potentially lead to fatal accidents.
What rights do commercial truck drivers have that center on their safety and the safety of others?
Across the United States, all employees are protected by numerous acts as well as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a powerful government agency. Workers are not only protected against unsafe environments, but they are protected from retaliation when they make a complaint about workplace safety or when they refuse to perform a work-related task because they believe that it would pose an immediate danger to themselves or others.
As a commercial truck driver in the state of Illinois, if you are facing a high amount of pressure to get a job done in a certain amount of time, but you are suffering from fatigue or exhaustion, it is important that you stand up for your right to highlight the risk associated with continuing to work. You are entitled to take an adequate amount of rest between your driving hours, and you should never drive over the speed limit or drive while tired in order to meet unrealistic deadlines set by your employer.
Similarly, if you were involved in an accident as a truck driver, you may believe that the accident was caused because of the pressure that your employer had put on you in order to get the job done. In a situation like this, your employer could be to blame. It is important to understand how the law protects you after a commercial truck crash.