Driving in the harsh winter weather conditions common to Indiana and Illinois each year is dangerous for every driver, but the hazards are especially dangerous and risky for those who are operating large commercial motor vehicles like semi-trucks, big rigs, tractor-trailers, and 18-wheelers. Read, Winter Accidents with Semi-Trucks: Driving Dangers in Indiana and Illinois and Ice on the Roads and Fatal Truck Accidents: The Dangers of Driving on Ice.
Duty of Commercial Truck Drivers in Winter Weather: Ice, Snow, Sleet, and Freezing Rain
Professional drivers operate these large, heavy trucks after specialized training and special licensure from the state. Many truckers have years of experience behind the wheel. These men and women drive with confidence and skill in some very treacherous conditions on all sorts of roadways, both urban and rural.
We rely upon their efforts as essential workers – especially during the Coronavirus Pandemic. It is important for all of us that these drivers are efficient in transporting cargo to their destinations on a timely basis.
We also share the roadways with these large trucks as they rumble alongside us here in Indiana and Illinois. It is also important to us all that these drivers operate their vehicles with levels of care appropriate to the situation.
In winter weather conditions, that trucker’s level of care can be very high. The failure to meet their duty of care when driving in ice, snow, or sleet can be deadly for the truck driver, rig occupants, and those sharing the roads with that rig.
Under both state and federal law, professional truck drivers have a legal duty of care to operate their trucks safely. This can be complicated when facing winter weather:
- The trucker will need to drive with special tools and equipment including things like de-icers, shovels, hammers, and bags of kitty litter to help tires gain traction.
- He or she may need to keep a distance from other vehicles on the road and avoid the temptation to caravan with other big rigs and semis, in order to maximize braking time.
- Truckers may also need to take extra measures in periodically inspecting their rigs, like making sure the brakes are not frozen or that all the trailer tires are turning.
Of importance is the legal mandate that the truck driver has the responsibility to decide if winter weather conditions are too dangerous to operate the commercial truck. Out on the road, in the midst of the winter weather, the professional driver has to decide whether or not to continue, given existing road conditions.
It is within the trucker’s legal duties to decide when to stop because ice on the roads makes it too dangerous to keep driving. The truck driver must make the call.
Under 49 CFR §392.14, under federal law the truck driver is instructed as follows:
Extreme caution in the operation of a commercial motor vehicle shall be exercised when hazardous conditions, such as those caused by snow, ice, sleet, fog, mist, rain, dust, or smoke, adversely affect visibility or traction. Speed shall be reduced when such conditions exist. If conditions become sufficiently dangerous, the operation of the commercial motor vehicle shall be discontinued and shall not be resumed until the commercial motor vehicle can be safely operated. Whenever compliance with the foregoing provisions of this rule increases hazard to passengers, the commercial motor vehicle may be operated to the nearest point at which the safety of passengers is assured.
When Truck Drivers Are Pressured to Keep Driving on Ice
Regardless of the law that makes it the trucker’s decision on whether or not to drive in hazardous winter weather, where the driver is out on the road and experiencing the ice and snow first hand, there can be times when that trucker’s perspective and expertise is disrespected. Dispatchers and management may try and pressure that driver to keep going despite the bad weather.
When this happens, that truck driver, the rig’s occupants, others on the roads with him or her, and first responders, may all be at risk of a serious injury or death in a fatal truck crash where the truck has been driven on ice.
From the dispatcher’s perspective, as well as those who are financially invested with the rig’s cargo making its delivery deadline, the risks facing the truck driver may be underestimated or ignored. The driver will be encouraged to keep going, even if the driver has voiced his opinion that to do so risks serious injury.
Forcing a driver to keep moving may result in others sharing legal liability for any resulting truck crash.
Protection for Truck Drivers Under the Surface Transportation Assistance Act
Congress has recognized the reality that truck drivers face in these situations, and provided a specific federal law that provides protection for truckers who are being pressured to keep driving on ice. Under the Surface Transportation Assistance Act, 49 U.S.C. §31105 (STAA), commercial drivers are given a legal shield against being fired or otherwise retaliated against for failing to obey the directive to keep driving on ice.
STAA protects any commercial truck driver who can prove that in the icy road conditions there would have been either:
(a) a violation of a commercial vehicle safety or health regulation, standard, or order if he or she had continued to drive; or
(b) that he or she had a reasonable apprehension of serious injury to himself/herself or the public because of the vehicle’s hazardous situation involving ice on the roads.
The protection given the truck driver under this federal statute is based upon employment law and provides legal redress against an employer who fires, terminates, or otherwise retaliates against a truck driver who decides it is too dangerous to keep driving because of icy road conditions. See, e.g., Roadway Exp., Inc. v. Dole, 929 F.2d 1060 (5th Cir. 1991). STAA is considered to be a “whistleblower” law.
Fatal Truck Crash After Truck Driver Pressured to Keep Driving on Ice
When there is ice on the roads, commercial truck drivers have the legal right and duty to halt operation and stop driving until things change and the weather conditions improve enough that in their professional opinion it is safe to drive their rig.
The driver has a legal shield against being fired or penalized by his or her employer for making this safety decision under STAA. However, for drivers that do not understand the impact of STAA and its protections, or those drivers that are pushed by dispatchers to keep driving on ice, the tragic reality is that a fatal truck crash may be the result.
In a fatal truck crash where the truck driver has succumbed to company pressure to keep driving on ice, the accident victims and their loved ones may have legal recompense not only against that driver but those that disrespected his or her call and pressured the trucker to keep driving.
This is called “coercion” under federal law, and not only motor carriers but shippers, receivers, intermediaries, and their agents or representatives can be held liable under federal law for civil monetary penalties. For more on the Federal Coercion Rule, read our earlier discussion as it impacts HOS Rules in New Federal “Coercion Rule” Protects Truckers Being Forced to Break HOS Rules.
Under state negligence and workers’ compensation laws, there may also be legal liability for personal injury and wrongful death damages placed upon the motor carriers, shippers, receivers, intermediaries, and their agents or representatives who pressured the truck driver to drive on ice despite the driver’s professional trepidations to do so.
Driving in harsh winter weather conditions is a part of any truck driver’s job. The professional driver understands the risks involved when facing winter hazards and has a legal duty to decide when it is too risky to drive on icy roads. Sadly, some drivers will decide to keep driving on ice here in Indiana and Illinois with tragic results. Please be careful out there!
