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Who the Federal Rules Cover
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration writes the safety rules for commercial motor vehicles, published as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations in Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations. They apply to interstate carriers and, in practice, to most of the trucks on Florida’s interstates.
This is the structural difference between a truck claim and a car accident claim. In an ordinary collision, the standard of care is what a reasonable driver would do — a matter of argument. In a truck case, much of the standard is written down in advance, in numbered rules, with records the carrier is required to keep proving whether it complied.
Florida has also adopted much of the federal framework for intrastate commercial vehicles, so a truck operating entirely within the state is not exempt from comparable requirements. The federal rules sit alongside Florida’s own liability law rather than replacing it — a violation still has to be connected to the harm, and recovery is still governed by comparative negligence under Fla. Stat. § 768.81 and by the two-year deadline for claims arising after March 24, 2023.
The Rules That Matter Most in a Crash Claim
| Regulation | What it governs |
|---|---|
| Part 382 — Drug & alcohol testing | Pre-employment, random, post-accident, and reasonable-suspicion testing programs, with defined record retention |
| Part 383 — Commercial driver licensing | CDL classes, endorsements for tankers and hazardous materials, and disqualification rules |
| Part 387 — Minimum insurance | Financial responsibility levels, beginning at $750,000 for general freight and higher for hazardous loads |
| Part 391 — Driver qualification | Medical certification, driving-record review, employment verification, and the driver qualification file the carrier must maintain |
| Part 392 — Driving of vehicles | Includes the duty to inspect cargo en route and rules on operating in hazardous conditions |
| Part 393 — Parts & accessories | Equipment standards including brakes, tires, lighting, conspicuity tape, and cargo securement in Subpart I |
| Part 395 — Hours of service | The 11-hour driving limit, 14-hour on-duty window, 30-minute break, weekly caps, and electronic logging |
| Part 396 — Inspection, repair & maintenance | Systematic maintenance duties, driver defect reports, and annual inspection requirements |
Each of these produces records. That is the point: a driver qualification file either contains a medical certificate or it does not, and a maintenance file either shows a reported brake defect was repaired or shows it was not.
Shiner Law Group, P.A.
Founded by David I. Shiner, Esq. · AV Preeminent® rated · Florida Bar member since 2002
Shiner Law Group was founded by David I. Shiner, Esq., a Nova Southeastern University law graduate, a member of The Florida Bar since 2002, and AV Preeminent® rated by Martindale-Hubbell. The firm represents injured people across Florida from offices in Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Pierce, Orlando, Wellington, and Belle Glade, and handles truck accident cases on contingency: free consultations, and no fee unless there is a recovery.
How a Violation Is Used in a Claim
A regulatory violation is not automatically the end of a case, but it changes the argument substantially.
Florida law recognises that violation of a statute or regulation designed to protect a class of people can be evidence of negligence, and in some circumstances more than that. Practically, a carrier arguing it acted reasonably has a much harder time when the record shows it exceeded a numbered limit, skipped a required inspection, or put a driver on the road without a qualification file.
Violations also matter for a second reason. Where records show a carrier knew about a pattern — repeated hours violations, ignored defect reports, prior out-of-service findings — the claim can extend beyond the driver’s conduct to the company’s own negligent supervision and retention. That distinction often determines which insurance policies respond. See Who Is Liable.
The Carrier’s Own Compliance Record
Beyond the specific crash, FMCSA maintains data on carriers that can establish a pattern:
- Roadside inspection history — every inspection, the violations found, and whether the vehicle or driver was placed out of service
- Crash history reported to the agency
- Safety ratings resulting from compliance reviews
- Out-of-service rates compared against national averages
- Operating authority status — whether the carrier was authorized to operate at all
Some of this is publicly searchable by DOT number, which is why recording that number from the tractor door at the scene matters. The rest is obtained through formal requests and discovery.
Compliance records exist. They are just not volunteered.
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What to Do to Preserve Regulatory Evidence
- Record the DOT number from the tractor door, and the trailer number separately.
- Note the cargo and any placards, which determine which additional rules applied.
- Get the crash report number, and ask whether a post-crash inspection was performed.
- Act quickly on preservation — hours records, telematics, and camera footage have short retention windows, while qualification and maintenance files are retained longer but never volunteered.
- Do not give a recorded statement to the trucking company’s insurer before speaking with an attorney.
- Do not assume compliance. The absence of a required record is itself a finding, and one that carriers rarely correct after the fact.
See What to Do After a Truck Accident for the full sequence, and Black Box and ELD Evidence for what the vehicle itself records.