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California Truck Accidents

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (Title 49, Parts 350-399) govern all vehicles engaged in interstate traffic.

There are some situations where a tractor-trailer or other commercial motor vehicle is involved in only intrastate travel. For example, an appliance store in Sacramento may own a truck that only makes in-state deliveries.

The California Department of Public Safety has adopted Title 49, Parts 382-384 and 390-399 of the federal regulations.

If you want to learn about the federal laws that apply to all over-the-road trucks, click here.

The following provisions are an overview of California laws that affect trucks operating only in California:

Driver Qualification:

In order to be employed as a driver for compensation in California, one must be at least 18 years old, and 21 years old to haul hazardous materials or to be engaged in interstate commerce.

Hours of Service:

Interstate drivers as well as drivers transporting hazardous wastes or hazardous substances are subject to the same regulations as found in Title 49, Part 395 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

Drivers not required to follow the Federal Regulations are not permitted to drive more than 12 hours, or drive after having been working for 15 hours, following 8 hours of being off duty.

Crash reports are available from:

Department of California Highway Patrol
Information Services Unit/SWITRS
P.O. Box 942898
Sacramento, CA 94298
(916) 375-2850

If you have been involved in a truck accident in California, click here for more information or to ask any questions you have.

In the event this material is not deemed to fully comply with the provisions of the rules of professional conduct of any particular state, this firm will not accept clients or representation that derive from the distribution of this material within those jurisdictions.

"If each time a rig is inspected it is done in an identical fashion the driver will be less likely to omit a key element of the process during a future inspection."

Learn more about State and Federal Trucking Laws

California Truck Accident News:

Fiery Truck Accident on I-5
A fiery truck accident on I-5 has left the driver critically burned.


California Cities:

  • Sacramento
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  • Long Beach
  • Los Angeles
  • Fresno
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  • San Jose
  • Oakland
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  • San Francisco
  • Santa Ana
  • San Diego
  • Anaheim
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    Major California Interstates:

  • I-5
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  • I-80
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  • I-15
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  • I-505
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  • I-40
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