Indiana Truck Accidents & FMCSA Regulations

David W. Craig | June 18, 2026 | Truck Accidents

The trucking industry is subject to significant oversight by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). If you were injured in a collision with a truck and anyone involved with its operations violated FMCSA regulations, evidence of those violations could play a major role in supporting your Indiana personal injury claim.

Which FMCSA Rules Are Commonly Violated Before Truck Accidents?

Federal regulations and trucking laws cover all aspects of commercial trucking operations. Some of the regulations that may lead to a crash if they are violated include:

Hours-of-Service Rules – A driver may have stayed behind the wheel longer than federal limits allow.
Driver Qualification Rules – A trucking company may have allowed an unqualified, improperly licensed, or unsafe driver to operate a commercial vehicle.
Drug and Alcohol Testing Requirements – The company may have skipped required testing or mishandled the results.
Cargo Securement Rules – Improperly loaded cargo can shift, fall, or make a truck harder to control.
Maintenance Requirements – Incomplete inspections or delayed repairs have the potential to contribute to a crash.

How Hours-of-Service Violations Cause Serious Truck Crashes

Hours-of-service rules (HOS) limit how long truck drivers can stay on duty and behind the wheel. The goal is to reduce fatigue, which can slow reaction time, impair judgment, and cause a truck driver to drift between lanes or fail to react to stopped traffic ahead.

If a truck driver stayed behind the wheel too long, skipped required breaks, or falsified their logbook entries, the hours-of-service violations could help show that truck driver fatigue contributed to the serious truck accident.

What Truck Maintenance Regulations Could Impact an Indiana Injury Claim?

Motor carriers are responsible for inspecting, repairing, and maintaining commercial vehicles to ensure they are safe to operate. Federal truck maintenance regulations could affect the outcome of a personal injury case when a truck crash involves brake failure, worn tires, broken lights, steering problems, or other equipment issues.

Maintenance and repair records and inspection reports can help show whether the trucking company ignored known problems or failed to take a dangerous truck out of service.

What Evidence Can Prove an FMCSA Violation After a Truck Accident?

Proving trucking company or truck driver negligence through FMCSA violations can be key to recovering compensation in a commercial truck accident claim. Some of the types of evidence of regulatory violations that could help uncover negligence include:

Truck driver logs
Electronic logging device (ELD) data
Dashcam, traffic camera, and surveillance footage
Black box data from the truck
Pre-trip and post-trip inspection reports
Maintenance and repair records
Weight tickets and cargo loading documents
Dispatch records and delivery schedules
Drug and alcohol testing records
Driver qualification and training files
Cell phone records, emails, and internal company messages

How an Indiana Truck Accident Attorney Uses FMCSA Regulations to Build a Case

Our experienced Indiana truck accident lawyers are well-versed in the process of securing, accessing, and interpreting the vast amounts of evidence that may be available after a commercial motor vehicle crash. We have handled cases like these in the past and know the most common violations to look for when preparing claims for people injured through trucking industry negligence.

If you got hurt in a collision with a commercial truck in Indiana, you may be entitled to significant compensation for your resulting financial and personal losses. The experienced personal injury attorneys at Craig, Kelley & Faultless LLC are here to manage your claim while you focus on your recovery.