California Trucking Laws: Federal and State

California trucking laws combine federal FMCSA rules with stricter state requirements on speed, hours of service, and emissions.

The FMCSA sets the baseline for licensing, hours of service, and drug testing, while California adds a 55 mph truck speed limit and its own inspection programs. A violation of either set of rules can become powerful evidence of negligence in a California truck accident injury claim.

How Federal and State Trucking Regulations Work Together

Two overlapping sets of rules govern every commercial truck on California roads. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) sets a national safety baseline for all trucks that cross state lines. California adds its own requirements through the California Vehicle Code, the California Highway Patrol (CHP), and the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

When California’s rules are stricter than federal ones, drivers operating in the state must follow the California version. That principle is what makes California one of the most regulated trucking states in the country, and it gives us more tools to protect you after a crash.

• Federal rules (FMCSA): Cover hours of service, truck maintenance rules, drug and alcohol testing, commercial driver’s licensing, and minimum insurance requirements for interstate carriers.

• California rules: Add the 55 mph truck speed limit, lane restrictions on multi-lane highways, and the country’s toughest commercial truck emissions standards.

Who Must Hold a CDL, and What Happens If a Driver Doesn’t?

A Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) is a specialized license required to operate large commercial vehicles. Drivers must meet the applicable federal and California age and licensing requirements for interstate (across state lines) and intrastate (within California) trips.

Certain vehicles also require additional endorsements. A driver hauling hazardous materials, operating a tanker truck, or pulling double or triple trailers must pass specific tests and carry the right endorsement on their license.

If a trucking company sends an unqualified driver on the road, that is negligent hiring, and it makes the company, not just the driver, directly liable for your injuries.

What Are the Hours of Service Rules?

Hours of service (HOS) rules limit how long a commercial driver can operate a truck before stopping to rest. Driver fatigue among operators of large commercial trucks is a preventable safety risk on the road. Most commercial trucks are required to track these hours automatically using an Electronic Logging Device (ELD), a digital recorder connected directly to the truck’s engine.

Missing or falsified ELD records are one of the most important red flags in any truck accident case. They often mean the driver or company was hiding how long that truck had been on the road before the crash.

One pattern our California truck accident lawyers consistently see in truck accident claims involving the Cajon Pass and the I-15 corridor is an ELD showing hours that do not match the load’s actual pickup and delivery windows.

Once we cross-reference the electronic logs against dispatch records and weigh station timestamps, the gaps in an allegedly compliant record become obvious. That mismatch is often what convinces an adjuster the fatigue defense will not hold up.

What Drug and Alcohol Testing Rules Apply?

Under federal law, CDL holders must submit to testing in six specific situations:

• Before they are hired

• At random, unannounced times

• When a supervisor has reasonable suspicion of impairment

• After any serious crash

• Before returning to duty after a violation

• During follow-up monitoring after a past violation

The legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit for commercial drivers holding a CDL is 0.04%, which is half the 0.08% limit for regular drivers. California enforces that same 0.04% threshold for commercial drivers under Vehicle Code section 23152(d), separate from the general 0.08% limit that applies to non-commercial drivers.

A positive post-crash drug or alcohol test is often the single most powerful piece of evidence in a truck accident case.

What Vehicle Maintenance Rules Do Trucking Companies Have to Follow?

Trucking companies have a legal duty to keep their vehicles in safe operating condition at all times. Multiple layers of required inspections enforce this duty:

• Daily inspections: Drivers must complete a Driver Vehicle Inspection Report (DVIR) before and after each trip, documenting any safety defects they find.

• Annual federal inspections: Every commercial truck must pass a full federal safety inspection at least once per year.

• California’s Biennial Inspection of Terminals (BIT) program authorizes the CHP to inspect carrier facilities, vehicles, and maintenance records. Despite the program’s name, California no longer runs it on a fixed statewide cycle. A 2016 law replaced the old 25-month schedule with risk-based inspections, so a satisfactory-rated terminal may go several years between visits while a carrier with a history of violations can be inspected far more often.

When a crash is caused by brake failure, a blown tire, or a faulty coupling, we pull these records immediately. Incomplete or missing maintenance logs are often the clearest sign that a company was cutting corners on safety long before your accident.

A tactic we see repeatedly from carriers operating through San Bernardino County is producing a Driver Vehicle Inspection Report that looks complete on its face while the underlying repair invoices tell a different story.

At Krasney Law Accident Attorneys, what we see across the maintenance record disputes we handle in the Inland Empire is that a brake or tire defect flagged weeks before a crash on I-10 or I-215 was noted but never actually repaired before the truck went back on the road. Pulling the full maintenance history, not just the most recent inspection, is usually what exposes the pattern.

What Are the Cargo Securement and Weight Limits?

California caps commercial truck weight at 80,000 pounds gross vehicle weight (GVW), with additional per-axle limits. Federal regulations require cargo to be secured so it cannot shift or fall during transit.

Common violations that directly cause crashes include:

• Unsecured loads: Cargo that shifts during transit can unbalance the truck, causing a rollover or jackknife.

• Overweight trucks: Excess weight dramatically increases stopping distances and puts dangerous stress on brakes and tires.

• Missing HazMat placards: Trucks carrying hazardous materials must display specific warning signs. Failure to do so can delay emergency response and significantly worsen your injuries.

What Are the Speed Limits and Lane Rules for Trucks in California?

Trucks with three or more axles, or any vehicle towing a trailer, are legally limited to 55 mph on all California highways, even where the posted limit for cars is 65 or 70 mph. On multi-lane highways, these trucks must remain in the far-right lane, or in one of the two right-hand lanes on roads with four or more lanes in one direction.

When a driver breaks one of these laws and causes a crash, we can argue negligence per se. This legal concept means negligence is presumed because the driver violated a safety statute specifically designed to prevent this type of harm, you do not need to separately prove the driver was careless.

Who Is Liable When Trucking Rules Are Broken?

In a truck accident, responsibility rarely falls on just one person. We investigate every party whose actions or failures contributed to your injuries:

• The truck driver: For speeding, distracted driving, or violating hours of service rules.

• The trucking company (motor carrier): For negligent hiring, inadequate training, poor supervision, or failure to maintain the vehicle.

• The cargo shipper or loader: If improperly secured or overloaded cargo caused the crash.

• The truck or parts manufacturer: If a defective brake, tire, or component failed without warning.

• A third-party maintenance shop: If a negligent repair contributed to the accident.

Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) reclassified many owner-operators, drivers who own their truck and contract with a carrier, from independent contractors to employees of the motor carrier. This often means the larger, better-insured company shares direct liability for the driver’s actions.

What Evidence Proves Trucking Violations?

Rules only matter if you can prove they were broken. Trucking companies know this, and critical evidence can disappear within days of a crash. The first thing we do is send a spoliation letter, a legal demand requiring the carrier to preserve all relevant evidence before it is routinely destroyed.

Key evidence in truck accident cases includes:

• ELD logs and driver daily logs: Show exactly how many hours the driver was on duty and whether HOS limits were violated.

• Dashcam and telematics data: Record the truck’s speed, braking, and lane position in the moments before impact.

• Maintenance and inspection records: Reveal whether the company knew about a safety defect and chose not to fix it.

• Bills of lading and weight tickets: Prove what cargo was loaded and whether the truck exceeded legal weight limits.

• CHP reports and accident registers: Establish the official facts of the crash and can expose the carrier’s prior history of safety violations.

ELD data may be routinely overwritten unless the carrier is instructed to preserve it. Dashcam footage is often erased within 30 days. Every day you wait is a day that evidence may be gone forever.

What Insurance Minimums Apply to Commercial Trucks?

Federal law requires commercial trucks to carry substantially more liability insurance than a personal vehicle. While California’s minimum for a passenger car is $30,000 per person, the federal minimums for commercial trucks are:

• $750,000 for carriers hauling general freight

• $1,000,000 for trucks carrying oil

• $5,000,000 for trucks carrying most hazardous materials

Many carriers maintain policies well above these minimums. The insurance adjuster who calls you works for the company that injured you, not for you. Let us handle those conversations so you are not pressured into settling for less than you deserve.

What we see across the commercial truck claims we handle out of our Rancho Cucamonga and San Bernardino offices is that carriers rarely volunteer their actual policy limits, even when federal law requires them to carry well above the state minimum for a passenger vehicle.

Getting that confirmation in writing early, before a Riverside County claim moves toward litigation, is often what determines whether a catastrophic injury case settles for a fraction of what the policy actually covers. Clients are frequently surprised to learn the freight carrier that hit them on I-10 or I-15 was covered for a million dollars or more.

What Should You Do After a Truck Accident in California?

See a Doctor Right Away

Go to the emergency room immediately, even if you feel fine. Adrenaline can mask serious injuries like traumatic brain injuries and internal bleeding, and symptoms may not appear for hours. A gap in your medical treatment gives the insurance company a ready argument that your injuries were not caused by the crash.

Do Not Give a Recorded Statement

The trucking company’s insurer will call quickly, sometimes the same day, asking for a recorded statement to “process your claim.” They represent the people who injured you, not you. Their goal is to find something in your words they can use to reduce what they owe you. Politely decline and refer them to your attorney.

File Your SR-1 Form Within 10 Days

California requires every driver involved in a crash that causes injury, death, or more than $1,000 in property damage to file an SR-1 form within 10 days with the DMV. Missing this deadline can result in a suspended driver’s license, even if the crash was entirely the truck driver’s fault.

Contact an Attorney Before Evidence Is Gone

The most critical step you can take right now is calling us. We send a legal preservation notice to the carrier immediately, stopping the routine destruction of ELD data, dashcam footage, and maintenance records before they are wiped.

Protect Your Rights Now

The trucking company and its insurer have investigators and defense attorneys working against you within hours of a crash. You need someone fighting just as hard on your side. Going up against a trucking company does not make you sue-happy, it makes you responsible.

At Krasney Law Accident Attorneys, we represent injury victims across the Inland Empire. Your consultation is always free. You never pay a fee unless we recover money for you, and we advance all case costs, police reports, expert witnesses, medical records, and depositions, so you never need a dollar upfront. Call us today.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Changed in California Trucking Rules in 2026?

CARB paused enforcement of the Advanced Clean Fleets regulation for private high-priority and drayage fleets in early 2025 and formally repealed those specific requirements in September 2025 after withdrawing its federal waiver request. State and local government agency fleets still face active zero-emission purchase requirements in 2026, and revised rules for private carriers remain under review.

Does Federal Law Override California Rules in a Truck Accident Lawsuit?

Federal law preempts California in a few narrow areas, such as meal and rest break requirements for interstate drivers, but California personal injury law governs how you recover compensation after a crash.

Is a Violation of the 55 MPH Truck Speed Limit Negligence Per Se?

A violation of California Vehicle Code § 22406 is negligence per se, if a driver exceeded the 55 mph limit and caused your crash, their negligence is legally presumed without you having to prove additional carelessness.

How Long Do Trucking Companies Have to Keep ELD Logs and Dashcam Footage?

Federal rules require ELD records to be retained for a minimum period, but there is no federal retention requirement for dashcam footage, carriers may overwrite those recordings quickly unless they receive a legal preservation demand.

Does AB5 Affect Who You Can Sue After a Truck Accident?

Yes, AB5 makes it harder for carriers to classify drivers as independent contractors, which typically means the motor carrier shares liability and you may have access to a significantly larger insurance policy.

What Is the Deadline to File a Truck Accident Lawsuit in California?

Time limits for filing a personal injury claim after a truck crash can vary, and special notice rules often apply when a government agency owns the vehicle, contact an attorney promptly to protect your rights.