Texas Trucking Laws

The trucking industry is heavily regulated at the state and federal levels to ensure that large trucks safely share the highways and roads with the public. When truck drivers and trucking companies fail to follow these laws and regulations, they put everyone at risk of a catastrophic accident.

If you have questions about how Texas trucking laws may affect your personal injury case, contact the Houston truck accident attorneys of Goldenzweig Law Group, PLLC, today. Our skilled attorneys will guide you through every step of the process and ensure you always understand what’s happening in your case. Get your free consultation now.

Interstate vs. Intrastate Trucking Regulations

Not every truck on a Texas highway is governed by the same rulebook, and the distinction matters a great deal when an accident happens. Trucking is regulated on two levels: federal rules set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) that apply to interstate carriers, and Texas rules enforced by the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles that apply to intrastate carriers.

Interstate trucking means the truck, its driver, or its cargo crosses a state or national border. Intrastate trucking stays entirely within Texas. The catch is that “crossing a line” is about the freight, not just the truck. A load that originates in or is destined for another state counts as interstate commerce even if the truck never physically leaves Texas. A delivery run purely from Houston to Dallas, by contrast, is intrastate.

Texas has adopted the federal safety regulations for intrastate carriers, so the two rulebooks overlap heavily. An interstate truck driving through Texas still has to follow Texas road rules while it’s here. But several requirements differ depending on which category a carrier falls into:

• Driver age: A driver must be 21 to operate a commercial truck across state lines under federal law. Texas allows a driver as young as 18 to hold a CDL for intrastate-only driving within the state, though that driver cannot cross a state line or haul interstate freight until turning 21.
• Medical and hours-of-service rules: Intrastate carriers are sometimes held to modified versions of the federal medical-certification and hours-of-service standards, while interstate carriers must meet the full federal requirements.
• Operating authority and insurance: Interstate for-hire carriers must register with the FMCSA, carry a USDOT and MC number, and meet federal minimum insurance levels. Intrastate carriers register through the state.

Why does this matter after a crash? Because identifying whether the truck that hit you was operating in interstate or intrastate commerce determines which regulations the driver and carrier were legally bound to follow, and a violation of the applicable rules can be powerful evidence of negligence in your case.

18-Wheeler Weight Limits in Texas

Overloaded trucks are one of the most dangerous hazards on the road. The heavier a truck is, the longer it needs to stop and the more strain it puts on its tires, brakes, and suspension. A fully loaded tractor-trailer can already need the length of two football fields to stop at highway speed, and every pound over the legal limit makes that worse. Texas and federal law cap how much an 18-wheeler can weigh, and those limits are where many overweight-truck cases begin.

On interstate highways in Texas, trucks are held to the federal weight limits set under 23 U.S.C. 127:

• Maximum gross vehicle weight: 80,000 pounds
• Single axle: 20,000 pounds
• Tandem axle group: 34,000 pounds
• Tridem (triple) axle group: 42,000 pounds

A standard five-axle 18-wheeler reaches that 80,000-pound ceiling through a steer axle, a set of tandem drive axles, and a set of tandem trailer axles. On top of the flat limits, every configuration must also satisfy the Federal Bridge Formula, which restricts how much weight a group of axles can carry based on how far apart those axles are spaced. The formula exists to keep concentrated loads from crushing bridges and pavement.

Texas roads that are not part of the Interstate system can work differently. Texas has historically allowed heavier loads on state and Farm-to-Market roads, applies a small statutory weight tolerance on ordinary loads, and carves out higher limits for specific commodities. Farm-to-Market and Ranch-to-Market roads, on the other hand, often carry lower posted limits than the Interstate standard, so a load that’s legal on I-45 may be illegal on a rural county road.

Trucks that genuinely need to exceed these limits must obtain an oversize/overweight permit from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles in advance, travel only on approved routes, and follow every condition the permit imposes. A permit does not erase liability. If a trucking company ran overweight without a permit, or held a permit but ignored its route, time, or escort conditions, that violation can establish negligence. Under Texas law, breaking a safety statute like a weight limit can amount to negligence per se, meaning the violation itself helps prove the trucking company was at fault.

Evidence of an overweight truck can come from weigh-station records, DOT inspection reports, the bill of lading, and the truck’s electronic logging device data. Preserving that evidence quickly is one of the first things an experienced truck accident attorney will do.

Truck Driver Qualifications

All truck drivers must have a valid commercial driver’s license (CDL). Texas issues three classes of CDLs, which authorize a driver to operate commercial vehicles of various weights or passenger capacities. Certain types of commercial vehicles also require drivers to pass specialized tests to obtain specific endorsements to their CDLs to operate those types of vehicles.

Drivers must be at least 18 years old to obtain a CDL to drive within the state of Texas and 21 years old to operate a commercial truck across state lines. Drivers are also required to speak and read English well enough to converse with the public, read road signs, respond to official inquiries, and fill out reports and records.

Truck drivers must pass regular medical fitness inspections. Although under certain circumstances, truck drivers may obtain waivers from particular aspects of the medical fitness requirements.

Truck Inspection Requirements

Motor carriers and truck drivers are required to regularly inspect vehicles under their control. Drivers are required to perform post-trip inspections at the end of each driving day, examining at least the following parts:

• Service brakes
• Hand brakes
• Steering
• Lights and reflectors
• Tires
• Horns
• Windshield wipers
• Rearview mirrors
• Coupling devices
• Wheels and rims
• On-board emergency equipment

Drivers must report any condition they believe will affect the safe operation of the truck or that might cause a breakdown. Drivers must also ensure their truck can be safely operated before starting the next driving day, including signing and acknowledging a report that all deficiencies reported in the last post-trip inspection report have been corrected.

Motor carriers must also perform periodic inspections of all vehicles under their control at least once every 12 months.

Truck Size and Weight Limits

Trucks must meet certain size and weight limits to operate in Texas:

• Width: No more than 8’6”
• Height: No more than 14 feet
• Length: 45 feet for a single motor vehicle, 59 feet for a semi-trailer of a two-vehicle combination, 65 feet for a two- or three-vehicle combination other than a truck-tractor combination with each trailer no more than 28.5 feet. Truck tractors have no length limit.
• Front overhang: No more than 3 feet
• Rear overhang: No more than 4 feet
• Total vehicle weight: No more than 80,000 pounds
• Weight on single axle: No more than 20,000 pounds
• Weight on tandem axle group: No more than 34,000 pounds
• Weight on triple axle group: No more than 42,000 pounds
• Weight on quad axle group: No more than 50,000 pounds

Trucks that exceed these size and weight limits must obtain special permits from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.

Hazardous Materials Regulations

Hazardous materials, which include any substance defined as posing an unreasonable risk to health and safety or property, are subject to stricter regulations. Examples of classes of hazardous materials include:

• Explosives
• Flammable gas
• Non-flammable gas
• Poison gas
• Flammable or combustible liquids
• Flammable solids
• Spontaneously combustible materials
• Materials dangerous when wet
• Oxidizers
• Organic peroxides
• Poisonous liquids or solids
• Infectious substances
• Radioactive materials
• Corrosive materials

Truck drivers wishing to transport hazardous materials must complete specific hazardous materials training and obtain the required endorsement for their CDL.

Carriers are required to register with the Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to transport certain types of hazardous materials. This includes radioactive materials, more than 55 pounds of certain types of explosives, more than 1.06 quarts per package of toxic inhalants, or bulk liquids or gases above certain quantities.

Trucks containing certain kinds of explosives must be attended at all times by either the driver or a qualified representative of the motor carrier unless parked on the property of the motor carrier, shipper, or consignee.

No one may smoke in or near a truck containing certain explosive or flammable materials or near an empty tank used to transport flammable materials.

Texas DWI Laws for Truck Drivers

Truck drivers are subject to strict alcohol and controlled substance laws. No truck driver may begin to perform duties for a motor carrier until they have passed a drug test.

Following an accident involving death, a bodily injury requiring medical attention at the scene, or disabling damage to a motor vehicle, a truck driver involved in the accident must undergo an alcohol and drug screen.

Motor carriers must also randomly test at least 10 percent of their drivers per year for alcohol, and 50 percent of their drivers per year for controlled substances. Motor carriers may also require individual drivers to undergo alcohol and/or drug screening upon reasonable suspicion the driver has violated the drug and alcohol laws, based upon specific observations of the driver’s appearance, behavior, speech, or body odor.

No truck driver may be on duty while possessing, using, or being under the influence of any Schedule I drug, any amphetamine, narcotics or their derivatives, or any other substance that makes driving unsafe.

Within four hours of going on duty, while driving, or while on duty, drivers may not be under the influence of or consume alcohol. Drivers may not possess alcoholic beverages while on duty, unless part of the shipment.

Unlike motorists of private vehicles who may be convicted for driving while intoxicated (DWI) with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08 percent or greater, truck drivers in Texas can be convicted of DWI with a BAC on 0.04 percent or greater.

Texas Hours of Service Laws

Drivers are required to adhere to various limits on their hours of service, including:

• Drivers may drive up to 11 hours following 10 consecutive hours off duty.
• Drivers may not drive for more than eight hours since the driver’s last off-duty period and require a sleeper berth rest period of at least 30 minutes.
• Drivers may not drive past the 14th hour after coming on duty. This 14-hour limit cannot be extended with rest breaks, fuel stops, or meal periods.
• Drivers may not spend more than 60 total hours on duty in any seven-consecutive-day period, or more than 70 total hours in any eight-consecutive-day period. These seven- or eight-day periods may reset after the driver has spent at least 34 consecutive hours off duty, which must include at least two periods between the hours of 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.

Talk to a Texas Trucking Accident Lawyer Today

If you’ve been involved in a crash with a big rig, do not wait to get the legal advice you need. Contact the Houston truck accident attorneys of Goldenzweig Law Group, PLLC, today for a free consultation.