Is It Legal For Trucking Companies To Fire You For Speeding?

As a commercial truck driver, your days and often nights consist of long hours on endless stretches of road with few or even no breaks to shatter the monotony of driving. You may also have to meet strict deadlines, resulting in exhaustion.

It makes sense then that you might occasionally find yourself going over the speed limit in your rush to fulfill your duties on time or simply because you were too tired to notice the speedometer rising. If you find yourself with a ticket for exceeding the designated speed limit, you may wonder if this is legal cause for your employer to terminate your employment.

The speed itself matters

By itself, a minor speeding infraction may not be grounds for dismissal, though companies may legally choose to fire employees for one. Whether it is minor or not also depends on how much over the speed limit you were. Driving 15 miles or more over the limit in a commercial vehicle is a serious offense. Employers may consider truck operators caught doing so a liability and fire them. However, the severity of traffic violations a company tolerates from its workers depends on its policies.

The number of occurrences matters

Repeated speeding violations, particularly ones that take place in a short period, may also result in your boss firing you. Certain enterprises allow zero infractions while others give their employees more chances. Racking up too many does increase the likelihood of termination though, especially if you disregard other safety precautions.

Truck drivers may also have their commercial driving licenses suspended or revoked for severe speeding or too many speeding violations, costing their livelihood. Whether one results in you losing your job depends on your employer’s rules. If you feel your termination is unfair, there may be legal recourse.