Grain Valley, Mo., May 14, 2009 – The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), the largest, national association representing professional truckers, filed a lawsuit challenging a Minnesota State Patrol’s arbitrary enforcement program used to declare truck drivers fatigued and place them out of service.

“We consider this program an outrageous abuse of police power and an intolerable violation of the civil and constitutional rights of professional truckers,” said OOIDA President Jim Johnston.  “We see no justification for this conduct either scientifically or in rational, legitimate law enforcement.”

The Association filed a lawsuit with the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota on behalf of truck drivers placed out of service and in some cases fined after members of the Minnesota State Patrol arbitrarily arrived at the conclusion the drivers were “fatigued.” 

The lawsuit charges that drivers were denied their rights to a hearing on the out-of-service orders and that the regulation under which the orders were issued fails both to define fatigue and to establish a standard under which a driver would know when to stop driving.

The state’s enforcement procedures, which lead to arbitrary determinations of driver fatigue, are challenged in the lawsuit on constitutional grounds; the lack of due process; and warrantless search and seizure.

The Association is seeking an injunction that will stop the capricious fatigue enforcement procedures that results in drivers – who are completely compliant with the federal and Minnesota hours of service regulations – being put out of service for fatigue.

In addition to putting a stop to the use of flawed procedures used to determine fatigue, the Association is also seeking compensatory damages and punitive damages from the defendants personally.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is the largest national trade association representing the interests of small-business trucking professionals and professional truck drivers. The Association currently has nearly 160,000 members nationwide. OOIDA was established in 1973 and is headquartered in the greater Kansas City, Mo., area.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Association’s radio program, “Land Line Now” on Sirius XM 171, recently ran several news stories about this topic. Land Line Now Special Series - Fatigue Checklist

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