Texas car accident claims: deadlines, fault rules and insurance, explained
Home › Accident Types › Truck Accidents
Texas Accident Type
A commercial claim is a different exercise from a two-car claim. More records exist, the limits are far higher, and the clock on the evidence is shorter than the clock on the claim.
The short answer
Federal safety rules apply to Texas trucking, including to purely intrastate carriers. Those rules create records that decide fault — and set retention periods as short as six months, which is why a preservation letter matters long before a lawsuit does.
In this guide
Why the rules are different
The Texas Department of Public Safety adopts the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations by reference, which extends them to intrastate carriers as well as interstate ones. A Texas-only carrier is not outside the federal safety framework.
Local governments and state agencies may not set weaker standards: any motor carrier safety rule they adopt has to be consistent with the corresponding federal regulation.
Tex. Transp. Code § 644.051(b)–(c), (e); 37 Tex. Admin. Code § 4.11.
The records, and how long they last
These are the documents that decide a trucking claim. Each one has a lawful destruction date, and none of them is as far away as the two-year filing deadline.
A carrier must keep each driver’s logs and the supporting documents behind them for six months from receipt. A logbook that would show an hours-of-service violation can be lawfully gone in half a year.
A carrier using ELDs must hold a backup copy for six months on a separate device. Electronic does not mean permanent; the same six-month clock runs.
A driver must carry the previous seven consecutive days of duty status and produce it on inspection. After that week it exists only in the carrier’s records.
A carrier must keep a register of each accident for three years: date, location, driver, injuries and fatalities, and whether hazardous materials were released, with copies of every report filed with a government body or insurer.
Kept while the driver is employed and for three years afterwards. Driving records, annual review notes and medical certificates may be purged three years after execution, so the oldest history can go while the driver is still on the payroll.
49 CFR § 395.8(k)(1)–(2), § 395.22(i), § 390.15(b), § 391.51(c)–(d).
What is actually insured
This is the practical difference between a truck claim and a car claim. The Texas private-car minimum is $30,000 per person. A commercial floor starts at more than sixteen times that.
An interstate for-hire carrier hauling non-hazardous property in a vehicle rated 10,001 pounds or more must carry at least $750,000 in public liability coverage.
At least $1,000,000 for oil and listed hazardous materials, and at least $5,000,000 for the most dangerous materials carried in bulk. The same tiers apply to intrastate carriers.
A Texas intrastate commercial vehicle over 26,000 pounds must carry $500,000. Household goods at 26,000 pounds or less requires $300,000 — a figure often wrongly described as covering general freight.
A bus for more than 15 but fewer than 27 people requires $500,000; a bus for 27 or more requires $5,000,000. A school bus owned by a registered Texas motor carrier requires at least $500,000 combined single limit.
49 CFR § 387.9; 43 Tex. Admin. Code § 218.16(a); Tex. Transp. Code § 643.101, § 643.1015(b).
Moving first
Carriers and their insurers frequently have an investigator at the scene within hours. They are preserving their own evidence from the first day. Nobody preserves yours unless asked.
A written preservation letter — asking the carrier to retain the duty logs, the ELD data, the maintenance and inspection history, the driver qualification file and the vehicle itself — is the standard answer, and it only works if it arrives before the retention periods above run out.
Free case check
Nine questions about what happened, including whether a commercial vehicle was involved. No account, and nothing owed.
Common questions
Yes. Texas adopts the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations by reference, which extends them to intrastate carriers operating heavy vehicles.
Six months from receipt, for both paper records of duty status and backup ELD data. That is well inside the two-year filing deadline, which is why preservation is an early step rather than a litigation step.
Because federal and state rules require it. An interstate carrier hauling general freight must carry at least $750,000, against a Texas private-car minimum of $30,000 per person.
No, and this is commonly misstated. $300,000 applies to household goods carriers at 26,000 pounds or less. A vehicle over 26,000 pounds requires $500,000.
No. The limitation period is the same two years. What differs is that the evidence has its own, much shorter, clock.
Sources
Every rule stated here is taken from the primary source named below — the federal regulations at ecfr.gov and the Texas statutes published free by the Texas Legislative Council.
Keep reading
The first hour, the first week, and what Texas law requires at the scene.
The ordinary claim, and the framework every other type is measured against.
Which policy responds, and the deadlines your own insurer must meet.
Editorial information
Spotted something wrong or out of date? We correct errors and log the change. See our correction policy and about page.
Next steps
The records that decide these claims have their own deadlines. See how the Texas rules apply to what happened. General information only, not legal advice.
Texas-specific information on crash deadlines, fault rules and insurance, with the statute cited on every page. Operated by National Claim Network. Not a law firm, insurer, or government agency.
This is attorney advertising. National Claim Network is a marketing and lead generation service that connects individuals with licensed attorneys. It is not a law firm, an insurance company, or a government agency, is not affiliated with or endorsed by the State of Texas, TxDOT, the Texas Department of Insurance or the State Bar of Texas, and it does not provide legal advice or legal representation. Nothing on this site creates an attorney-client relationship. Deadlines to file a legal claim vary by state and case type — in Texas the general personal-injury deadline is two years — do not delay in seeking legal advice.
No guarantee, warranty, or prediction of outcome is made. Past results do not guarantee similar results. If representation is offered on a contingency basis, clients may still be responsible for certain costs or expenses as required by the retaining law firm.
Dramatized scenes, symbols, figures, or testimonials are illustrative, not based on actual events, and may feature paid actors or spokespersons. Recoveries vary. “No fee” describes attorney fees; costs may apply. Phrases such as “best” are slogans, not rankings or awards.
Paid independent attorney advertising. National Claim Network connects users with licensed, independently practicing attorneys and law firms who may pay a fee to receive inquiries submitted through this site.
Privacy PolicyTerms of UseLegal DisclaimerCookies PolicyDisclosures
© 2026 National Claim Network. All rights reserved.