a. Has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross combination weight rating, or gross vehicle weight or gross combination weight 10,001 pounds or more, whichever is greater; or
b. Is designed or used to transport more than 8 passengers (including the driver) for compensation; or
c. Is designed or used to transport more than 15 passengers, including the driver, and is not used to transport passengers for compensation; or
d. Is used in transporting material found by the Secretary of Transportation to be hazardous.
Every state has adopted most portions of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations for intrastate transportation.

Ken Shigley is immediate past president of the State Bar of Georgia, chair of the board of the Institute for Continuing Legal Education in Georgia and secretary of the American Association for Justice Motor Vehicle, Highway and Premises Liability Section. He is a board member of the American Association for Justice Trucking Litigation Group and has been on the faculty of trucking litigation seminars from coast to coast. Mr. Shigley is double board certified in Civil Trial Advocacy and Civil Pretrial Advocacy by the American Board of Legal Specialty Certification (formerly National Board of Trial Advocacy), has an AV Preeminent rating in Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, is listed as a “Super Lawyer” by Atlanta Magazine and “Legal Elite” by Georgia Trend, and is the lead author of Georgia Law of Torts: Trial Preparation & Practice (West, 2010-12).

The latest Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was published April 29 by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, part of DOT, would prohibit use of a handheld cell phone by drivers moving a quantity of hazardous materials that must be placarded under 49 CFR Part 172 or any quantity of a material listed as a select agent or toxin in 42 CFR Part 73 in intrastate commerce.

This would expand upon rules already proposed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (also part of DOT). FMCSA barred texting by commercial motor vehicle drivers in a September 2010 final rule. It proposed to restrict the use of hand-held mobile phones in a Dec. 21, 2010,

PHMSA estimates that there are approximately 1,490 intrastate motor carriers that could be affected by this rulemaking.

Ken Shigley is an Atlanta, Georgia, trial attorney. He has been designated a “Super Lawyer” (Atlanta Magazine), one of the “Legal Elite” (Georgia Trend), and rated “AV Preeminent” by Martindale-Hubbell Legal Directory. He is author of Georgia Law of Torts: Trial Preparation & Practice (West, 2010), a Certified Civil Trial Attorney of the National Board of Trial Advocacy, and currently president-elect of the 42,000 member State Bar of Georgia. He has extensive experience in litigation and trial of cases involving serious personal injury, wrongful death, trucking accidents, automobile accidents, products liability, premises liability, and insurance. Mr. Shigley is a graduate of Furman University and Emory University Law School. This blog post is subject to our ethical disclaimer.

The new Hazardous Intelligence Portal will compile data from 26 different sources about hazardous materials shipments by truck, rail, air, pipeline, barge and ship.

Agencies such the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Federal Railroad Administration, Pipeline &Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, and Coast Guard all enter and retrieve information in the system. The program is negotiating agreements to include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Transportation Security Agency.

I anticipate the when HazMat incidents in trucking cause serious injuries, there will be Freedom of Information Act requests for relevant data stored in the Hazardous Intelligence Portal.

Ken Shigley is an interstate trucking trial attorney in Atlanta, Georgia. He is a Certified Civil Trial Advocate of the National Board of Trial Advocacy, and has been listed as a “Super Lawyer” (Atlanta Magazine), among the “Legal Elite” (Georgia Trend Magazine), and in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. He served as chair of the Southeastern Motor Carrier Litigation Institute, is on the National Advisory Board for the Association of Interstate Trucking Lawyers of America, and is a frequent speaker at continuing legal education programs for the Interstate Trucking Litigation Group of the American Association for Justice. Mr. Shigley has extensive experience representing parties in trucking and bus accidents, products liability, catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, spinal cord injury, brain injury and burn injury cases. Currently he is Secretary of the 40,000 member State Bar of Georgia.This post is subject to our ethical disclaimer.

The truck was operated by Honeywell, the worlds largest producer of hydrofluoric acid. Reportedly, the trucker from Ontario, Canada, left the road when the swerved to avoid a deer.

The acid leak was stoped by noon, and the 5000 evacuees began returning home in the afternoon.

According to the Centers for Disease Control here in Atlanta, Georgia, hydrogen fluoride is a hazardous chemical compound used mainly for industrial purposes such as etching glass, and is extremely corrosive. It also is an ingredient in high-octane gasoline, refrigerants, aluminum and light bulbs. Contact with concentrated solutions can cause severe burns, and the gas causes respiratory irritation, severe eye damage and pulmonary edema.

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations include strict rules on transporation of hazardous substances, require at least $5 million liability insurance coverage of hazmat truckers, and specify limited routes for hazmat trucking.

Ken Shigley is a trial attorney in Atlanta, Georgia. He is listed as a “Super Lawyer” (Atlanta Magazine), among the “Legal Elite” (Georgia Trend Magazine), and in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers (Martindale), and is a Certified Civil Trial Advocate of the National Board of Trial Advocacy. A former chair of the Southeastern Motor Carrier Litigation Institute, he is on the National Advisory Board for the Association of Plaintiffs’ Interstate Trucking Lawyers of America, and is a frequent speaker at continuing legal education programs for the Interstate Trucking Litigation Group of the American Association for Justice. Mr. Shigley has extensive experience representing parties in trucking and bus accidents, products liability, catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, spinal cord injury, brain injury and burn injury cases. Currently he is Secretary of the nearly 40,000 member State Bar of Georgia.This post is subject to our ethical disclaimer.

Lisa P. Jackson has been selected as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in the upcoming Obama administration. She has served as commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and worked for 16 years in the Superfund Program at EPA. She earned the Certified Hazardous Materials Manager credential from the Institute of Hazardous Materials Management.

Ken Shigley is a trial attorney in Atlanta, Georgia who has been listed as a “Super Lawyer” (Atlanta Magazine), among the “Legal Elite” (Georgia Trend Magazine), and in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers (Martindale). He served as chair of the Southeastern Motor Carrier Litigation Institute, is on the National Advisory Board for the Association of Interstate Trucking Lawyers of America, and is a frequent national seminar speaker for the Interstate Trucking Litigation Group of the American Association for Justice. A Certified Civil Trial Advocate of the National Board of Trial Advocacy, he was a faculty member for ten years at the Emory University Law School Trial Techniques Program.

Ammonium nitrate mixed with diesel fuel is quite a volatile mix. If this spill occurred in a heavily populated area, and a spark was added, it could have had monumentally catastrophic consequences. Ammonium nitrate is a key component of military explosives such as the “daisy cutter” bomb. It was involved in the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building bombing in 1995, as well as several accidental explosions in ports around the world over several generations.

Motor carriers hauling explosives must comply with strict “HazMat” shipping regulations and carry at least $5,000,000 liability insurance under 49 C.F.R.§ §387.303. “HazMat” truck drivers must clear security check by the Department of Homeland Security. However, agricultural ammonium nitrate is exempted from the Hazmat insurance requirements under 49 C.F.R.§ 387.301, even though it was agricultural ammonium nitrate that was used in the Oklahoma City federal building bombing.

Go figure.

Ken Shigley is a 2019 recipient of the “Tradition of Excellence”Award from the State Bar of Georgia General Practice & Trial Section.

Mr. Shigley has earned three national board certifications from the National Board of Trial Advocacy – in Civil Trial Law, Civil Practice Law and Truck Accident Law. He is a board member of the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys, former chair of the American Association for Justice Motor Vehicle Collision, Highway & Premises Liability Section, which includes the Trucking Litigation Group. 

He is lead author of Georgia Law of Torts: Trial Preparation and Practice, now in its tenth annual edition with Thomson Reuters West. His law practice is focused on catastrophic injury and wrongful death including those arising from commercial trucking accidents and those involving brain, neck, back, spinal cord, amputation and burn injuries. 

In 2011-12, Mr. Shigley was president of the State  Bar of Georgia, which includes all the lawyers and judges in Georgia.  He also is a former chair of the Institute for Legal Education in Georgia (board member 2008-2019, chair 2012-13),  State Bar of Georgia Tort & Insurance Practice Section (1994-95), and the Georgia Insurance Law Institute (1994). 

A former prosecutor and former insurance defense lawyer, Mr. Shigley is a graduate of Furman University and Emory University Law School. He is a widower,  father of two adult children, and an elder in his church.