Articles Posted in Trucking regulations

As a trucking trial attorney, I see case after case of fatigued truck drivers, either near the end of their legal hours of service, or pushing beyond those hours, causing crashes due to impaired perception, reaction and judgment. For the past several years there has been a battle over extension of legal driving hours from…

In my trucking litigation practice, I have found that one of the weak links in truck transportation is the quality of equipment used in transporting freight containers from ports to ultimate destinations. Too many of the truck chassis used are apparently old trailers spray painted to look sharp but with inadequate mechanical and safety features,…

As a trucking accident trial lawyer in Atlanta, I am no longer surprised at the failure of some trucking companies to do pretty basic stuff related to safety. Of course, I am looking at those companies whose drivers get into serious crashes. Now the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has published a new proposed rule…

Setting the direction of trucking safety will be a small part of the job of the new Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, named yesterday by President-elect Obama. He was not on the short list of candidates about whom there had been a lot of speculation. John McCain has praised the choice. After reading about Lahood,…

We have seen years of criticism of the lack of seat belts and inadequate passenger protection on school buses and other buses. In the next few days, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) is expected to issue a final rule that will require seatbelts for small school buses but only recommends seatbelts for larger…

As a trucking accident attorney representing people seriously injured by large trucks, and the families of people who are killed, I work almost every day with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, and try to keep up with trucking safety regulation. Looking forward to transition at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, it is interesting…

NOTE TO TRUCK DRIVERS: Our law practice focuses on representation of people who are seriously injured, and families of those killed, in crashes with large commercial vehicles. While those are often truck drivers, we do not handle truckers’ employment law matters. For legal advice on issues with your employer, see Truckers Justice Center.  In my…

This morning I monitored a telephone conference meeting of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee (MCSAC). They will have a two day meeting in Washington on December 9th and 10th to work on a letter report to the Administrator outlining – innovative safety initiatives and programs that have the potential…

Driver fatigue is a major cause of catastrophic truck crashes. Michigan attorney Terry Coleman suggests that the correlation of fatigue, slow reaction time and aging should lead to imposing a mandatory retirement for truck drivers at age 65, the same age at which airline pilots are required to retire. While I share the concern for…

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee announced a telephone conference meeting for Monday, December 1, 2008 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EST. Here is the rather opaque agenda that has been announced. 1. Call to Order Larry W. Minor, Designated Federal Official, MCSAC 2. Opening Remarks David R. Parker, Chair,…