Articles Posted in Trucking Rules

Corporate Counsel has an article about hte use of “black box” electronic data recorders tracking truckers’ driving hours, speed, etc., and the resistance of truckers to having an “electronic spy” in the truck cab. Thanks to John Day for pointing it out. The Shigley Law Firm represents plaintiffs in wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases…

Not much is required of log truck operators in Georgia. But the one that spilled a load of logs onto a Jeep in Athens Thursday morning managed to violate even those minimum requirements. The log truck, operating without the required identification on the door, overturned and spilled its load as it exited the Athens Perimeter…

An article by the Clarke County Tax Commissioner, published in the Athens Banner-Herald on May 15th lambasts the breakup of the Georgia Department of Motor Vehicle Safety. Gov. Sonny Perdue signed House Bill 501 last week to dismantle DMVS. The stated purpose of the bill was to end long lines at driver’s license sites. However,…

The current Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulation on entry level truck driver training (FMCSA 380.503, requires a mere 10 hours of training that includes instruction in hours of service, wellness and whistleblower protection as well as driving. No mandatory training exists to teach someone how to actually drive a truck on an actual highway as…

4/12/05 – U.S. Senate members heard testimony that if electronic on-board recording devices are not eventually required, stronger deterrents are necessary to deter “egregious” hour-of-service violations. Kenneth Mead, U.S. Transportation Department inspector general, testified April 5 before the Senate Commerce Committee on transportation safety programs. “We have conducted criminal investigations of egregious cases in which…

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has announced it has terminated the collection and dissemination of motor carrier financial and operating statistics. See article in Fleet Owner. The program was designed to collect annual and quarterly data from motor carriers including balance sheet and income statement data along with information on tonnage, mileage, employees,…

Nearly 23,000 pounds of bell peppers en route from El Salvador to Canada spilled Wednesday when a tractor-trailer flipped, forcing authorities to close northbound lanes of Interstate 65 in northern Alabama for 15 hours. Alabama state troopers confiscated beer cans from the scene. See Decatur Daily article and WAFF News story. 49 CFR § 382.201…

In San Luis Obispo, at 1:49 AM on 3/22/05, a local radio personality was killed when his vehicle struck the side of a tractor-trailer rig that got stuck over an hour earlier in the middle of a U-turn, blocking all lanes. Police were setting out flares, but had not yet set flares on the side…

The General Assembly could pass legislation this week to dismantle the state Department of Motor Vehicle Safety, though it’s not clear why. See article. “Representatives of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Federal Highway Administration indicated that, historically, there is a transition period after this type of change of 1 to 4 years…

Truckers tell of enormous pressure to make deliveries on time. Falsifying their handwritten logbooks of hours is still common, and very hard for police or inspectors to catch. See Asheville (NC) Citizen-Times article. The Shigley Law Firm represents plaintiffs in wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases statewide in Georgia, and in other states subject to…