Articles Posted in Trucking Rules

The hours of service rule — either the new rule or the old rule — is not enough to assure truck driver alertness, even if the rule is followed. Mark Rosekind, Ph.D., who formerly led the Fatigue Countermeasures Program at NASA Ames Research Center, and now runs Alertness Solutions, a scientific consulting firm that addresses…

According a survey conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, truck drivers are driving longer hours and dozing off behind the wheel more often since new U.S. hours-of-service rules went into effect in January 2004. The new rule lengthens the mandatory rest period by two hours but lets drivers stay on the road an…

A article in eTrucker.com reports conflict on the effectiveness of the new Hours of Service rules that went into effect last year. An Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study says truck drivers’ sleep time had increased under the new rule, but they reported slightly more instances than when the old rule was in effect of…

Not even Wal-Mart could sell the idea of a 16-hour work day for truck drivers. The sponsor, a congressman whose district includes the home offices of Wal-Mart and J. L. Hunt Transport, withdrew this proposed amendment to the transportation reauthorization bill on 3/10/05. The current HOS rules — which are being reworked by Federal Motor…

Each year truck crashes kill over 5,000 people and injure almost 150,000 more on our nation’s roads and highways. Nearly one in four passenger vehicle deaths in multiple-vehicle collisions involve a large truck. In 1998, 98% of the fatalities in two-vehicle crashes involving passenger vehicles and large trucks were occupants of the passenger vehicles. When…

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations requiring the trucking company to bear financial responsibility to members of the traveling public for operation of trucks under their authority preempt contradictory state laws of agency. A number of these cases involve injuries to “unauthorized” passengers, including truck stop waitresses. Ken Shigley represents plaintiffs in wrongful death and catastrophic…

State tort laws generally define the duty of drivers as ordinary care under an ordinary negligence standard. Occasionally, state laws set a different standard such as requiring proof of “willful or wanton” conduct in order to hold a defendant liable. However, when a motor carrier driver is driving in adverse weather, an “extreme caution” standard…

Many truck wrecks involve violation of multiple Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. An attorney handling a truck wreck case must be familiar with these regulations, which are designed to protect public safety. A few of the significant Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations are: Ken Shigley represents plaintiffs in wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases statewide…

An article in the Denver Post on 3/7/05 describes the inadequacy of truck driver training, pressure to falsify log books and drive far in excess of the legal hours of service, numbing fatigue, monotony, loneliness and fatigue that are all too common in the trucking industry. The Shigley Law Firm represents plaintiffs in wrongful death…