Articles Posted in Trucking Rules

To control truck driver fatigue, for many years federal regulations have required interstate truck drivers to log their driving, on duty and off duty time. But from the beginning, falsification of logs has been common. Many have regarded driver logs as “comic books.” In our cases, we have unraveled webs of deception to show that…

A driver was killed when he struck the rear of a parked tractor trailer on the side of a highway in California on the night of  January 29th.  The news report does not mention whether the unoccupied tractor trailer was properly parked with flashing hazard lights and refrecting triangles deployed to warn drivers of it…

As an Atlanta trial lawyer focused heavily on trucking accident cases involving serious personal injury or wrongful death, I’ve been watching for President-elect Obama’s choices for Secretary of Transportation and for Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.  The new DOT Secretary will be Congressman Ray Lahood, a Republican from rural downstate Illinois.  After reading…

As a lawyer representing handling serious injury and wrongful death cases resulting from tractor trailer accidents, I work all the time with the  Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and monitor what’s happening with trucking safety regulation. Looking ahead to the  transition at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, it is interesting to look back at…

As a trucking trial lawyer in Atlanta, Georgia, I too often find truck drivers who were not medically qualified to drive large commercial trucks. We had one recent case in which the truck driver had chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, which was a disqualifying condition. His own physician testified that he was supposed to use supplemental…

A big rig driver unable to see his way through dense fog Monday morning in Fresno, California, was going too fast to see stopped traffic through the fog when he struck and killed a young woman . Tractor trailer driver Martin Nelson, 22, of Fresno, failed to see stopped traffic in heavy fog when he…

Fatal truck accidents in bad weather are an all too common — and preventable — tragedy that we see in our law practice.  Despite the very clear federal standard requiring “extreme caution” in hazardous weather and pull over if necessary, and guidelines in the Commercial Drivers License Manual to slow down by at least one-third,…

In truck crash litigation we sometimes find judges who fundamentally don’t understand interstate motor carrier law and refuse to learn. Therefore, it is refreshing to read of judges who do “get it,” and who are willing to act forcefully to protect the safety of the traveling public. The U.S. District Court for South Dakota recently…

As a trucking accident lawyer in Atlanta, I have been following developments in rule changes on truck driver hours of service for several years. There has been quite a history of the administration proposing longer driving hours, with trucking industry backing, only to have the rules struck down by courts as arbitrary, capricious, etc.  However, the…

As an attorney representing people catastrophically injured in trucking accidents in Atlanta, Georgia, I see speed as a safety problem as well as fatigue, illness, medication and equipment deficiencies. The  Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is studying a proposal for a uniform nationwide speed limit for interstate motor carriers. If adopted, it may help hold…