Articles Posted in Trucking Rules

The news of the entry of Mexican trucking companies and drivers into the US in recent months, despite concerted opposition in Congress, gets more amazing all the time.  Now the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is allowing Mexican drivers in the demonstration project to prove their proficiency in English by responding to the examiner’s questions…

As an attorney handling trucking accident cases in Atlanta, Georgia, I frequently deal with issues of truck driver fatigue, and the controversy over the change in hours-of-service rules that wears out drivers while enabling shippers and trucking companies to squeeze more work hours out of them.  Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, an appropriately named…

As a lawyer handling interstate trucking accident cases, I see the results of a variety of safety problems. Now, a Houston TV investigative reporter has revealed one more hazard for us to worry about.  Even when the federal drug testing regulations are followed by the testing labs, it is extremely easy for  a truck driver…

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has proposed changing Commercial Drivers Licence (CDL) requirements to require actual driver training.  Sure it seems like a radical idea to require drivers of 80,000 pound tractor trailers to have some training behind the wheel before they get on the highway, but the feds are here to help us,…

The current FMCSA hours of service rule for truck drivers has been subject to much criticism on multiple grounds.  Now a Minnesota-based motor carrier has applied for an exemption in order to try another method of fatigue management.  Considering the merits of night-time sleep and power naps when fatigued during the day, with electronic monitoring,…

U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., has asked the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to reconsider electronic on-board recorders, citing recent high-profile truck accidents in her state.  Feinstein cited the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which claims that a third of drivers omit hours from log books and that the percentage of truckers asleep at the…

Undercover investigators for the Government Accountint Office have found that it is surprisingly easy to cheat on random drug tests designed to catch truck drivers who use drugs.  Using bogus truck driver’s licenses to gain access to 24 drug-testing sites, the investigators  found that 75 percent “failed to restrict access to  items that could be used…

This week in several states, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) are sponsoring “Operation Safe Driver.” This involves increased enforcement roadside enforcement on commercial motor vehicle rules, including fatigued drivers, seatbelts, etc., and educate non-commercial drivers about sharing the road with trucks. Unfortunately, there can never be…

Trucking safety experts estimate that about 30 percent of tractor-trailers and dump trucks are overweight.  Studies show that overweight trucks are more likely to be in accidents. They also roll over more easily and need more time and distance to stop. A truck weighing 120,000 pounds needs 50 percent more space and time to stop…

The Georgia DOT is holding public hearings on the proposal to build truck-only  lanes on interstate highways in congested areas throughout the state.  I can see merit in the concept of separating truck traffic from passenger car traffic.  The devil, of course, is in the details. The Shigley Law Firm  represents plaintiffs in wrongful death…