When the Georgia General Assembly rushed two years ago to pass Senate Bill 3, the sponsors could not be bothered with the tedious and time consuming committee work of careful legislative drafting, reflection, discussion and revision. The result is the legislation is being picked apart piece by piece. The Court of Appeals has dissected a…
Continue reading ›A recent confidential survey of commercial truck drivers reports that 77 percent admitted to deliberately violating the hours of service regulations in the past, and that 55 percent said they were still breaking the rules. Drivers report that the most common violation is logging time as off-duty when actually on-duty (78 percent). Other common violations…
Continue reading ›Fortunately no one was injured when the driver of an 18-wheeler mail truck fell asleep on I-75 near Macon at 3:30 AM, over-corrected when he woke with a start, and went over an embankment. However, two of three northbound lanes were closed several hours and the GA DOT will have to replace a guard rail. …
Continue reading ›George Washington said that “eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” Eternal vigilance is also required in litigation to avoid being blindsided by late hits. Since late last night I have learned that service through the Lexis File & Serve system in Fulton State Court may be delayed as much as a day and a…
Continue reading ›Representative Mary Margaret Oliver of Decatur has introduced in the General Assembly HB 5 regarding use of wireless communication devices while driving. It would amend OCGA 40-6-241 to include the following: (a) For purposes of this Code section, the term: (1) ‘Device’ means a cellular, hands-free, or mobile telephone, wireless communication device, personal digital assistant,…
Continue reading ›Richard Miller at Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog this week posted a commentary on the adverse inference from spoliation (loss or destruction) of truck driver logs, referring to case law including a Georgia case. It’s a topic of continuing interest in trucking litigation. The Shigley Law Firm represents plaintiffs in wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases…
Continue reading ›In the case of Zeier v. Zimmer, Inc., 2006 Ok. 98 (12/19/06), the Oklahoma Supreme Court has held that a medical malpractice affidavit pleading requirement similar to the one adopted in Georgia violates a “special law” provision of the Oklahoma constitution similar to a provision of the Georgia constitution. The Oklahoma case is summarized by…
Continue reading ›Recent articles in the New York Times and Chicago Tribune critique the causes of safety problems in the current trucking industry. Much of the focus of the Chicago Tribune article is on the Bush Administration’s decision to increase the permissible driving hours and working hours for truck drivers. The New York Times article digs a…
Continue reading ›In a petition filed in court on Dec.5, five groups – The Truck Safety Coalition, comprised of the Teamsters; Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways; Parents Against Tired Truckers; Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety; and Public Citizen – asked the court to review the revised hours-of-service (HOS) rule that was issued by FMCSA on…
Continue reading ›Driver fatigue is a major cause of highway accidents, including those involving long-haul truckers. However, it can be difficult to prove fatigue was the cause of a crash since the crash itself wakes up the driver, despite the occasional confession and the strong inferences that can be drawn from truck driver logs that are not…
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