ASCUTNEY, Vt., 11/22/05 A tractor-trailer driver who fell asleep at the wheel crashed on I-91, causing a rollover and forcing the evacuation of about 300 residents and two schools Monday. Officials said the tractor-trailer was carrying sodium persulfate, a strong oxidizer, along with several flammable materials which combined could have caused a toxic chemical fire.…
Continue reading ›The US Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration last month reaffirmed a change made in January 2004, allowing drivers to work 11 hours a day, up from the 10-hour limit that had applied for 60 years. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University analysed data from three national trucking companies for 12 months after the change and found…
Continue reading ›Austin, TX, 11/17/05. A woman was killed Wednesday when a wheel and tire came off an 18-wheeler trailer, bounced over the median barrier on I-35, and landed on top of a Honda. The driver of the Honda was killed instantly. The truck involved is licensed to McRyan Hauling Inc. in Roanoke, TX, and was being…
Continue reading ›Lawyers preparing a suit against an interstate motor carrier have an investigation tool that many overlook. The Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C., Section 552, may be used to obtain records about a trucking company from the U.S. Department of Transportation. A request may be addressed to John H. Schnackenberg, FOIA Program Officer, U.S. Department…
Continue reading ›In Weaver v. Chavez, decided 11/7/05, a district appeals court in California held that a trial court’s failure to instruct the jury on the standard of care of “extreme caution” in adverse weather, pursuant to 49 C.F.R. § 392.14, rather than the negligence standard under state traffic law, was reversible error. This is significant because…
Continue reading ›Trucking is essential to the national economy. Virtually every product sold is transported by truck. But with its economic importance comes accountability, as trucking is also a major highway safety hazard. Truck drivers, overworked and underpaid, are the heroes of country music ballads. Popular culture holds them up as rough-hewn “knights of the road,” and…
Continue reading ›The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations apply to commercial motor vehicles, which are defined as any self-propelled or towed motor vehicle used on a highway in interstate commerce to transport passengers or property when the vehicle: (1) has a gross vehicle weight of 10,001 pounds or more, whichever is greater; or (2) is designed or…
Continue reading ›I am chairing the Southeastern Motor Carrier Liability Institute, at the Georgia Bar Center in Atlanta, GA – Nov. 10-11, 2005. It is co-sponsored by the Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and North Carolina Trial Lawyers Associations. Anyone interested in attending may register online at http://gtla.org. Nov. 10 (Thursday) 9:00 AM Trucking 101: The Basics — Morgan…
Continue reading ›TEMPERANCE HILL, S.C. The driver of a tractor-trailer was charged Monday with drunken driving after slamming into a hayride and killing four people, including a toddler. Jake Davis Jr., 51, of Florence, was charged in the case. The South Carolina Highway Patrol reports Davis was driving the tractor-trailer that plowed into the rear of the…
Continue reading ›The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations include a provision for waiver of rules in emergency situations. Some are concerned, however, that the waiver of safety rules may be too broad and may be used as a pretext for long-term weaking of rules designed to protect the public safety. In the weeks after Hurricane Katrina ravaged…
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