Congressional Oversight Of Trucking Industry Under Scrutiny

Congressional Oversight Of Trucking Industry Under Scrutiny

The Department of Transportation (DoT) budget is at the center of a storm of criticism in Washington, DC. The bill provides necessary funding to the DoT, but includes problematic language that eases restrictions on the hours of service for truck drivers, according to a Nashville truck accident attorney. Debate over trucking industry regulations is nothing new; however, a steady rise in serious accidents and fatalities involving trucks make this debate more visible.

Role Of The Federal Government

Regulation of interstate commerce is one of the enumerated, or defined powers in the Constitution. The federal government has the right to pass and enforce laws that involve trade across state lines; otherwise there would be hundreds of different trade laws in the country.

Since 1966, regulation of the trucking industry has been the responsibility of the Department of Transportation, and its newer sub-cabinet department, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). These two bodies perform periodic inspection of trucking companies and enforce the safety regulations established by Congress. Congress also plays a role by allocating the DoT budget each year.

Failure to agree on the FY 2017 budget is the result of five important disagreements.

Speed Limiters

Nashville truck accident attorney knows that speed is commonly the reason why a fender bender becomes a serious accident. The Senate wants the DoT to mandate speed limiters on all heavy trucks. The limiters would reduce the maximum speed for semi trucks, and include huge fines for drivers or carriers who try to get around the regulations. The limiters will lower the accident rate, but their installation will cost owner-operators and small trucking companies thousands of dollars, costs which will be passed to consumers.

Hours Of Service

The most hotly contested regulations of the trucking industry are the federal hours of service guidelines. In general, the rules state that drivers cannot work more than 14 consecutive hours without a 10 hour rest period, and they cannot drive more than 11 hours in that period. Drivers are also limited to 60 hours in a week. Safety organizations argue the hours of service guidelines keep fatigued drivers off the road, while drivers and trucking companies argue that forcing drivers to take mandatory break periods limits their ability to earn a living. The current push is to raise the hours of service limit to 82 hours, with the elimination of the restart period.

Restart Period

Long-haul truck drivers spend weeks on the road at a time, and a Nashville truck accident attorney knows that the longer the driver stays on the road, the greater the chance of an accident. The restart provisions were designed to force long-haul drivers to take an extended 34 hour break to “restart” their weekly driving clock. Lobbyists want the restart period removed from DoT guidelines in order to encourage drivers to keep moving every day.

Truck Size And Weight

Often overlooked by the public, the discussions about the size and weight of trucks have very real consequences for public safety. The federal weight limit is 80,000 pounds, with a limit of 28 feet per trailer. The trucking industry wants to increase the weight to 88,000 pounds, and increase the length of trucks to 33 feet. The changes would allow a single truck to more than double its carrying capacity, but the increased weight and length would make the ability to stop even harder.

Driving Age

Because trucks moving across state lines are under the jurisdiction of the DoT, the federal government sets the driving age for commercial trucks. In November 2015, the House passed a bill that lowered the driving age for interstate carriers from 21 to 18. At the state level, the commercial driving age has been 18 for several years, but the federal restriction pushed many potential drivers away from lucrative long-haul jobs. Trucking companies are facing a severe shortage of long-haul drivers, and they believe lowering the age will fill the gap. Opponents point to CDC data that shows drivers in their late teens have a disproportionate number of accidents and fatalities, often due to inexperience and immaturity. Placing younger drivers behind the wheel of a semi as a long-haul driver would greatly increase the risk of highway fatalities.

Beginning in mid-2015, Congress considered a series of measures that rolled back or eliminated safety measures in the trucking industry. The industry’s lobbyists claim the changes were necessary because of work shortages and increased pressure to make deliveries on time. Opponents of the new rules, from victims groups to state lawmakers, down to a Nashville truck accident attorney, believe the changes unfairly put the public at risk.

The debate in Congress is on hold until the members return in mid-May. When they do, almost every Nashville truck accident attorney expects some loosening of truck driving regulations, and more accidents.

New Law Requires Truckers to Keep Electronic Logs

New Law Requires Truckers to Keep Electronic Logs

In December of 2015, a new law was put into place that will change the way truckers log drive time and rest breaks. The rule, which requires truckers to use an electronic logging system, is expected to save an estimated 26 lives and prevent approximately 562 serious injuries caused by large trucks each year. Although truckers have been required to maintain paper logs that keep track of drivers’ rest breaks and hours on the road since the 1930s, these types of logs are easily tampered with and a significant number of serious and fatal large truck accidents still occur due to driver fatigue.

Since the required technology, referred to as an Electronic Logging Device (ELD) is expected to affect about 3 million large truck and bus drivers on America’s roadways, it is imperative that the trucking industry is well informed about the facts surrounding ELDs.

What Truckers Should Know About ELDs

An electronic logging device uses tamper-proof technology to strengthen truck drivers’ compliance with regulations regarding hours of service and required rest breaks in order to help prevent truck accidents caused by driver fatigue. Commercial drivers who are currently required to maintain a Record of Duty Status have until December of 2017 to begin using electronic logging devices to record their hours behind the wheel. There are a variety of technical and performance specifications that the ELDs must feature, but those who have already begun using ELDs that do not meet the new requirements will be “grandfathered in”, and will have until December 2019 to comply with the new regulations.

While there is some debate throughout the trucking industry regarding the pros and cons surrounding electronic logging devices, large truck accident lawyers in Tennessee know that the true benefits brought forth by the technology are undeniable.

  • ELDs will make it easier for roadside safety inspectors to identify Hours of Service (HOS) violations that put lives at risk.
  • According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the use of ELDs will save each trucker an estimated $705 per year in paperwork costs alone.
  • Recent research indicates that drivers who used ELDs saw a significant reduction in total crash rate (11.7%) when compared with truckers who used paper logs.

According to Scott Darling, FMCSA Acting Administrator, “Employing technology to ensure that commercial drivers comply with federal hours-of-service rules will prevent crashes and save lives.”

Proposed Law Aims to Keep Truckers out of the Fast Lane

Proposed Law Aims to Keep Truckers out of the Fast Lane

Drivers frequently find themselves slamming on the breaks to avoid hitting a car or truck that is driving slowly in the left lane. One slow-moving vehicle can back up traffic, frustrating other drivers and increasing their accident risks. A proposed Tennessee law aims to end this dilemma.

The media has dubbed this legislation the “Slowpoke Law.” It’s designed to promote highway safety, reduce highway congestion and ease overall driver frustration. The law would require vehicles to stay in the two right lanes on a three lane highway, only using the left lane to pass. This would encourage drivers to stay to the right, even if they are driving at the speed limit.

The Limits of the Passing Lane Law

The bill does not address speeding or speed limits, but rather tackles flow-of-traffic issues. The theory behind the bill is that, while speeding is dangerous, blocking the flow of traffic on the highway is also hazardous. Highway accidents are particularly threatening, especially when large vehicles, such as trucks, are involved.

Law enforcement would have the ability to impose a $50 fine on anyone who violates this law. In certain conditions, such as inclement weather, the law would not apply. This would also be true when a vehicle is merging, or when traffic control devices make driving in the lane a necessity. The law would also not apply to two lane divided highways, though future legislation might address this issue.

The Precedent

Tennessee is the 29th state to propose such legislation. Lawmakers and attorneys realize that the discretion to enforce these laws will be, in part, up to law enforcement officers, however, other states that have adopted such measures are citing success. The bill has received bi-partisan support and is expected to pass.

Fatalities caused by large truck collisions are on the rise in Tennessee. Truck collisions in the state were responsible for 107 deaths in 2012, up from 86 in 2009. Drivers are urged to keep a safe distance while driving around trucks and to pass with care. Laws like these are crafted to reduce the risk for drivers sharing the road with large vehicles. A Tennesseetruck accident attorney can provide more information on traffic laws and the process for seeking compensation after an accident.

E logs: Are They More Effective, and Do They Violate the 4th Amendment

E logs: Are They More Effective, and Do They Violate the 4th Amendment

Semi truck accident attorneys see lots of accidents where truckers are fatigued or have logged too many hours. E-logs are supposed to remedy this situation. Many trucks must have an e-log device in the next two years, but over 10,000 independent truckers are challenging that ruling in court. They claim that the e-logs are are a violation of privacy and constitute unlawful tracking.

E-log books electronically log a trucker’s hours and location. They don’t monitor changes in duty, however. Truckers must record the changes from rest periods to driving manually, which raises the question of whether or not e-logs are truly more accurate than paper ones.

The other point of contention comes from the fact that these devices will be monitoringtruckers‘ movements and location while they are on the job. While this may seem safer, and make it easier to know where truckers are, some independent truckers claim that it is illegal tracking.

One survey shows the impact this law could have on the trucking industry. 15% of truckers are already using electronic logs or will purchase them in the near future. Another 32% said they will wait until they are sure the law will stick before purchasing an electronic log. The law only affects trucks made after the year 2000. 10% of truckers say that they won’t change anything because they drive a truck made before 2000. Another 6% say that they run short haul so the law won’t apply to them. 23% say that they will quit the trucking industry before the regulations take effect, and another 10% claim they will quit if they can’t find a truck made before 2000.

One interesting argument from truckers is that this will force drivers to drive when they have the “legal hours” to do so. While a trucker with a paper log book may decide to make up time after resting, they claim the electronic log book will put a stop to that. While this sounds more safe, if the driver was up most of his rest period for a personal reason or very sick, they will be tempted to drive whether they feel well or not.

The fourth amendment means that a person can’t be stopped or even monitored without probable suspicion of illegal activity. Independent truckers say that these electronic log books are a way of monitoring drivers for law enforcement purposes, and the only way to do that legally is with a warrant.Categories

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Visibility Issues Lead To Highway Accidents For Truckers

Visibility Issues Lead To Highway Accidents For Truckers

Federal trucking regulations aim to reduce traffic accidents, but they fail to address many of the root causes of the problem. Poor visibility and the corresponding inability to react to changing road conditions, play a major role in the frequency and severity of traffic accidents.

Nashville truck accident lawyer can point to seven factors that limit visibility, primarily through driver negligence.

Time Of Day

Nighttime driving has always been more dangerous than driving during the day. Not only does darkness induce fatigue, it has a strong impact on visibility.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) study in 2007 reported to Congress that nighttime visibility is severely limited because of night glare and range issues. Night glare from oncoming traffic destroyed the night vision of drivers, especially those over 50, leading to temporary blindness and potential loss of vehicle control. The NHTSA found night glare the most problematic in areas with few streetlights or other roadside sources of light.

Sun

Driving during particular periods of daylight is no less dangerous than driving at night, depending on the direction the truck is traveling. Truckers driving into the sunlight at sunrise or sunset face protracted periods of intense sunlight and glare from the roofs and glass of other vehicles.

Many trucking companies require drivers to use sunglasses or other protective eyewear in the hour before sunrise or sunset as a way to reduce the impact of the sun on driver visibility.

Fatigue

The NHTSA blames a large portion of trucking accidents on driver fatigue, and for good reason. Drivers face longer work weeks than ever before, and trucking companies have put increased pressure on drivers to stay on the road at all costs.

Fatigue hinders visibility in two ways. First, drivers fight to stay awake, and closed eyes provide no visibility and a complete inability to prevent an accident. Second, even when a driver is awake, fatigue causes blurriness and sluggish reaction times. As a result, drivers are unable to judge distances in time to stop before a collision.

Speeding

The difference between a deadly accident or a fender bender is often a matter of inches. Speeding trucks have lower reaction times than other vehicles, and any errors the driver makes are magnified in a crash.

If the truck was speeding, a Nashville truck accident lawyer may be able to prove the driver was liable for an accident, because the truck driver left himself without enough time to stop. Scientific evidence and the truck’s own computer can provide the hard evidence a Nashville truck accident lawyer needs to argue the case.

Eyesight

Truckers, especially long haul drivers, spend days or weeks on the road at one time. While they are on the road, it’s easy to let health and medical issues slide, if those issues do not directly hinder the driver’s ability to keep the truck on the road.

A driver with a weak prescription has an increasingly short field of vision, and the problem can only be solved with a trip to an optometrist and a new set of glasses. Not every driver is willing or able to take the time to stop for new glasses, wrongly assuming that the problem can wait until they get home. The slow degeneration of the field of vision can lead to drivers with an effective eyesight of 20/50 or worse.

Other Drivers

Not every problem with visibility is the trucker’s fault. Sometimes the actions of other drivers play a role in the accident. Even with proper mirror positioning, a trucker still has large blind spots around the vehicle. The most dangerous spots are near the driver’s door, from the trailer hitch to the nose of the truck on the passenger side, and the nose of the truck.

Drivers who slam on their brakes or drive for long distances in a truck’s blind spot greatly increase the probability of an accident. Through an examination of the positions of other vehicles involved in an accident, a Nashville truck accident lawyer may be able to prove that the accident was not the fault of the trucker, but another driver.

Weather

Hard rain and snow diminish a driver’s field of vision in a matter of seconds. When this occurs, truckers must adjust their driving patterns to slow down and avoid accidents.

A Nashville truck accident lawyer can expand a liability suit after an accident to include the trucking company if there were maintenance issues involved in the accident. A trucking company that fails to replace worn out wiper blades or provide other safety equipment puts everyone on the road at risk.

Truck accidents are serious, and are more likely to be deadly than other vehicle collisions. With the assistance of a truck accident lawyer, victims can apply liability where it belongs and seek compensation.

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Five simple ways to keep your child safe in the car

Five simple ways to keep your child safe in the car

Keeping your child safe in the car is easy – here are five simple ways.

Learn some simple things you can do to keep your child safe while riding in a car.

Many people visit a car accident lawyer in Nashville after their child suffers an injury. Car accidents cannot always be prevented; however, that doesn’t mean that children must always become victims. Here are five simple things you can do to protect your little one from danger.

#1. Buckle your child up using the appropriate car seat or booster seat

According to the Centers for Disease Control, buckling children in and/or placing them in age-appropriate car seats can greatly reduce the risk of death or serious injury. Placing infants under one year of age in a car seat reduces their risk of death by 71%. Among children ages one to four years of age, car seats reduce the risk of death by 54%.

Placing children ages four to eight years of age in a booster seat reduces the risk of death by 45% when compared to placing them only in seat belts. Children over the age of eight who are placed in seat belts will see their risk of death or serious injury be cut in half.

#2. Use safety seats correctly

A recent study was performed on nearly 3,500 users of car and booster seats. The results from that study showed that 72% of all participants did not use their car and/or booster seats correctly. Furthermore, their misuse of these seats occurred in such a way that it increased the risk of a child suffering from an injury during a crash.

The Community Preventative Services Task Force has recommended that governments enact new car seat laws, and that education programs be implemented to raise awareness. Such education programs are thought to be effective at encouraging people to use car seats appropriately. If you have questions about the proper use of a car seat, you may consult your owner’s manual, or contact a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician.

#3. Always place your children in the back seat when using a car or booster seat

Children under the age of 12 should always be placed in the back seat of your vehicle. That way, even if you are involved in an accident, you will not have to worry about them becoming injured by a deploying airbag. How children are placed in the back seat will largely depend upon their age, and here are some guidelines to consider:

  • From birth to around age two, you should place your child in a rear-facing car seat in the middle of the back seat. Your son or daughter should remain in this car seat until he or she has reached the upper height and weight limits as stated in your manual.
  • From approximately age two through five, your children should be placed in a forward-facing car seat that is placed in the back seat of your vehicle. The exact age at which your child outgrows this seat will vary, and will be based upon the limits imposed by the manufacturer.
  • Ages five and older should be placed in a forward-facing booster seat that is properly secured in the back seat. Your children should continue to use a booster seat until they are big enough for seat belts to fit properly. This is generally considered to be whenever they are at least 57 inches tall.

Once children are old enough to wear seatbelts, you may allow them to ride in either the front or the back seat, provided they are buckled in during each trip.

 #4. Do not drink and drive

After drinking and driving, you pose a threat not only to those around you, but also to the passengers in your own vehicle. Between the years 2001 and 2010, approximately one in every five children age 15 and under who died in an accident did so as a result of drunk driving. In 65% of those cases, it was the child’s own driver who was intoxicated. Intoxication is defined as having a Blood Alcohol Content of greater than .08 percent, which is the legal limit in most states.

#5. Set the example for your children to follow

Of all the children ages 12 and under who were killed in an automobile accident during 2013, approximately 38 percent of them were not properly restrained. When it comes to getting older children to wear a seat belt, your actions will speak louder than your words. The Centers for Disease Control reports that as many as 40% of all children riding with adults who do not wear their seat belts are also unbuckled. Black and Hispanic children were more likely to be unbuckled during a fatal crash than white children were.

These five things take very little time, but can go a long way toward keeping your children safe. Make sure to follow these five tips each time you get into your vehicle, and the odds of your children surviving an accident will be much greater.