The U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is responsible for enforcing the trucking laws and regulations that govern safety among the U.S.’s commercial truck drivers and bus drivers. In order to keep track of safety information, the FMCSA uses a Safety Measurement System (SMS). The SMS tracks several safety-related variables to ensure that drivers and trucking companies are addressing safety issues when they appear.
The SMS measures safety in several different categories, known as Behavioral Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs). Data on each trucking company’s or owner-operator’s BASICs is fed into the FMCSA’s computer database, which ranks drivers and companies based on how well they’re performing when it comes to safety. Truckers who are involved in a high number of safety violations or accidents are flagged by the system, and the FMCSA focuses on improving safety with these drivers and companies by enforcing safety rules – including taking the trucks or drivers off the road, if needed – and ensuring that the companies follow up on fixing safety problems.
The BASIC categories cover safety issues like: driver fitness, fatigue, and education; vehicle and cargo maintenance; crash history; and alcohol and drug use among drivers. If an owner-operator or trucking company performs too low in any one category, the FMCSA provides warnings and resources for the company to improve. If the company performs too low in multiple categories, it may be given an “unsatisfactory” ranking by the FMCSA. “Unsatisfactory” truckers may be prevented from driving until they fix the safety issues.
Truck accidents are uncommon, but when they do occur, serious injuries and even deaths can result. If you or someone you love has been injured in a truck accident, the experienced truck accident attorneys in Missouri at Page Law are ready to help. For more information and a free telephone consultation, call us today at (314) 322-8515.
As experienced large truck accident lawyers in Missouri, we understand the safety hazards large trucks pose, and it seems our nation’s government understands as well. In the past two years, the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued 14 “imminent hazard” orders, requiring semi truck and commercial bus companies to stop using vehicles that pose a risk to human health and safety. This number equals the number of “imminent hazard” orders issued in all the years between 2000 and 2008, representing a significant increase in enforcement of tractor-trailer and bus safety regulations, according to a recent FMCSA press release.
Eight of the 14 orders were issued between March and July of 2011. Most of the orders to remove unsafe vehicles from the road were issued to bus companies, but at least one trucking company was also ordered to stop using a tractor-trailer until unsafe conditions were fixed.
In addition to examining trucks more carefully and issuing imminent-hazard orders when significant dangers are found, the FMCSA has also increased the number of random inspections performed on commercial vehicles. The number of semi trucks stopped on U.S. highways for inspection has doubled in the past two years, and the number of commercial bus inspections is nearly one and a half times higher than in the past decade. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has stated that, while he is in charge of the Department of Transportation (DOT), its first priority will be highway safety.
A large and heavy tractor-trailer or passenger bus can cause serious damage in a crash with a smaller passenger vehicle like a car or pickup truck. If you’ve been injured in such a crash, the experienced Missouri truck accident attorneys at Page Law can help. Call us today at 314-322-8515 for a free and confidential consultation. You can also visit our Page Injury Law Twitter account for valuable information and topics of interest.
In a previous blog post, we covered the new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) farm truck regulations that are in process. However, states are also responsible for regulating truck drivers, including those who need to move large trucks and other equipment to farm. Currently, drivers of farm trucks are exempt from certain Missouri laws governing large trucks, including:
License Requirements
Farm truck drivers are required to have either a Class E Missouri driver’s license or a commercial driver’s license (CDL). Drivers must be at least 18, capable of physically driving a truck, and must meet all federal safety standards.
Straight Trucks
A “straight truck” is one on which the truck cab and cargo area share the same chassis; they cannot be taken apart like a tractor-trailer can. Unlike other truck drivers, farm drivers do not have to meet federal health and safety requirements as long as they are driving the truck within 150 miles of the farm to which it belongs.
Tractor-Trailers
A tractor-trailer driver who drives the farm’s tractor-trailer within 150 miles of the farm does not have to meet FMCSA’s driver qualification requirements. The driver does, however, have to meet all state and federal health, safety, and licensing requirements.
Even when a Missouri farm truck driver is driving under an exemption, he or she must still use reasonable care to prevent an accident. Any other road user who is injured because a truck driver failed to use reasonable care may be entitled to compensation. If you’ve been injured in a large truck accident in Missouri, please don’t hesitate to call the experienced St. Louis truck accident attorneys at Page Law. Our number is 314-322-8515. Call today for a free consultation.
The U.S. Senate is considering a bill that would give the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) additional support and tighten regulations that govern semi trucks, according to a recent article in The Trucker. The bill was introduced by New Jersey Senator Frank D. Lautenberg.
The new bill deals with several topics related to truck accidents and truck safety. For instance, the bill would require additional training for commercial truck and bus drivers before they can be allowed on the road. It also requires most commercial motor carrier companies to install electronic on-board recording devices (EOBRs) on each truck in the fleet. The EOBR is similar to an airplane’s “black box”: it records the truck’s speed, position, and other information so that investigators can better determine what happened should an accident occur.
The bill also contains provisions that would crack down on “reincarnated” or “chameleon” carriers. These are truck or bus companies that respond to a citation or shutdown by the FMCSA by disappearing, then reappearing as essentially the same company under a new name. The bill provides regulations to prevent cited carriers from “reincarnating” instead of fixing their problems.
Thousands of tractor-trailers and other commercial vehicles use our nation’s roads every day, making the safety of motorists on others on the road a major concern. If you have been injured in a truck crash in Missouri, the experienced truck accident lawyers in St. Louis at Page Law can help. Call us today at 314-322-8515 for a free and confidential case evaluation.
Recently, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association (FMCSA) proposed a new rule that would restrict the use of cell phones by tractor-trailer and commercial bus drivers. The FMCSA accepted public comment on the proposed rule, including suggestions for alternatives.
In designing a rule for cell phone use, the FMCSA had three options: do nothing, ban cell phone use entirely, or restrict cell phone use to hands-free devices but ban dialing or otherwise manipulating a cell phone while driving. The agency received over 400 responses from various individuals, companies, and interest groups involved in the trucking industry. Most of these results agreed that the new rule should take the middle ground, allowing the use of hands-free devices but restricting dialing and other activities that take the driver’s eyes off the road and hands off the wheel.
In reconsidering this “middle ground,” the FMCSA cited a recent study performed at Virginia Tech on distracted drivers. The study found that merely talking on a hands-free device did not distract truck drivers nearly as much as dialing or holding a cell phone did. The FMCSA noted that there was little evidence from any source to suggest that merely talking posed a significant risk – but that dialing a phone or looking up numbers made the risk increase.
While most truck drivers take their safety responsibilities seriously, no one is immune to distraction. If you’ve been injured in a Missouri truck accident, please don’t hesitate to contact the experienced truck accident lawyers in St. Louis at Page Law. We will examine your case carefully and help you fight to protect your legal rights. To learn more, call us today at 314-322-8515 for a free consultation.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, or FMCSA, is responsible for making sure that truck drivers do their work safely. Recently, FMCSA started a new program to increase safe practices among truck drivers and trucking companies and to decrease the number of injuries or deaths that occur in truck accidents each year. The program is known as “CSA,” which stands for “Compliance, Safety, and Accountability.”
CSA replaces FMCSA’s compliance review or CR program. The CR program focused on only a few motor carriers per year, leaving most drivers and their employers to figure out safety issues for themselves. CSA addresses these problems by tailoring regulatory oversight to the particular needs of different types of motor carriers and by partnering with states to ensure that commercial truck drivers and their employers are meeting federal and state standards for safe driving.
The CSA program began in December 2010. For most of 2010, however, FMCSA worked with several U.S. states, including Missouri, on a “trial-run” version of the plan. States implemented the new CSA methods of gathering information, evaluating motor carrier safety, and intervening when a driver or company faced a safety risk. FMCSA used the states’ feedback to adjust the final program.
Most truck drivers take safety seriously, but equipment failure, unexpected distractions, and other hazards can all increase the risk of an accident. If you’ve been injured in a truck accident, please don’t hesitate to call the experienced big rig accident attorneys in Missouri at Page Law. For a free consultation, call 314-322-8515 today.
Professional truck drivers are already required by federal law to have periodic medical checkups to ensure that they’re healthy enough to continue driving tractor-trailers on public highways. In order to ensure that truck drivers are getting medical exams from qualified medical professionals, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, or FMCSA, recently proposed a new rule that would require trucking companies to ensure their drivers see medical personnel who are listed on the National Registry of Commercial Medical Examiners.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association or OOIDA, however, has objected to the new rule. The organization argues that requiring truck drivers who own their own vehicles to make sure, after the exam, that the health care professional is on the registry is “unnecessary” and “redundant,” since the driver would be performing the check on him- or herself, not on an employee. OOIDA is the largest association of small business truck drivers in the U.S.
OOIDA also points out that truckers new to the business might accidentally violate the rule against using a driver who didn’t pass his or her medical examination. For instance, a new truck driver might have a physical exam and receive his or her certification to drive, but then discover after the fact that the physical exam is invalid and the driver isn’t really qualified to drive his or her own truck. Instead of improving safety, OOIDA argues, this requirement just makes for more paperwork for independent drivers.
FMCSA is responsible for creating rules that maximize safety and minimize risks when it comes to large trucks. Unfortunately, Missouri tractor-trailer accidents happen, and the results can be devastating. If you’ve been injured in a large truck crash, call the experienced Missouri big rig accident attorneys at Page Law. We will examine your case carefully and help you understand your legal rights and options. To learn more, call Page Law today at 314-322-8515 for a free and confidential case evaluation.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) may begin requiring vehicles that weigh between 10,000 and 26,000 pounds to be outfitted with a rear object detection system.
Trucks of that size have a large blind spot in the rear. Research done by the NHTSA has found that vehicles of that size have an unusually high back-up fatality rate when compared with other vehicles. Each year, trucks of that size cause at least 79 fatalities and 148 injuries because of driving in reverse. The danger of a truck of that size killing someone in backing-related incidents is 8 to 17 times higher than for passenger vehicles.
According to the NHTSA, technologies are on the market that could greatly reduce the size of the blind spot for trucks in the rear, which could greatly reduce the backing dangers. Some states have already started implementing regulations in this area.
The NHTSA is currently proposing that trucks that weigh between 10,000 and 26,000 pounds and are manufactured within a year after the final rules are issued be required to meet one of two criterions. First, the truck could have cross view mirrors, which would have to meet certain requirements. The other option is for trucks to have rear visual systems. The NHTSA considered requiring back-up alarms, but found that young children, who are among the most at risk of being injured in a truck back-up accident, frequently can’t understand or respond to the alarms.
Although federal agencies, as well as truck manufacturers, have made great advances in improving the safety of large commercial trucks on the roads, thousands of Americans die each year in collisions with large trucks. If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident that involved a tractor-trailer or other truck, call the Missouri truck accident attorneys at Page Law, LLC today at 314-241-2273.
The U.S. Congress is considering a bill that would allow the limit on tractor-trailer weight to rise from 80,000 pounds to 97,000 pounds. The bill was introduced by U.S. Representative Michael Michaud and known as the Safe and Efficient Transportation Act.
If passed, the bill would allow individual states to increase their interstate vehicle weight limit to 97,000 pounds for any truck with a sixth axle. Supporters of the bill state that the required sixth axle would help the heavier trucks stop within the same distance and would distribute the additional weight more evenly over the truck’s tires. The bill also includes a separate fee for the sixth axle, which would be used to fund interstate bridge repairs.
Supporters claim that raising the weight limit to 97,000 pounds can be done safely and would decrease the need for additional trucks on the country’s interstates. However, opponents believe that the additional weight cannot be made safe. Opponents also point out that many U.S. bridges and highways are not built to support heavier trucks. There is also concern about the cost of updating these bridges and highways and about the safety of drivers who share these stretches of road with heavier trucks.
Truck accidents threaten the lives of hundreds of U.S. citizens each year. If you or a loved one has been injured in a Missouri truck accident, consider contacting the experienced Missouri tractor-trailer accident attorneys at Page Law. Our attorneys will review the details of your case and stand by you in the fight to get you just compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering, and lost earnings. If you’ve had an accident involving a truck, don’t hesitate to call Page Law at (314) 322-8515 today for a free consultation.
Source:http://bulktransporter.com/fleet/trucks/transportation_coalition_presses_congress0701/
The federal government has issued a ban on texting while driving, especially targeted at commercial truck drivers and bus drivers. According to a news report in USA Today, the new restrictions will take effect immediately and apply to interstate truckers and operators of vehicles carrying at least eight passengers. Those who violate this new rule could face penalties of up to $2,750. So far, 19 states and the District of Columbia prohibit texting while driving for all drivers.
Distracted driving is one of the biggest traffic safety issues we have on our roadways today. It is unsafe for all drivers – whether they are driving a compact car or an 18-wheeler – to text or use a hand-held cell phone while driving. Recent studies show that those who text while driving, take their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds. A vehicle traveling at highway speed can traverse the length of two football fields within that time.
However, when drivers of large trucks and commercial buses text, they are putting many more lives in danger than just their own. When the driver of a large big rig takes his eyes off the road, it can result in catastrophic accidents that have the potential to cause major injuries or deaths. Federal officials have themselves admitted that this is a tough law to enforce. But, it is a good first step, especially considering the devastation that distracted truckers have brought on the traveling public.
If you have been the victim of a serious truck accident – whether it is due to a distracted, reckless or negligent driver – please contact a skilled Missouri big rig accident lawyer who will analyze your case thoroughly and make sure you secure fair compensation for your injuries and losses. Call Page Law today for a free consultation and comprehensive evaluation of your claim. We can help.
Source:http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-01-26-texting-driving-commercial-ban_N.htm
