Trucking Interests Use Zika Fears to Weaken Highway Safety

Last week, Congress passed measures that seriously threaten the safety of the driving public, though you probably didn’t hear about it.

The Senate passed a measure that allows truck drivers to work a total of 81.5  hours each week as part of a massive spending measure that will fund transportation, housing, military construction projects, the Veterans Administration, and Zika virus prevention. In the House, similar rules were added to the transportation and housing appropriations bill. Both bills prevent the enforcement of safety regulations that took effect in 2013, limiting truck drivers to 70-hour workweeks and requiring two nights of rest between workweeks.

These measures rolling back trucker rest rules have been fiercely opposed by safety advocates, and likely would not pass on their own as stand-alone bills. So, in a disturbing pattern, trucking interest groups have been passing these measures by tacking them onto “must-pass” […]

Should teenagers be driving tractor trailers?

How do you feel about the thought of an 18-year-old behind the wheel of the 40-ton truck next to you on the highway?

A new transportation bill includes legislation that would allow 18-year-old drivers to drive tractor trailers across state lines. Not surprisingly, safety advocates are baffled.

Currently, drivers 18 and older can obtain a commercial license to drive a big rig in most states but are not allowed to drive across state lines until the age of 21. It is true that this means that a young driver could legally travel long distances across his/her home state but not to closer places just over state lines. But that is not a justification for opening up the possibility for interstate travel. As Jackie Gillian, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, puts it, “We should be considering how to limit teen truck drivers,” […]

Spending bill alarms truck safety advocates

Once again,  the trucking industry is making people nervous.

While I was doing research for this blog post yesterday, a tractor trailer accident in our area had Interstate 81 shut down for most of the day. The driver of the truck lost his life.

Trucking is a major industry across much of the country, including in our home region of NEPA. With all these large tractor trailers on the road alongside comparatively tiny passenger vehicles, the number of heavy trucking accidents has been rising for the last four years. You’d think, then, that safety would be more of a concern for lawmakers and industry officials. Unfortunately, not everyone sees it that way.

As truck accident lawyers, this is something we feel strongly about. This post will cover what you should know about how these changes could affect you. […]

Long Haul Truck Drivers Need to Buckle Up

CDC study shows more than 1/3 of truckers who die in crashes were not wearing seat belts. About one in six truckers doesn’t wear a seat belt at all.

How big is this problem? Well, trucking is quickly becoming one of the largest occupations in the country. In fact, a recent study lists truck driving as America’s most common occupation, but this data may be slightly skewed by the omission of more ambiguous sales positions and the way that the government categorizes jobs, grouping all truck driving jobs together (from tractor trailer drivers to mail deliverers to garbage truck drivers) but those caveats notwithstanding, trucking is still a massive industry. Partly because it is one occupation that has not been automated or outsourced. And, it is needed everywhere; regardless of location or economic climate, food products and goods still need to be distributed across the country. […]

Proposed Law: Fine Truckers for Uncleared Snow, Ice

A law proposed by state Senator Lisa Boscola would impose fines on truck drivers who do not clear ice and snow from their vehicles before driving.

In the winter, it’s common to see chunks of ice and snow flying off the tops of large trucks as they go barreling down the highway.  For drivers traveling behind these trucks, frozen projectiles can hit their windshields and obstruct their vision, or even cause damage. Or, drivers might swerve to avoid being hit, and get into an accident. The proposed bill has been re-introduced with safety in mind. In 2005, a woman from Jim Thorpe, PA, was killed when a chunk of ice dislodged and flew into her windshield.

Under the current law, truck drivers are only penalized if someone gets seriously injured or killed.  Fines range from $200-$1,000 for each offense. […]