By Wayne Grant on December 30, 2010 -
The Garden City Police Department received the 2010 Georgia Governor’s Challenge Award for reducing commercial vehicle accidents. According to Garden City police, commercial vehicle accidents have gone down by 40% since they launched their Commercial Vehicle Traffic Unit, in 2008. The Governor’s Challenge Award was created to encouraged highway safety enforcement and education.
Garden City PD recognized thattrucking accidentsand trucking safety had become a growing problem in the area as commercial traffic increased with the growth and development of the Georgia Ports Authority. Officers who observed what appeared to be safety violations did not have the authority to take action. They needed special training and certification to inspect the trucks and enforce safety regulations.
Garden city police officers in the Commercial Vehicle Traffic Unit receive special training so that they know how to properly inspect trucks and have an understanding of complex trucking laws such as Hours of Service (HOS) regulations. Now they have to knowledge and the authority to enforce these laws and get dangerous trucks that are in violation off the road.
The program seems to be working. In 2008, there were 212 commercial vehicle accidents in Garden City. In 2009, that number was down to 127.
If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a trucking accident, please contact ustoday. Your initial consultation is free, and we work on a contingency fee basis so you don’t pay unless you get paid.
By Wayne Grant on December 22, 2010 -
On October 25, 2010, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held a joint press conference to announce their proposed standards for fuel economy and emissions for medium and heavy-duty trucks and buses. The new rules will cover model years 2014 to 2018.
The new standards were created in compliance with an order signed by President Obama in May, 2010. No order of this kind had ever been issued by a president in the past. It required the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the EPA to work together to create a rule that would set limits on fuel consumption emissions for new, large commercial vehicles from the model year 2014 forward.
The proposed rule is set to be finalized in July, 2011. It is expected to improve fuel efficiency from 7% to 20% over current levels depending on the type of vehicle, and reduce carbon emissions by 10% in gasoline engines and 15% in diesel.
The trucking industry prefers this approach over the alternative of raising fuel prices. Consumers are likely to benefit from this as well. Costs to the trucking industry always trickle down to higher prices for goods, and often equate to safety problems as trucking companies try to make up for the expenses by cutting corners.
If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a trucking accident, please contact ustoday. Your initial consultation is free, and we work on a contingency fee basis so you don’t pay unless you get paid.
By Wayne Grant on December 14, 2010 -
If you have never considered adequate truck parking as an issue that affects you and your family, you are not alone. Most people who are not commercial drivers do not think about or realize how this issue directly affects their safety. Lack of adequate truck parking leads to trucking accidentsin many ways. The battle for laws to provide adequate truck parking is a battle for your safety, not just for the convenience of truck drivers.
Lack of parking is one of the many factors that contribute to driver fatigue. Driver fatigue is a contributing factor in a large portion of trucking accidents. Hours of Service (HOS) rules dictate how long a truck driver can be on duty and on the road during a twenty four hour period, but when there is no place to pull over and take the mandated breaks, truckers are forced to push on no matter how badly they need to rest. They are forced to break the law and compromise the safety of everyone on the road.
Truck drivers do have a dangerous alternative to breaking HOS when they have no where to park safely. They can park illegally on the side of the road. This too can cause an accident due to poor visibility and the mere proximity to fast-moving vehicles.
If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a trucking accident, please contact ustoday. Your initial consultation is free, and we work on a contingency fee basis so you don’t pay unless you get paid.
By Wayne Grant on November 27, 2010 -
In the first quarter of 2010, truck driver turnover was at a record low. In the second quarter it was on the rise for the first time in nearly four years. High truck driver turnover has been linked to higher accident rates. Industry experts are anticipating an upcoming shortage of drivers, and that will mean more new inexperienced drivers on the road.
What Will Cause the Shortage?
Three factors are expected to create a shortage in drivers. Freight is expected to increase, aging truck drivers are getting out of the business, and a new safety program called Comprehensive Safety Analysis (CSA) 2010 is about to go into full effect.
One goal of CSA 2010 is to get unsafe drivers off the road. If it is successful, the long-term benefit will be fewer trucking accidents and deaths. The system is still being perfected, however, the more immediate effect may be elimination of both safe and unsafe experienced drivers based on technicalities in their records. In addition, an influx of inexperienced truck drivers on the road as trucking companies scramble to keep things moving may occur.
Turnover and Accidents
High turnover rate has been linked to higher accident rates. This is a complicated issue. One reason was poor retention by trucking companies, and something referred to as “job hopping.” Job-hopping is the result of poor job satisfaction among truck drivers. In 2008 the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) released a report on the link between driver turnover and safety problems. According to the FMCSA truck drivers preferred working for safe companies.
When high turnover rates are the result of poor retention rather than a shortage of drivers, the relationship between high turnover rates and crashes may be largely due to unsafe practices by trucking companies. Experienced drivers taking a new job can face some challenges learning new policies and getting settled in to their new routine. However, it is new, inexperienced drivers that are most likely to be involved in accidents.
If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a trucking accident, please contact us today. Your initial consultation is free, and we work on a contingency fee basis so you don’t pay unless you get paid.
By Wayne Grant on November 17, 2010 -
A poorly maintained truck is an accident waiting to happen. The responsibility for truck maintenance is shared by truck drivers and the trucking company, but ultimately the trucking company holds the majority or all of the responsibility for an accident that is caused by inadequate truck maintenance. Truck drivers play a big role in catching problems with their trucks. They are required to inspect the truck on a daily basis.
Trucking Company Responsibility
Trucking companies are required to keep very detailed records of the maintenance on their trucks. This includes records of repair requests made by drivers, the parts purchased, and the actual repairs that are made. Plus, they must have annual inspections by a qualified inspector.
A trucking company cannot legally require or allow a truck driver to drive a truck that needs repair. Truck drivers are to report any needed repairs that they discover in their daily inspections or while driving. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) agents may also declare a truck out of service if its inspectors discover that the truck is unsafe.
Driver Inspections
Drivers must inspect their trucks at the beginning and end of each day. These inspections include:
- Tires
- Wheels and rims
- Service brakes
- Parking brake
- Horn
- Lighting devices
- Reflectors
- Windshield wipers
- Coupling devices
- Rear vision mirrors
- Emergency equipment
Drivers also have to review the post-trip inspection report from the last driver of the truck and if repairs were requested they have to get a certification from the trucking company that the repairs were truly performed.
If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a trucking accident, please contact us today. Your initial consultation is free, and we work on a contingency fee basis so you don’t pay unless you get paid.
By Wayne Grant on November 2, 2010 -
On September 9, 2010 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released its crash statistics for 2009. Highway deaths of all types were down to 33,808, the lowest they have been since 1950. There were 3,380 in 2009. That is down 20% from 2008, and the lowest ever recorded by the Department of Transportation.
Of all types of traffic fatalities in the report large truck occupants saw the largest drop, decreasing by 26% from 2008. Fatalities resulting from alcohol-related trucking accidents were down by 14% in 2009. Trucking fatalities have dropped by 33% since January, 2004. That is when the new Hours of Service Regulations (HOS) went into effect. The American Trucking Associations (ATA) credits the HOS laws for the drop in fatalities and says it will continue to support the current regulations.
HOS regulations are still very controversial, and are often challenged. Driver fatigue is a very complex problem that cannot be fully addressed by HOS laws. Hopefully we will see more improvements in the near future that will tackle some of the other underlying issues regarding driver fatigue and trucking safety. In the meantime, it is good to see the fatalities steadily dropping.
In the state of Georgia, total fatalities involving all types of vehicles dropped by 14% and alcohol-related fatalities fro all types dropped by 18%.
If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a trucking accident, please contact us today. Your initial consultation is free, and we work on a contingency fee basis so you don’t pay unless you get paid.
