FMCSA STATES IT SHOULD REGULATE BROKER's AND SHIPPER's

The FMCSA stated that it wants to be able to regulate shippers and brokers over the next five years. This is a good idea and a long time coming. The FMCSA strategic plan covers the goals from 2011-2016.

Brokers and shippers frequently make drivers carry over-limit loads, or require runs that either force the driver to speed or violate his hours of service limitations. I know we will hear more about this over the next five years. I will be interested to see the shipper and broker response as the American Trucking Association (ATA) supports the effort. Did you get that? The ATA and I agree on a safety issue!

Roadcheck 2011 Results

So what was good and bad about Raodcheck 2011?  The following Chart of Violations tells the story: 

 

Tennessee Truck Accident Lawyer Elected to National Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Board

One of the most common injuries for survivors of a truck accident is a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). These are actually traumatic brain damage cases because people don't get well from these injuries. As a result of handling large numbers of these cases for clients I have developed a sub-specialty in the area of TBI. Recently my hard work paid off and I was elected to the Board of the American Association for Justice's Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group (TBILG). This is the largest group of lawyers in the country representing those injured through the negligence of others. I look forward to helping other lawyers across the country handle these cases.

Some facts have become apparent in these cases : 

  1. ER doctors don't focus on TBI injuries because they wont kill you immediately, and that is all the ER doc is concerned about.
  2. In Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI) cases family members are in the best spot to determine the extent of the injury and the changes to the victim.
  3. A loss of consciousness is not needed in order for a TBI to occur

I highly recommend that anyone that believes they, or a loved one, has a MTBI or a TBI, review the government's Center for Disease Control website and publications on TBI's. The government website can be found HERE.

 

NATIONAL TRUCK LAWYERS PROGRAM IN NEW YORK CITY

Last week I moderated the morning session of the national conference for the American Association for Justice's Trucking Litigation Group. This is a group of truck accident attorneys from around the country, as well as lawyers who are learning how to handle their first truck accident cases. This is the sort of continuing legal education you want your lawyer to have if they are going to handle your  trucking case. See my prior post on "how to hire a great truck accident lawyer"

The litigation group’s mission is to educate and prepare lawyers on how to handle truck accident lawsuits and to work with safety authorities on the national and state level to make trucks safer on the roads and to reduce the number of truck wrecks. I am a past  president of the trucking litigation group.

 

The program this year was terrific.  Some of the topics that were covered include:

•    Introduction for lawyers to truck accident cases
•    Teaching jurors the dangers of trucks
•    The opening statement in a truck accident lawsuit
•    Using the special rules and regulations governing the trucking industry  in  depositions
•    Preparing the truck accident case for trial
•    Closing arguments in a trucking case.

This conference was in New York and is part of the American Association for Justice summer convention. I enjoyed helping my fellow injury attorneys better understand how to represent and protect their clients, and in particular the truck accident victims who have been harmed by negligent trucking companies.

 

 

1 in 4 Trucks in Texas Unsafe and Shouldn't Be On the Roads!

Roadcheck was in June and results are starting to be reported. So how did Texas do? On an ANNOUNCED inspection OVER 1 in 4 trucks was deemed to be so unsafe they were told to stop operating until they fixed a safety issue. The reported numbers from KMOO can be found HERE . The article stated in part: 

During the 72-hour Roadcheck 2011 program last week, DPS and other Texas law enforcement agencies inspected 7,993 commercial vehicles. Of the vehicles inspected, 26.5 percent were placed out of service for safety violations. (emphasis added)

Is it any wonder that people are scared of 18 wheelers? Given the recent attempts by the Texas legislature to kill more Texans with trucks (see my prior blog on the impact of higher truck speed limits in Texas HERE) Texans have every reason to be scared.

 

OIDA ALMOST GETS IT RIGHT ON MEXICAN TRUCKING

Recently Todd Spencer, vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OIDA) stated "This program [full access to the US of Mexican domiciled trucking companies] will jeopardize the livelihoods of tens of thousands of U.S. based small-business truckers and professional truck drivers and undermine the standard of living for the rest of the driver community."  He failed to add that these trucks will be dangerous and the Mexican truck driver's likely to be more accident prone. It is not just jobs that are going to be lost, it is also going to be lives.

 

On a separate note do we really believe that the problems we have in the US with the www.SAFERSYS.org statistics (which the industry blames on the states poor record keeping) are somehow going to be solved, or bettered by the Mexican counterparts? Does anyone believe Mexican record keeping will be close to being as good as what we have in the US?  And what about records? Will all the driver qualification files be in Spanish? Are American citizens, who have already been injured by Mexican trucks, really going to have to pay to translate every document? This is a bad law!