Diesel fuel prices have soared, reaching an all time high recently according to the Department of Energy. What impact will this have on trucking companies? Quite a lot actually.

As prices rise smaller shippers, who cant pass on fuel costs in "fuel surcharges" like the bigger companies, start looking at ways to save money. The first to go is generally safety related training and that is followed by deferring maintenance as long as possible. Parts and tires that would usually be replaced are given a "few more runs" before they are replaced. Frequently this results in the part breaking, having been used past its breaking point. When this happens, and safety is ignored, accidents happen.

Your lawyer should immediately focus on maintenance issues when you have him involved in a case. A collision could well have been prevented if a trucking companies proper maintenance cycle had been followed. Let me add many of my clients are careful truck drivers who have been harmed by drivers who don’t care, or are so poorly trained, that they fail to recognize the danger they are in on the road.

Drivers need to pay extra attention to pre and post trip inspections (DVIRs) during these times as some trucking companies are really placing their own drivers, in addition to the motoring public, at great risk.