Truck lawyer says motor carriers must do more to alert truckers about new law
I was quoted in a Grand Rapids Press article last week written by Zane McMillin, about how many West Michigan truck drivers – and their motor carrier employers – are completely unaware of the new cell phone ban for commercial truckers.
This week, I’ll be speaking to truck accident attorneys from across the country at the National Trial Lawyers Summit in Florida.
The primary focus of the seminar will be on all things trucking, from how to get better and faster settlements for people hurt in a truck accident, to tips on truck accident lawsuits, as well as how to best protect victims of truck accidents. There will be a number of tips for lawyers on managing their time and legal practices to be able to handle a catastrophic death or serious truck accident injury lawsuit, which can be large, complicated and very expensive.
Michigan truck attorney says truck accident injuries and deaths rise for the first time in four years
Last year, truck accident fatalities in U.S. highway crashes increased 8.7 percent in 2010. This is the first increase in four years, according to the annual report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
As a truck attorney, former president of the American Association for Justice truck accident lawyer litigation group and current president of the Motor Vehicle Trial Lawyers Association, this statistic sadly doesn’t surprise me. I know that truck companies are pushing the boundaries now more than ever before. This can be anything from pushing their truck drivers to drive past regulated hours, rushing the pre-trip inspection, or turning a blind eye to truck drivers who have caused accidents in other states and hiring them because they cost less to employ.
Here’s the eleventh video in my series of 13 videos for truck accident attorneys from a past American Association for Justice seminar for truck accident attorneys from around the nation. In this latest video clip, I discuss how any truck accident attorney must help a jury understand how serious it is when bad truckers falsify log books after they’ve caused an injury from a truck crash. Jurors and insurance companies have to understand that falsifying log books is just as serious as lying under oath.
Michigan truck accident lawyer: truckers talking on cell phones while driving commercial vehicles now illegal
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) set January 3, 2012 as the effective date of the new hand-held cell phone ban for commercial truck drivers and bus drivers.
That means as of today, any cell phone use behind the wheel by drivers of commercial vehicles is prohibited and against the law.
Truck accident attorney says in Michigan, it’s likely worse
I had a friend and truck accident attorney from Texas send me an article from the Houston Chronicle about unsafe trucks. It said that Texas inspectors pulled one out of five commercial vehicles — including tractor-trailers and buses — off the road this year because they were unsafe.
The Department of Public Safety in Texas reported that of 331,505 commercial vehicles inspected since Jan. 1, 2011, a total of 66,189 trucks and buses were deemed unsafe. Inspectors also removed 12,301 commercial drivers from the road for safety violations.
Michigan trucker’s driving record shows 40 license suspensions, 5 drug crimes, 2 drunk drivings and 1 operating while impaired
From time to time, I’m going to put some of the really egregious driving records I see online. I’m doing this because I’m tired of seeing how dangerous truckers repeatedly get jobs in Michigan - jobs that they couldn’t get in other states that have punitive damages - and then go on to kill or seriously injure people.
Punitive damages acts as a deterrent. Punitive damages are additional monetary damages awarded to a personal injury victim when the defendant (trucking companies in this case) acted with recklessness, malice or deceit.
Tom wrote in: “I am fat. I have severe obstructive sleep apnea, I also sleep using a CPAP machine. I am also a diabetic and with high blood pressure.”
But Tom also went on to blame poor driving decisions that motorists make around trucks as the real cause of many truck accidents (more on that in a moment).
Truck accident attorney discusses distracted driving among truckers
There’s a new regulation specifically prohibiting interstate truckers and bus drivers from using hand-held cell phones while operating their vehicles. Lawyers who handle truck accident cases should take notice.
The joint rule is from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), and it’s the latest action by the U.S. Department of Transportation to end distracted driving.
Here’s the tenth of my series of 13 videos for truck accident lawyers. This one is from a past American Association for Justice seminar for truck attorneys. I’m explaining how a lawyer should properly put the onus on the trucking company when a truck driver causes a serious truck crash.
The takeaway: According to Rule 49 CFR § 390.13, no person shall said, abet, encourage or require a motor carrier or its employees to violate Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations. This means trucking company management cannot pressure truck drivers to speed, drive past hours or break any of the FMCSA rules whatsoever.
