Knowing Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations Is Not just the truck accident lawyer’s job
Rule 12 of “Big 10 Rules of the Road”
- Presented by: Steven M. Gursten
- Description: This is the last in a series of 13 videos for truck accident lawyers, on handling truck accident cases. In this video, truck accident lawyer Steve Gursten shares Rule 12 of his “Big 10 Rules of the Road” during the American Association for Justice Interstate Truck Litigation Group conference. Rule 12 stresses that truck accident lawyers must hold truckers, motor carriers and truck company safety directors accountable for knowing the law following a serious crash.
- Length: 2 minutes, 25 seconds.
Video Transcript:
Slide: FMCSA reg knowledge is everyone’s responsibility!
A. It’s not simply the truck company safety department’s problem
B. Everyone within the transport company must have knowledge and comply with regulations
C. This is not only the safety director’s responsibility
Bonus, if you’ve heard of the rumors the Big 10 may be expanding this year… So I decided as the bonus rule, rule 12, my favorite rule. The takeaway, this is 392.1, and the takeaway I would suggest from this rule is everyone’s responsibility. They cannot say that they didn’t know or that it’s someone else’s job. Under this rule, safety is everyone’s job. It’s everyone’s responsibility, and everyone is responsible under this rule, for complying with mandatory truck driver laws and regulations. The takeaway for all of you should be this: You should never ever take another deposition where the truck driver says, “I didn’t know,” or, “It wasn’t my job. It was safety’s job.” No way. Under this rule, it is their job. Under this rule, safety is everyone’s job at that company, and this is how you get to it. It’s a good rule to end on, because I want to thank everyone in this room, because I think we are doing a very important job. Safety is everyone’s job including ours. And the people in this room today, you are helping to save lives. There are some very, very bad truck drivers out there. There are some very, very bad motor carriers out there. They know full well what they should be doing. And they choose not to. And the (truck accident lawyers) in this room are saving lives. And you are working to make our roads safer, and to protect our families, and I thank you.
How our truck accident lawyers can help you
If you’re a lawyer and you need help with your truck accident litigation, visit our online guide, Help for attorneys handling trucking accident cases. For more information, here’s a blog on why it’s important for everyone to know the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Rules.
If you’ve been in a truck crash, call (800) 968-1001 to speak with one of our truck accident attorneys today. The call and the advice are free, and we’re here to answer all of your questions.