Truck Regulations Designed to Keep People Safe

Truck accidents may only make up a small portion of total accidents on the road, but such is the nature of them they are very much a cause for concern. Truck accident lawyers will know only too well of the horrors which this kind of accent can result in, and that is why legal regulations have been put in place to help increase the safety of trucks on the road. There was a big change in 2012, known as CSA (Compliance, Safety, Accountability) as well as the implementing of the new Hours-of-Service regulations. This is what those regulations seek to improve or eradicate.

Fatigued Drivers

The main reason as to why the FMCSA looked into fatigued drivers was that there had been over 80,000 accidents which were caused by truck drivers who were overworked. The result was a change in the law as to how many hours a truck driver could work in a day. Currently there are no drivers who are allowed to work more than 11 hours in a 24 hour day, and they are not allowed to exceed 55 hours per week.

Vehicle Maintenance

Prior to 2012 there wasn’t a great focus on the quality of vehicle maintenance, at least not from a legal standpoint. This all changed because of the fact that there were so many accidents being caused by poorly maintained vehicles. The responsibility is now very much on the shoulders of trucking companies to meet their standard requirements in order to be complaint.

Cargo Changes

Another common reason for accidents on the road is poorly loaded cargo, which also played a key part in the sweeping changes which were made in 2012. The FMCSA sought to improve the quality of cargo loaded by adding additional layers of checks on the quality of how the cargo is loaded. This helped to minimize overloading of cargo, poorly balanced cargo and unsecured cargo in the trailer, common causes of accidents involving trucks.

Controlled Substances/Alcohol

Whilst it has always been against the law to drive under the influence of a controlled substance or alcohol, it became clear that some truck drivers were still doing so. To attack this the FMCSA took a zero tolerance policy and made changes in the law which would find both the driver responsible, and the trucking company which they were working for. This prompted more companies to look internally at their practices and make their own changes to ensure that they were compliant.

Unsafe Driving

Aggressive driving has resulted in around 5{a73b23072a465f6dd23983c09830ffe2a8245d9af5d9bd9adefc850bb6dffe13} of all truck accidents over the last 6 years, but prior to 2012 this was much higher. The regulations put on place ensured that driver monitoring and performance management were legal practices, and that has since greatly reduced the number of accidents caused from aggressive or unsafe driving.

These regulations are constantly reviewed in order to ensure that the number of truck related accidents each year is reduced.