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Trucking Accidents

Should Shippers Share Blame in Trucking Accidents?
08/30/2010 8:05 AM

Whenever someone is injured on the highway and a truck is involved often the driver shoulders the lions share of the blame or the owner of the truck. 

But what about the shipper? Should it bear any responsibility in cases involving an unsafe piece of equipment or unqualified driver?

Carriers who insist highway safety needs to be a systematic effort from the entire supply chain would say "yes."

"Where is the due diligence on the part of the shippers to make sure that these people are running equipment that is safe?" asks Claude Robert of Robert Transport.

Mark Seymour of Kriska Transport says that as long as their product gets to market, many shippers aren't interested in what their transport providers are doing. "They're in survival mode right now so the mandate from their corporate is to get it done as cost effectively as possible."

Truckers often bear the lowest hanging settlement in trucking accident cases.
Legally, however, shippers and logistics companies would do well not to turn a blind eye.

Suing the shipper for a truck accident isn't unheard of. It is uncommon, though.

Attorneys would have to show that a shipper who continuously uses bad carriers "knows or ought to know" the carrier is not following the rules.

"I don't think it would be enough to say that a shipper is liable because they use a company with a bad record," says one attorney. "But if I can prove that they know or reasonably ought to know [the carrier] cuts corners because that's how they do it so cheap, then I could see potential for flow-through [liability]."

What a company "ought to know" about the competency of its service providers is, of course, up to lawyers to prove and judges to decide.

That shouldn't be a risk any shipper would want to take.

Still, many logistics companies fail to make a connection or bear any responsibility for safety on the highways -- at least not until something significant occurs and the spotlight turns on them too.

"It's an enigma," says Frank Gentile of Titan Cartage. "You expect to have to best service, but yet you hire the cheapest carrier. And when you're wife and kids are out driving on the highway you don't want them to be in jeopardy, right? You don't often relate it, unfortunately."

Posted by The Ammons Law Firm

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Congress Considering Making Black Boxes Mandatory in New Vehicles
08/23/2010 7:36 AM

The U.S. Congress is currently debating whether to require all car manufacturers to include Event Data Recorders, more commonly known as "black boxes," as standard safety features in all vehicles. Several automobile makers began installing black boxes as standard features in 2005, but they are not mandatory and are not regulated. While black boxes can be helpful tools in accident forensics, they are still surrounded by controversy because of the skill needed to interpret the recorded data and possible motorist privacy violations.

Motor Vehicle Safety Act

The Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2010 was introduced to the Senate in May of this year and was referred to the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee in June, where it currently resides. The bill aims to impose additional motor vehicle safety standards and penalties on car manufacturers, including requiring black boxes and standardizing how much data they record. The bill could also make vehicle safety hazards and defects more readily available to the public through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) .

Posted by The Ammons Law Firm

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Crackdown on Truck Safety
08/03/2010 7:51 AM

The N.C. Highway Patrol launched a program Tuesday morning to crack down on safety compliance by tractor-trailer drivers on the state's highways.

Operation Road Watch is a 48-hour program, scheduled through Thursday morning in Iredell County, the Highway Patrol says.

Troopers launched the effort at 6 a.m. Tuesday on Interstate 77, but they said authorities will be checking on trucks on other roads, too. The Highway Patrol says it plans to take the program to other counties later this year.

The goal is to reduce collisions involving the big trucks and other vehicles, troopers say.

The inspections will focus on several areas:

-- Aggressive driving around commercial motor vehicles

-- Unsecured load violations

-- Hazardous materials being taken across state lines

-- Motor carrier fuel violations

Posted by The Ammons Law Firm

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US Truck Safety Check Figures Announced
07/30/2010 9:47 AM

US - CANADA - MEXICO - Results from the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's (CVSA) Roadcheck 2010 are a reliable indicator as to the attitude of truck and bus drivers and operators and the figures show that the industry is maintaining the state of health it achieved last year when the statistics showed record low ‘out-of-service' rates. The roadside checks are similar to those undertaken by VOSA in the UK. The CVSA is an international not-for-profit organization comprised of local, state, provincial, territorial, and federal motor carrier safety officials and industry representatives from the United States, Canada, and Mexico dedicated to promoting commercial vehicle safety.

Drivers are pulled over and asked to show their commercial driver's license, medical examiner's certificate, and record of duty status. These questions are asked in an effort to reduct the incidences of trucking accidents . Continuing resistance to a technological upgrade to the tachograph system common in Europe means the driver must keep his log book complete. The vehicles Brakes, tires, lights, and major components and general condition are then thoroughly examined. The CVSA sponsors Roadcheck each year with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA), Transport Canada, and the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (Mexico) and is supported by organisations such as the American Trucking Associations (ATA).

During the 72-hour inspection blitz, which took place from Canada to Mexico from June 8-10, 2010, drivers were stopped and this year Roadcheck achieved a stop rate of 15 trucks or buses inspected, on average, every minute, as roadside inspectors focused on the North American Standard (NAS) Level I inspection, safety belt enforcement, and motorcoach inspections. More than 9,856 CVSA -certified inspectors at 2,482 locations across North America performed 65,327 truck and bus inspections. Of that total, there were 48,970 NAS Level I inspections, the most comprehensive roadside inspection. Inspections are additional to the roadside examinations which routinely occur throughout the year but provide a concise and accurate model of how the industry is performing at a given point in time.

"The number of CMV inspections is an indicator that, even in these continued tough economic times, state, provincial, local and federal agencies are committed to enforcing truck and bus safety standards ," said CVSA's Interim Executive Director Stephen A. Keppler. "Roadside enforcement remains committed to this critically important role in saving lives on North America's highways and helping to provide all travellers a safe and secure place to travel."

Data from 2010 against last year show the overall vehicle compliance rate at 80% down 0.4% with an overall driver compliance rate of 95.6% (unchanged from last year). For NAS Level I inspections, the compliance rates were 76.7% (down 1.1%) for vehicles and 96.3% (up 0.2%) for drivers. In addition there were 1,159 safety belt violations, 189 more than there were last year (up 19.5%). Hazardous materials inspections compliance was up 0.7% for vehicles at 83.7% and for drivers up 0.5% to 97.5%. There were 26,605 CVSA decals issued to vehicles that passed the inspection, which was down from the number issued in 2009 (29,972).

"Brake-related defects continue to account for half of all out-of-service violations," said CVSA Region V (Canada) President Steve Callahan. "As such, we strongly encourage governments, industry associations, owner-operators, motor carriers and drivers alike to take an active part in the upcoming 2010 Brake Safety Week, September 12-18. We need all industry players to continue working together to achieve a further sustained drop in the OOS rate in the years ahead."

"Every time an inspector checks the brakes, tires, tie-downs, a driver or other items while conducting an inspection, what's in the back of their minds is this - what I'm doing will save a life. The people who we read about in the news are "our" family members and we are here to protect them," said CVSA's President Buzzy France. "There is no one person, agency or organization that feels we can achieve zero fatalities alone. We need partners to solve this complex problem. All of us have an important role to play."

Posted by Ammons Law Firm

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Trucking Industry Campaign to Curb Distracted Driving Scrapped
07/08/2010 6:05 AM

According to Truckinginfo.com, plans by lobbyist firm the Seward Square Group to counter distracted driving campaigns have been abandoned, according to published reports.

Last week, non-profit publication FairWarning obtained a 10-page presentation by the DRIVE Coalition, Seward's proposed group. The document outlines the group's goal of addressing distracted driving through increased driver education and enforcement, rather than regulations banning mobile technology. DRIVE stands for Drivers for Responsibility, Innovation and Vehicle Education.

"In less than 6 months, a benign debate about teens and texting has morphed into a full-throttle assault on mobile technology," the presentation said. "Auto, tech, and insurance industries, among others, have become collateral damage in this transportation battle. Failure to act will result in a scenario with 51 separate battles, instead of just one where a coalition can lead the debate."

The coalition ceased its efforts after Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood held a press conference Wednesday addressing the group.

"The concept has met its goal of expanding dialogue on distracted driving , therefore the coalition is no longer being pursued," the group told the Washington Post.

In response to FairWarning's initial release of the group's intentions, LaHood said in his blog, "DOT and the safety community will not be stalled by a new effort to rile up corporate America and undermine the achievements of our campaign against distracted driving. Regardless of what a powerful lobbying group has to say, the simple fact is that texting and talking on cell phones behind the wheel is a deadly epidemic."

According to the group's presentation, it was in the process of recruiting manufacturers, wireless providers, car makers, associations, and GPS providers, such as Motorola, Nokia, Apple, Verizon, AT&T, GM, Ford, the Auto Alliance and TomTom, to name a few.

The group also said Jim Hall, former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, would be the face of DRIVE. Hall said the group was misrepresented to him, according to the Post. In fact, he stood with LaHood during the press conference, denouncing their efforts.

"The only effort I'm going to have anything to do with is to support Secretary LaHood and these safety advocates," he said.

"Are you really going to tell Jennifer Smith of Texas, who lost her mother, that states should continue to allow drivers to focus on their cell phones and not on the road in front of them?," LaHood said in his blog. "Well, I won't do that. And real safety advocates won't do that. When it comes to safety, this DOT is holding firm."

Posted by Ammons Law Firm

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New Georgia Driving and Texting Ban Could Spread
07/01/2010 6:27 AM

The Associated Press writes today about a new Georigia state rule banning texting and driving.  Georgia State Patrol troopers will wait until Aug. 1 to crack down on texting drivers as they focus their efforts on educating the public and determining how to enforce the new ban that starts this week.

State Patrol Commanding Officer Maj. Mark McDonough says the department's efforts are going to be "very compassionate" over the next few weeks while troopers and drivers get used to laws that bar adults from texting while driving , ban texting and talking for drivers under 18 and require pickup truck drivers and passengers to wear seat belts.

During a question and answer session on Tuesday, McDonough acknowledged that enforcing the texting ban could be a challenge.

He said, for example, that while the law clearly says teens are not allowed to text or call while driving, determining who is a teenager might not be so easy.

"That would be very difficult for a trooper to just effect a stop based upon a person's age," McDonough said, according to a transcript of the session provided by the State Patrol.

Troopers will not receive specific new training, he added, but will have to be vigilant before making traffic stops for a texting or talking driver who may be distracted and not staying in the proper lane or following too closely.

"If he's wrong, he's going to have to let that person go," McDonough said. "The number one thing we have to have in our job is the ability to observe. Is it impossible? No, but it's going to require the trooper to do some observation in order to develop the reason why he pulls them over."

McDonough says the situation will be more clear-cut for drivers involved in accidents resulting from texting or from pickup truck drivers not wearing seat belts.

Drivers found guilty of violating the laws on texting or talking while driving face a $150 fine and a point added to their driver's license.

The new laws take effect July 1, which marks the beginning of the Fourth of July holiday, a busy travel weekend when traffic enforcement is an increased priority.

McDonough said he thinks the laws are good ones, and that the grace period will be effective. He also said he thinks the state's decision to end the ban on seat belts for pickups could save the lives of 100 people a year who would otherwise die on Georgia roadways.

Georgia was the last state to end the pickup exemption for seat belts. McDonough said about 20 percent of fatal vehicle accidents occur in pickup trucks statewide each year, and that in those circumstances, 75 percent of the time people are not wearing seat belts.

Two dozen other states have passed bans on texting while driving.

In Georgia, the adult law is named for Caleb Sorohan, a Morgan County college freshman who was killed in a head-on collision last year because he was texting while driving. The family of the 18-year-old has pushed state lawmakers to pass the texting ban since his death in December.

The Illinois-based National Safety Council estimates that 28 percent of crashes - or 1.6 million annually - are caused by drivers talking or texting on cell phones.

The push to address such dangerous driving practices has garnered the attention of celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and organizations like the United Nations. Both launched campaigns to discourage drivers from using cell phones while behind the wheel.

Amy Stracke, a spokeswoman with AAA Auto Club South based in Tampa, Fla., said the law will mainly work as a deterrent.

"Most people are law-abiding citizens, so if there is a law on the books, most people are going to abide by that law," Stracke said. She added that the law is enforceable and that educating drivers will be key. "There's not a lot of history on it, but these laws have been shown to reduce the amount of texting that's done behind the wheel."

Posted by Ammons Law Firm

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Trucking Safety Plan Brings Praise, Concern
06/25/2010 6:31 AM

Fleetowner.com has a very informative article today about a new plan designed to standardize safety and reduce trucking accidents for long haul truckers, but it is drawing some criticism as well as praise.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) revealed its roll -out plan to Congress this week for its revamped safety scoring process for the trucking industry called Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 (CSA 2010). While the new program drew praise from truckers and safety experts, concerns were also expressed-- namely over the data collection and analysis portion of the new rules.

The new Carrier Safety Measurement System (CSMS) will replace the current safety scoring system, SAFESTAT, and will measure carriers more thoroughly through the use of all safety violation data, weighted by crash risk.

"CSMS will give our investigators a more robust tool to use in identifying high risk carriers for review," Ferro stressed. "It also will be the basis for the selection system roadside enforcement officers will use to focus their roadside inspections."

With regard to process, CSA 2010 introduces a new strategy known as the "intervention," and frames it at four levels: comprehensive on-site reviews (much like today's compliance review); focused on-site investigations; off-site investigations; and warning letters.

"Through a mix of these interventions, combined with roadside activity, we will increase the number of carriers we "touch" and catch unsafe behaviors before it leads to a crash," Ferro said.

Finally, for maximum effect, Ferro said CSA 2010 will be grounded on a new piece of regulation, known as the Safety Fitness Determination Rule.

"This rule will decouple the carrier safety rating from today's on-site compliance review [and] will enable FMCSA to propose carrier safety ratings through the CSMS, thereby increasing the number of carriers we rate annually ten-fold," Ferro explained.

The notice for proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for this new regulation is expected in early 2011 and Ferro noted that much of CSA won't be fully active until next year..

"The roll-out for CSA 2010 officially began in April this year with the launch of the data preview, with the actual CSMS system to be previewed in late August, followed by full view to the public at the end of the year," she said. "Remaining components - warning letters, the NPRM, intervention process and more - will continue to the end of fiscal year 2011."

By that time, CSA 2010 will be known only by its initials "CSA," which will stand for "Compliance, Safety, Accountability," Ferro added.

While the American Trucking Assns. (ATA) said it supports CSA 2010's overall objectives, it contends that there are major "flaws" relating to how the new program will actually work . These flaws could harm safe carriers while allowing unsafe ones to continue operating, stressed Keith Klein, executive vp & COO of truckload carrier Transportation Corporation of America, testifying on behalf of ATA.

To avoid these consequences, Klein said that FMCSA should delay the implementation of CSA 2010 until the agency gets a chance to review an evaluation study of the program currently underway by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.

In particular, ATA has three major concerns: Crash accountability or "causation" determinations should be made on truck-involved crashes before entering them into a carrier's record so drivers and carriers are held accountable only for crashes they cause; vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and not number of trucks or power units should be used as a carrier's "exposure measure"; and the agency should focus on using only actual citations for moving violations, not un-adjudicated "warnings" issued by law enforcement.

Klein said that in addition to those issues, ATA is also concerned about how the severity weights for violations are assigned; measuring carriers based on violations committed by drivers who have since been terminated; measuring carriers based on citations that have been dismissed in a court of law; inequitable measurement of open deck or flatbed carriers; overly broad peer groups; and inconsistent state enforcement practices.

"A system that is based on inconsistent data and a flawed scoring methodology will not achieve its objectives," Klein stressed. "Instead, it will create inequities for some safe carriers and inappropriately allow some unsafe carriers to avoid scrutiny and consequences."

Industry observers also caution fleet owners and others to expect glitches to crop up in the CSA 2010 process as it gets rolled out. "With a program of this size and scope there are bound to be some bumps along the way," said Stephen Keppler, interim executive director of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA).

Posted by Ammons Law Firm

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