New Truck Safety Regulations
August 7, 2017
In an effort to improve truck safety and reduce the number of injuries and fatalities that occur on roads and highways across the country, the Trucking Alliance, a leading proponent of safety reforms in the freight transportation industry, is calling for industry-wide support of new truck safety regulations. The freight transportation carriers that are members of the Trucking Alliance support policies that improve the safety and work environment of commercial truck drivers, reduce the incidence and severity of truck accidents, and improve the overall safety for truck drivers and those that share the road with large commercial carriers.
The Trucking Alliance, which is made up of a select number of freight transportation carriers, sent a letter to the Secretary of Transportation, Elaine Chao, calling for industry-wide support for the following five safety regulations:
- Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs): Certified ELDs should be installed in all interstate trucks so that truck drivers’ hours-of-service compliance can be verified.
- Truck Speed Limiters: These will ensure that trucks cannot exceed a maximum speed of 65 mph.
- Hair Testing: This can be used as an alternative to urine testing as part of the Federal Commercial Driver Pre-Employment Drug Testing process.
- Pre-employment screening: Members of the Trucking Alliance suggest that the $10 fee per pre-employment screening report should be renegotiated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association, as it is cost-prohibitive to a number of motor carriers.
- Minimum insurance requirement: The minimum insurance requirement has been $750,000 for motor carriers since the amount was set by Congress in 1980. The Trucking Alliance believes this amount should be increased.
In the letter to the Secretary of Transportation, the Trucking Alliance included some concerning statistics about the trucking industry. For example, in 2015, 4,067 people were killed in traffic accidents involving commercial motor vehicles (CMV), 594 of whom were CMV drivers. In addition to the fatalities, 116,000 victims were injured.
Trucking Alliance Support Road-to-Zero Initiative
The National Safety Council partnered with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to support the Road-to-Zero initiative to completely eliminate all traffic fatalities within the next 30 years. The Trucking Alliance believes that the trucking industry should no longer tolerate the number of fatal wrecks that occur. By supporting the Road-to-Zero initiative, they hope to fully eliminate large truck accidents. While this goal may seem unrealistic, the following key principles are the driving force that will help make it possible:
- Most injuries and fatalities caused by traffic accidents are preventable.
- Self-driving cars and the Safe Systems transportation approach advocates for a safe road system, making the possibility of traffic fatalities preventable.
- The combined effort of multiple stakeholders who have a common goal are likely to achieve more than individual organizations acting independently.
Baltimore Truck Accident Lawyers at LeViness, Tolzman & Hamilton Obtain Compensation for Truck Accident Victims
If you or a loved one has been injured in a truck accident involving a large CMV, you are urged to contact the Baltimore truck accident lawyers at LeViness, Tolzman & Hamilton at your earliest convenience. We will ensure that you receive the maximum financial compensation you deserve. For a free consultation, call us today at 800-547-4LAW (4529) or contact us online.
Our offices are located in Baltimore, Columbia, Glen Burnie, and Towson, allowing us to represent truck accident victims in Maryland, including those in Anne Arundel County, Carroll County, Harford County, Howard County, Montgomery County, Maryland’s Western Counties, Southern Maryland, and the Eastern Shore, as well as the communities of Catonsville, Essex, Halethorpe, Middle River, Rosedale, Gwynn Oak, Brooklandville, Dundalk, Pikesville, Nottingham, Windsor Mill, Lutherville, Timonium, Sparrows Point, Ridgewood, and Elkridge.
