It’s illegal. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has a blanket ban on commercial drivers using a hand-held cellular phone or texting while driving. It’s unsafe. Truck drivers are 23x more likely to crash if they are texting. And a number of trucking carriers claim that texting and driving is grounds for a driver’s immediate [...]
About half of the deaths from semi-truck accidents crashes involve an underride collision. When a passenger vehicle is pushed under a semi truck, the top of the car is crushed and the passengers are injured and often killed by striking the underneath parts of a trailer. Crash tests from IIHS show the need for new [...]
It’s a horrible—but common—story about a truck crash. A tractor-trailer transporting goods for Walmart rear-ended a limo bus on a highway. Law enforcement's investigation shows that the truck driver had not slept for 24 hours prior to the crash, and that he failed to pay proper attention as he approached stopped traffic. One passenger was [...]
It’s rare that hiding information helps to solve a problem. This is not an exception. The Safer Trucks and Buses Act, a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Barletta, would remove the trucking carrier safety rankings from public view. Anyone can check a carrier’s safety record on the Federal Motor Carrier [...]
Long hours on the road. Stressful situations. Days away from home. Trucking can be a tough job. It’s not for everyone. 30,000 tractor-trailer drivers are needed across the U.S. right now, the American Trucking Association (ATA) estimates. Another 100,000 will be needed every year for the next decade. Economic growth leads to more goods being shipped [...]
Chameleon carriers are trucking companies that shut down to hide from penalties after multiple safety violations or crashes—and then re-open under a new name. For more, see Chasing the Chameleon. These carriers run some of the most dangerous trucks on the road: 18% of suspected chameleon carriers were in serious truck crashes, according to the [...]
The term “chameleon” refers to one that is subject to quick or frequent change, especially in appearance. Chameleons change in order to hide. Hiding from safety In the trucking industry, The Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) use a DOT number to identify every company that operates semi-trucks. Theses [...]
Just a few days prior to Tracy Morgan’s tragic truck accident, the U.S. Senate had moved to weaken federal hours-of-service truck safety rules aimed at preventing trucker fatigue. Mr. Morgan was seriously injured, and another comedian was killed, after their vehicle was struck by a semi. The truck driver was charged with death by auto [...]
Many truck drivers operate on our highways after long hours behind the wheel without proper rest and sleep. This fact came to the forefront when the popular comedian, Tracy Morgan, was seriously injured in a crash with an 18-wheel tractor-trailer. Walmart employed the driver of the tractor-trailer. It was reported that he had been awake [...]
