Entry-level truck drivers with commercial licensing requirements will face significant changes to training rules and regulations in 2020. New Commercial Driver Rules According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association (FMCSA), new rules will soon apply to entry-level commercial truck drivers. On February 7, 2020, new national training standards will apply to all entry-level driver [...]
There are no national standards for training new semi-truck drivers. Here's why that's a problem. Several years ago, I represented Angelah, a young girl with a mild traumatic brain injury. She had been in a terrible crash. Her mother was driving. The afternoon was rainy, and the road was wet. A truck driver failed to [...]
Logging trucks traveling on our highways and public roadways are a common site in the Pacific Northwest. They are generally traveling with a full load of logs. A fully loaded logging truck must be operated by a skilled and trained driver. Defensive driving practices must be used and road and weather conditions must be [...]
In 2008, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), there were over 4,000 deaths caused by accidents involving large trucks. Most of the deaths, approximately 2,760 were passenger vehicle occupants. Commons causes of large truck accidents include: *Speeding *Overloaded Trucks and Trailers * Sleep deprivation * Inadequte training * Failure to have a [...]
Motor carriers are supposed to train their drivers. That training should provide the appropriate skills and knowledge which would allow them to avoid preventable a crash— which they call a "preventable accident." In the trucking industry, a "preventable accident" is a crash or collision in which a truck driver or motor carrier failed to act in [...]
Recently, I was driving on I-5 in the Pacific Northwest. As is usual for this time of the year, it was raining, and the road was slick. The sky was gray with clouds. Time and time again, big rigs would come up behind my vehicle at high speed, then race past me, spraying water. I was [...]
