Category: Laws

Laws in several states permit the sale and use of recreational marijuana. In another 31 states and Washington D.C., laws allow for medical marijuana. Oregon, Washington, and Colorado—the first states to legalize recreational marijuana—have had a 5.2% overall increase in crashes, according to an IIHS study. We are only beginning to understand the effect that marijuana...

It is undisputed: there is a commercial truck driver shortage across the U.S. The Trump administration is pushing forward on a pilot program that would allow people as young as 18 years old to drive commercial trucks. The pilot program will train young people with military experience; it is laying the groundwork for lowering the minimum age...

Truckers and other commercial vehicle drivers are required by law to keep track of the number of hours they spend behind the wheel. Some drivers still use paper logs to record these metrics. After years of study, the FMCSA is requiring commercial truck drivers to switch from paper logs to an Electronic Logging Device (ELD), a computer record...

Most city streets, with tight intersections and multiple stoplights, were not designed to accommodate tractor-trailer trucks alongside pedestrians and bicyclists. Large trucks have a high, wide gap between the truck’s front and rear tires. This dangerous space is where 50% of the deaths from truck and bicycle collisions occur. A truck side guard is a panel that blocks the dangerous...

Every year, thousands of Americans suffer fatal injuries from truck crashes. Each one of those victims could leave behind dozens of family members, friends, co-workers and neighbors who are affected by a preventable tragedy. This week, the Truck Safety Coalition hosted a Sorrow to Strength conference. Truck crash survivors, and the families and friends of those killed...

Late on Friday, Senator Cory Booker introduced The Truck Safety Act (S. 1739). The bill would update Reagan-era insurance minimums; pay truckers for their time instead of their mileage; and, make commercial trucks use some of the same safety technology as passenger cars. Fixing the minimum amount of insurance for trucks The minimum amount of insurance...

In June, the US House of Representatives passed a transportation bill – HR 2577– with a strange provision: it stops the Department of Transportation from updating minimum trucking insurance requirements. Commercial truck insurance minimums haven’t changed in 30 years. The federal government sets a “floor”: a minimum amount of insurance coverage commercial trucks must carry. There...

The trucking industry is getting a holiday bonus from the U.S. Congress. The federal spending bill just passed for 2015 includes a provision that will undo many of the trucking safety rule  changes the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) implemented last year. The current trucking safety rules—mandating a 30-minute break every 8 hours, and 2...

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 and...