THE TRUCKING INDUSTRY AND THE LAW
Introduction
Truck accidents kill more than 5,000 people each year on America's highways. In fact, truck accident related deaths remain high even though other traffic accident deaths have decreased. This dangerous situation is expected to get worse. According to safety advocates, the annual death toll will reach 6,000 by next year. The sheer number of big-rigs on the highway is growing 50% faster than family-driven vehicles. Today, over 7 million trucks travel more than 190 trillion miles on America's highways -- a 135% increase from 1975. Furthermore, there are approximately 500,000 trucking companies operating big-rigs on our highways.¹
Although big-rig travel is up, federal oversight is down. In the random 2 million roadside inspections conducted each year by the Department of Transportation, an astonishing 20% of the trucks are ordered off the road for safety violations and 8% of the drivers are temporarily ordered off the road for falsifying log books or simply because they are considered "unfit" to drive. Furthermore, because the Department of Transportation conducts only 6,500 company safety reviews each year, it would take 55 years to rate the entire industry. Hence, 72% of the trucking companies in this country (approximately 300,000) have never had a safety review! ²
Wrecks caused by big trucks are not mere accidents, but rather the foreseeable, logical, and predictable result of the mass transportation system in this country. Companies routinely hire less than qualified drivers; compensate them based upon the number of miles traveled and the amount of cargo hauled; encourage speeding; and deduct pay whenever the truck is out of service.³ Hence, a sweat shop on wheels has been created on our highways where accidents are going to happen!
Several years ago a study by the Alabama Department of Public Health found that living in Alabama increases your chances of dying in a motor vehicle accident. At that time, although there had been a decrease in the number of motor vehicle fatalities around the country over the past 20 years, the death rate in Alabama for motor vehicle collisions had continued to climb. For instance, in 1997 Alabama's "resident motor vehicle death rate" was over 30 per 100,000 people. The national rate was only 15.8.†
Recently the Truck Safety Coalition stated that more than 100 people a week are killed in large truck crashes in this country. Interestingly enough, according to the Associated Press, Alabama recorded a significant decline in 18-wheeler accidents, dropping from number 3 in the nation in 2004 to 13th in the nation in 2005. More specifically, in the State of Alabama in 2004, there were 10,993 collisions involving tractor-trailer rigs. Two Thousand Nine Hundred Ninety (2,990) people were injured and 169 people were killed. In 2005, the number of big rig collisions in Alabama dropped to 10,547 with 2,824 people being injured and 134 people being killed. Eighteen-wheeler collisions continued to decline in 2006 with the total being 9,810 with 2,588 injuries and 142 fatalities. Furthermore, based on 2006 data from Alabama Traffic Crash Facts, if you are a typical driver in Alabama, there is a 52.60% probability that you will be involved in an injury or fatal crash while driving an automobile in your lifetime. More info on Alabama highway safety, homeland security, judicial management and law enforcement
Lawsuits against trucking companies are more complex than a simple automobile collision. The complexity is caused by state and federal rules which govern, or attempt to govern, the trucking industry. This paper is not intended to be an exhaustive review of the regulations concerning 18-wheel trucks, but rather is to simply introduce you to a brief overview of how one can approach death and serious injury cases involving tractor-trailers.
Overview of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations
Federal Highway Administration Regulations
Recent Statutory Trends and Developments – Fatigue and Hours of Service
Performance Based Exemptions
Requirement That All Trucks Have Electronic Recorders
Overview of Tractor-Trailer Companies – Licensing of Drivers
Employment of Drivers
Statutes Applicable to Owners and Drivers
Alternative Dispute Resolution/Mediation
¹Marianne Lavelle, The Killer Trucks, U. S. News & World Report, September 13, 1999, at 12.
²Id.
&sub3;Kenneth J. Mendelsohn, Preparing The 18-Wheel Truck Case From The Plaintiff's Perspective, Alabama Trial Lawyers Journal, Winter 1994, at 3.
&sub4;Jere L. Beasley Report, April 1, 1999.
