Wednesday, January 28, 2015

The Dangers of Drug and Alcohol abuse by truck drivers?

A commercial truck poses a greater threat to the smaller vehicles on the road. But a drugged or drunken truck driver can increase this threat manifold and an incapacitated truck driver’s actions may result in lost lives, injuries, and emotional and financial damage.

Drug use by a truck driver if proven and evidenced by a truck accident injury lawyer can be strong evidence of negligence in a trucking lawsuit against the company.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) enforces rules for road safety in the United States. It includes rules regarding drug and alcohol use for truck drivers. Every driver has to follow these rules and regulations.

Operators of the commercial motor vehicles (CMV), including bus and trucks require commercial driver's license (CDL). Every driver with a CDL license needs to be tested for alcohol and drug use, whether they work for full-time, part-time, intermittent or as a backup.

This test is known as the Department of Transportation or DOT test. In this test, an individual is tested for five types of drugs, which are Amphetamines, Methamphetamines, Cocaine, Marijuana, Opiates, and Phencyclidine, also known as PCP.

Testing is done

Before hiring
– Before hiring and allowing a driver to drive Commercial Vehicles, an employer must check for a negative test result.

On suspicion – An individual might be tested if employer is suspicious about him. CDL operator supervisors are trained to find suspicious behavior of employees in a trucking company. However, their suspicion should be reasonable so that it does not violate an employee’s rights.

After accidents – After a truck accident, a driver may be tested for drug or alcohol use. However, it depends on several conditions related to accident. One would think that this testing should be done automatically to rule out any suspicion.

Randomly
– Drivers can be randomly tested for drug and alcohol use. This rule also applies to those who work for themselves without an employer.

After return to duty – If a driver fails to qualify or refuse DOT test, then he must be stopped from operating a CMV vehicle immediately. If this individual wants to return to duty then he must qualify this test first. Individuals, who violated the prohibitions of 49 CFR Part 382 Subpart B also fall under this category.

They need to complete their return to duty procedure with a DOT-qualified substance abuse professional. Return to duty individual who qualify all the rules and regulations also need to be tested at least six times in 12 months. This period can be extended for four more years.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Why some trucking companies are still using arguably unsafe braking technology?

Air disc brakes provide many safety benefits over drum brakes. Some of the primary usages of disc brakes includes shorter stopping distances, improved brake life and reduced maintenance costs.

According to a popular magazine statement, it was estimated that majority of the heavy truck buyers in US are still purchasing vehicles with less safe brakes. The reason behind this is generally more profits even though the air brakes are becoming more cost effective.

Some buyers do not understand that disc brakes may be expensive in terms of the upfront cost, but in the durability aspect, they are very cost effective.

In regard to this, motor carriers deny and say that this braking system increase around 100 pounds per axle that reduces turnover. Nonetheless, in their strong desire to enjoy lucrative profits, they have failed to understand the importance of avoiding terrible trucking accidents that occur every day.

Trucking companies and buyers need to think about innocent motorists that share the roadways with 18-wheelers and become victim of painful accidents. Victims of these truck related injuries should speak with a truck accident attorney to have their case evaluated and to find out if the causes behind the incident are negligence of the trucking companies or their drivers and with a trucking lawsuit the company can be held accountable.

These professionals use their years of experience in the industry to reveal many hidden aspects of the incidents that may change the entire direction of your case.

Everyone should understand that there are no circumstances when importance of profits can be justified over safety and lives of other people on the road. Everyone’s safety should be the top priority.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

How Lawyers Use Black Box As Evidence in Truck Accident Cases?

Due to the increase in the number of truck accidents, the commercial trucking industry started to implement the use of black boxes to strengthen the safety aspect. Black Boxes are prominently discussed in the context of airplane accidents, and most recently the retrieval in the latest AirAsia air plane disaster and before that the hunt for the black box in the Malaysia air disaster mystery. The thought is that retrieval of the box will be instrumental in determining what occurred. But did you know certain trucks have a black box?

This monitoring system is used in the commercial vehicles right throughout the nation. It is also known as electronic log system. It is the key source of information about the journey of vehicles and other useful details that can significantly help in resolving accident cases.  The thought process behind the recording of useful information, is that if the company and driver and cognizant that there is a black box, they will drive more safely and encourage safer driving since the data about any accident will be electronically recorded.  Conversely, if the company encourages safe driving, the data will vindicate the driver and the company in the event of a catastrophic accident or trucking fatality where the driver is not at fault. 

Lawyers that focus in handling truck accident cases petition the court to download the data from the black box as quickly as possible. This information can play a significant role in the outcomes of a trucking accident case.

To prevent any kind of tampering with the information, the truck accident attorney or their designee should be present while the data is downloading.

Many trucking companies may refuse to preserve the data due to a number of reasons. However, that too can be used against them. In such situations, lawyers can request for an Court order to ensure that the box and the data are preserved until inspection.
Lawyers may use this evidence in different ways. While some use it during the driver statement, others use it to impeach the testimony. 

Importance of black boxes
  • Black boxes are used to track issues associated with vehicle repairs. It can also be used to track driver’s performance, which includes issues such as speed control and use of sudden breaks.
  • It also contains e-mail exchanges between drivers and trucking company that could lead your truck accident attorney to discover possible issues such as tired driver, mechanical issues, etc.
  • Data that can be achieved from these boxes will differ on its model. Most of the times, these electronic systems includes valuable information such as rigid braking, clutch engagement, etc.

In the nutshell, it is the responsibility of the lawyers to determine how they will use this evidence after considering the facts and circumstances of the accident.