Kansas City, MO Motor Vehicle Accidents Blog

The proposition that smartphones cause distracted driving is not controversial. Texting while driving has been linked to many serious car accidents in the Kansas City area and across the country. Texting drivers are routinely held liable for negligent or reckless driving and have to pay the damages arising out of the car crashes that they case. But what about text senders?

One New Jersey judge will decide this month whether the sender of a text message can be held liable for an ensuing car accident.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration recently withdrew an announcement that it would adopt the sleep apnea testing recommendations of two federal safety advisory panels. The advisory panels recommended the testing in obese truckers to help reduce the number of fatigued driving truck accidents.

Sleep apnea is a condition that only worsens the fatigued driving issues that many truckers already face. Truckers are known to work for long hours and many trucking companies shirk mandatory rest requirements in order to boost profits. Even truckers who try to take rest breaks find it difficult to park their big rigs in areas where they can rest while undisturbed.

A proposed new federal regulation - 49 CFR 385.306 - could have a significant impact on the trucking industry and the motoring public, especially those who have been injured in a trucking accident.

It is relatively easy to start up a business in the trucking industry. It's also easy to shut a company down and then to reopen it under a new name and DOT number. This is one way that unscrupulous trucking company owners evade responsibility and hide bad safety records. It makes it difficult for injured people to pursue justice and compensation.

There are currently four identification and registrations systems. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) proposes to create a unified registration system that requires an applicant registering a new business to disclose related companies and individuals. Any safety violations and outstanding orders to cease operation found against those related companies will be linked to the new company in the FMCSA database.

In the wake of several horrible accidents, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is recommending that all 50 states and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) ban truckers and other commercial drivers from using cell phones while operating vehicles, including hands-free devices.

NTSB is a federal agency charged with investigating highway accidents and promoting highway safety, but it cannot create law and it does not have the power to change current laws. The NTSB gathers information on highway safety and recommends safety enhancements to the federal government and to state legislatures.

NTSB's proposal encourages states and the FMCSA to ban cell phone use for trucks and all other commercial drivers. This ban would include the use of hands-free devices, texting and other cell phone messaging functions. NTSB's proposal comes in the wake of a major investigation it completed into a multiple-fatality trucking crash in which a trucker was using his cell phone when he caused the deadly truck accident.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is charged with regulating commercial vehicles on U.S. roads and highways. Over the past several months, the FMCSA has proposed a number of new rules that affect the trucking industry, including new guidelines on hours-of-service (HOS) - the number of hours any commercial trucker can be behind the wheel without a required rest break. While many have welcomed the federal agency's recommendations, the trucking industry may have finally drawn a clear line in the sand.

On September 2, 2011, the American Trucking Associations sent a letter to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget. In its letter, the ATA applauded the federal government's efforts and successes in promoting highway safety, but noted that current proposals - most specifically those related to HOS - would be detrimental to the nation's commercial carrier drivers and to the trucking industry as a whole.

The ATA reports that finalizing the proposed change in required duty hours would result in lost wages for drivers, lost productivity, and increased costs to the industry. In support of its request, the trucking industry leader noted that under current rules, American roadways are safer and that compliance with current rules is a contributing factor.

Lawmakers in both houses introduced bills this spring that would put much larger commercial vehicles on our nation's roads and highways. The legislation, known as the Safe and Efficient Transportation Act, was proposed in the U.S. Senate as Senate Bill 747. Similar legislation was introduced in the U.S. House as House Resolution 763.

We discussed this bill in our blog in May, and, according to the most recent information on the website of the Library of Congress, it is still awaiting action by committees in both chambers of Congress. The bills aims to allow states to permit trucks of up to 97,000 pounds and a total of six axles to travel within the state on federal highways.

Currently, commercial vehicles loads are not permitted to exceed 80,000 pounds for trucks travelling on federal highways.

Technology is rapidly transforming our world. Hospitals now propose smart programs that will help diagnose illness and treatment for patients. Smartphones offer GPS, scheduling and web surfing options. Smart cars can navigate and park themselves. Now, the commercial carrier industry is about to experience the same sea change in safety protocols. On September 14, 2011, Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems and Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake LLC, offered our nation's lawmakers a demonstration of a line of advanced safety and fuel-saving technologies.

Bendix develops and supplies various safety technologies for medium and heavy duty trucks, tractors, trailers, buses, and other commercial vehicles.This past September, the company offered its newest line of products, which mitigate loss of control, rollover accidents, and rear-end collisions. Among the Bendix offerings are a full-stability system, an active cruise with braking system, a lane departure warning system, a vision base alert system, and a data collection method for driver performance.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently prepared fact sheets on large truck traffic safety for 2009 and it's clear from the statistics that large-truck rear-end collisions and truck under-rides are a serious concern. According to NHTSA's research, large trucks have a 400-percent higher risk of being struck in a fatal rear-end collision that involves another vehicle. While the dangers to both the passenger driver and the trucker are obvious, the occupants of a motor vehicle that strikes a tractor-trailer in the rear are serious.

A truck underride accident occurs when part of one vehicle is forced under another vehicle involved in the accident. Because the vehicle that underrides another vehicle, such as a tractor trailer or large commercial vehicle, can be crushed or sheared, occupants in the vehicle face significant risk of injury. Older research indicates that the Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS) run by NHTSA may significantly underestimate the number of underride accidents involving large trucks and passenger vehicles.

A bill has been proposed that, if passed, would allow states to increase large trucks' maximum weight limit from the current limit of 80,000 lbs to 97,000 lbs. The trucking industry is divided over the controversial bill, which would increase productivity but decrease highway safety and stiffen competition between trucking companies.

The bill, sponsored by Congressman Mike Michaud, D-Maine, would require truckers who opt to haul the heavier loads to install an extra axle and extra braking mechanism to their rig.

In December, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), proposed a revision to the hours-of-service (HOS) requirement currently in effect for commercial truck drivers. The proposed change would reduce the number of hours commercial drivers are allowed to drive in certain circumstances.