News of a jury award in a wrongful death lawsuit in Santa Fe, NM, that awarded the family of a crash victim $58.5 million dollars comes as no surprise to me. In essence the jury said that the driver of a tanker truck that made a left turn in the path of the victim’s oncoming vehicle did not have adequate training. The Jury also decided that the bulk of the responsibility for the crash lied with the management company that contracted with the trucking company.... Read More

Our whole trucking legal system is out of control. About two years ago a semi driver in California parked in an approved space near an intersection. The intersection had two way stop signs. A pickup truck ran one stop sign causing a motorcycle to hit the pickup truck. The lawyer for the cyclist claimed the parked semi-truck was blocking the view of the approach of his client’s vantage point. The California Court of Appeals ruled that because the semi was parked where it was parked and in fact did reduce the amount of visibility for the biker the driver and the carrier were both 5% liable.... Read More

Does your company have a policy that prohibits dispatchers from assigning drivers a load that cannot be completed without speeding? Take a look at the SMC on the FMCSA website for the Unsafe Driving BASIC and make sure all necessary processes, management, and controls are in place to prevent and address unsafe driving practices. ... Read More

In America our federal government works to implement laws that regulate our states and our people. Our Congress and Senate work to pass these laws to assure that all Americans are treated equally, and in accordance to our Bill of Rights.

But what happened when our Federal bodies passed the bill that contained CSA? According to the FMCSA when Congress passed the Transportation Bill that created CSA it gave the FMCSA the power to create rules to govern the transportation industry. These rules would not be subject to our judicial system or our nations Constitution or Bill of Rights.... Read More

Tom Kretsinger Jr. is the President of American Central Transport, Inc. A very experienced manager in today’s trucking world. Recently he wrote on www.bigtrucktv.com/tomkretsinger. In his blog Tom said that besides probably tax increases in 2013, “Other exactions will likely come in the form of fees, tolls and government enforcement actions. The EEOC has been active in pursuing class actions against business to collect money. The DOL has been equally active.... Read More

Enforcement today has a downside, and that is some officers take the written word and fail to apply common sense. Not all officers mind you, but enough to make today’s law enforcement different than in years past.

Truck Driver Ordered OOS Because Of Undisclosed Medical Condition, recently, this headline raised the sound of alarm in the trucking industry when a driver struck a police officer killing him. When the driver was questioned he told the officer that he had lost consciousness. The driver was on a medication that disqualified him from driving a commercial vehicle.... Read More

It seems that just about every day while we are out driving we come upon an accident somewhere or another. At the same time, we are thankful that the accident did not happen to us. In the world of trucking, it seems we are seeing more and more rear end accidents that look as if the driver of the vehicle did not apply the brakes in time or not at all.... Read More

Safety Managers nationwide are recognizing that the support for the rules governing CSA from within their organizations have not grown as planned since the inception of CSA. At risk is the loss of drivers, safety managers, insurance, freedom and the company itself. In comparison to other government programs, over the past two years, CSA has proven to be the greatest threat in the history of trucking, to the existence of carriers. ... Read More

When you approach the Richmond scales on I-70, the Ohio side, you’re going to get your picture and your truck’s picture taken. You won't feel a thing when the shutter snaps, but by the time you reach the scale entrance you may be in a world of hurt. The electronic photo will identify who you are instantly, and in a matter of milliseconds, will notify officers at the upcoming scale if you should be stopped and inspected. Your Pre-Pass will not let you pass if your company SMS scores are over the CSA threshold, and during your inspection you will lose your Pre-Pass.... Read More