Carrier Responsibilities

With over 360,000 trucking companies operating over 15.5 million commercial trucks in the United States, the trucking industry must be highly regulated in order to prevent accidents and loss of life and promote safety. When trucking companies fail to follow regulations, people get hurt.

INADEQUATE TRAINING
It is the employer or trucking company’s duty to make sure all of its drivers are properly trained and have the proper licensure and history required by law. Proper and ongoing review of driver qualifications, training and experience are mandatory. If an employer fails to clear a driver, and that driver is involved in an accident, the company can be held liable for damages.

COMPENSATION BASED ON SPEED
Trucking employers who encourage speeding through tiered compensation may be held accountable when speeding is determined to be a factor in an accident. Often this type of compensation can lead truck drivers to force themselves to drive too many consecutive hours, resulting in fatigue.

UNREALISTIC SCHEDULES
Some trucking companies have a reputation for pushing their drivers beyond reasonable limits. Scheduling drivers without proper breaks or allotment for rest and setting unrealistic time goals can result in driver fatigue and carelessness.

FAILURE TO SUPERVISE
Although truck drivers take on an enormous amount of responsibility to meet job standards, it is the duty of trucking companies to make sure standards are not only met, but also recorded and properly supervised. This is an example of negligence that can be place on the driver as well as the company.

DANGEROUS DESIGN DEFECTS
In previous accidents, there have been incidents where defective mechanical systems were shown to be the direct cause of serious and fatal accidents. Trying to stop 80,000 lbs of truck and cargo is no easy feat, and an alarming number of accidents are caused by brake failures. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 30% of all heavy truck accidents are linked to brakes being out of adjustment.

FAILURE TO MEET SAFETY DESIGN STANDARDS
Trucking companies may overlook design flaws on their trucks and fail to meet minimum safety requirements, resulting in equipment malfunctions that can lead to serious injury upon impact.

Visit our in-depth Federal Regulations page for more truck accident information

For more information on truck accident laws in your state, or to request a FREE truck accident case evaluation, email or call us at 866-960-5000. We are located in Texas, but co-counsel with truck accident attorneys throughout the US.