Semi-trucks are many times larger and heavier than passenger vehicles, making them a top safety concern on roads. All it takes is a driver falling asleep for a moment or having a temporary lapse in judgment to cause life-altering consequences for people in passenger vehicles.
Commercial trucks, commercial drivers and commercial transportation companies are responsible for a large percentage of the semi-truck crashes that take place every year. Only a minority of the reported crashes involving commercial trucks are the fault of people in the smaller vehicles involved.
Numerous federal regulations apply to commercial vehicles but not to passenger vehicles. The goal is to help protect people from some of the worst wrecks possible. The three federal rules below are among the most important when it comes to limiting the risk of harm that 18-wheelers can cause.
The federal no-text rule
The regulations prohibiting texting while driving are state statutes. While most states have enacted rules prohibiting texting and other forms of manual phone use while driving, the rules are different every time someone crosses a state boundary. To prevent confusion, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) adopted a federal no-text rule that applies to all commercial drivers in the United States regardless of their location. It is illegal for commercial drivers to manually input data into mobile devices. They cannot text, email or even manually dial a phone without breaking the no-text rule.
The Hours of Service rules
Commercial transportation companies often make big promises to clients. They rarely allow for enough flexibility in their schedules to account for road construction, crashes that shut down highways and inclement weather. Truck drivers might feel the need to continue driving however long is necessary to get a load in on time. Hours of Service rules impose limits on daily operation as well as a limit on how many hours one driver can be behind the wheel in a seven or eight-day period. The goal of these regulations is to limit company demands on drivers that endanger public safety just to get loads in on time.
Commercial insurance requirements
The FMCSA requires substantially more insurance coverage for semi-trucks than states require for passenger vehicles. Typically, commercial vehicles should have at least $750,000 of liability coverage. In some cases, owner-operators or transportation companies may carry more than that. The requirement for higher amounts of liability coverage helps protect people from the potentially staggering costs of collisions caused by semi-trucks.
Unfortunately, the unique rules that apply to semi-trucks can make handling the fallout of a commercial vehicle crash more of a challenge. Negotiating an insurance settlement and filing a personal injury lawsuit are sometimes necessary actions for those involved in crashes caused by commercial trucks and/or their operators.