Trucking Companies Must Follow Certain Safety Regulations to Stay in Business
Serious injury and fatal accidents involving semi trucks are commonly caused by truck drivers who are not following the safety regulations issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Examples of these regulations which were designed to regulate the trucking industry and reduce the number of serious accidents involving semi trucks include the regulation limiting the number of hours a person can drive a semi truck before he/she must take a break and the regulations requiring trucking companies to require that drivers submit to alcohol and/or drug tests before starting work as a driver and after certain motor vehicle accidents.
The FMCSA has recently identified 16 particular safety regulations that new semi truck drivers and trucking companies must follow or risk losing their authority to operate a semi truck or a trucking company. Examples of violations of these key safety regulations include: failure to implement a drug and alcohol testing program for drivers and others performing safety-sensitive functions, allowing a driver to drive a semi truck who has refused a required drug or alcohol test, allowing a driver to drive a semi truck who has tested positive on a drug test, allowing a driver to drive a semi truck who does not have a commercial driver's license (CDL) or has a suspended CDL, failing to have the minimum level of insurance for a semi truck and driver and failing to require a semi truck driver to accurately record his/her hours of service (i.e. hours spent driving, on-duty and off-duty).
Many of these safety regulations cover common sense issues that are clearly necessary to maintain a safe and responsible trucking company that does its best to avoid fatal and serious injury accidents. However, there are a number of semi truck drivers and trucking companies that do not comply with these regulations, hence the need for the FMCSA to specifically highlight these 16 regulations and threaten sanctions for noncompliance.
The remaining 16 key safety regulations can be found here.
