Last year, a tractor-trailer flipped over on a Massachusetts highway, spilling over 10,000 gallons of gasoline, making it one of Massachusetts's costliest hazardous materials spills in the last decade. That incident sparked an investigation from CBS News that contained alarming statistics, including that "over the last 10 years, the number of big rig accidents involving hazardous materials has jumped two and a half times, an increase of 155%." Since there are over two million hazmat shipments daily in the U.S., drivers need to know about hazmat and hazardous [...]
In the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word "semi" is defined as "partial or incomplete." It seems odd that there would be anything "semi" about a truck that weighs up to 80,000 pounds and can be over 70 feet long. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, there were over 2.7 million registered tractor-trailers in our country in 2020, a number which has likely increased since then. So, why is it called a semi-truck? It's the Trailer In the northeast, folks call a semi-truck a tractor-trailer. In the south, they are [...]
When someone has a commercial driver's license, they have the proper training and skills to handle these large vehicles. But do you really need it to drive an automobile that’s considered to be a commercial one? We’ll address the question, “Can you drive a commercial vehicle without a CDL?” Countless trucking accidents occur on the roads every day, many of them caused by unlicensed drivers. At Trucking Injury Law Group, we have long been on the frontlines, aiding innocent victims and their families who’ve suffered unnecessary harm because [...]
Truckers are no different from other motorists in that they may suffer from a wide variety of medical conditions that perhaps, unbeknownst to them, can affect their ability to safely operate a vehicle. Sometimes drivers don't even know that they have a certain diagnosis until they cause a crash, injuring themselves or hurting others in the process. While it's understandable that someone may have a health condition and be unaware of it or experience a medical emergency, this is far more potentially dangerous if a trucker loses consciousness [...]
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reports that there were 4,778 large truck crashes in the US in 2020. Of those collisions, 32% of these involved at least one driver-related factor, and the leading cause of those was speeding, followed by impaired driving. In the world of commercial transportation, the speed at which semi-trucks can legally and safely travel is a topic of significant importance. Balancing the need for efficiency with the imperative of safety requires a nuanced understanding of regulations, industry standards, and practical considerations. So, [...]
When serious or unexplained accidents occur on our nation’s transportation system, you’ve probably heard about government organizations stepping in to investigate. This is exactly when the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) comes into play. With plane crashes or other aviation incidents, you might see agents from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in news videos at the crash site, and alongside those agents, there are usually members of the NTSB. But what exactly does the NTSB do? What is its purpose, and how does it help to make our [...]
In the world of transportation and logistics, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) plays a crucial role in ensuring safety and efficiency on the roads. Established within the United States Department of Transportation (DOT), it is tasked with overseeing and regulating the trucking industry, among other responsibilities. Let's take a closer look at what the FMCSA is and why it is important for both businesses and the general public. Understanding What the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Is The FMCSA serves as the primary federal agency responsible [...]
When a truck travels without any cargo, this practice is known as deadheading. Often, truck drivers try to avoid routes that will end up with deadhead miles. These practices can be inefficient and force drivers to rush to find other cargo to carry back to their destination. As a result, it can lead to them taking risks on the road. At the Trucking Injury Law Group, we have seen the effects of drivers who are under stress to complete a drop-off and return for another assignment. Usually, these [...]
Have you ever wondered why, at certain times of day, there are more trucks than at other times? We see big trucks around us wherever we drive, whether on city streets or major highways. Tractor-trailers follow schedules, and while most of us are all too familiar with “rush hour” traffic, these big rigs don’t appear to follow the same traffic flow. Are you curious as to what time are most trucks on the road? In this post, we’ll explain “truck hour” as well as which days have the [...]
Actress Jayne Mansfield was at the height of her Hollywood career in the 1950s and early 1960s. However, her success came to an abrupt end in late June of 1967 when she was traveling between appearances, and the sedan she was in collided with the rear of a tractor-trailer. That collision resulted in Manfield's immediate death. However tragic the circumstances under which she died, the premature loss of such a well-known figure in Hollywood did spark change. Below, we'll go into detail about how the death of a [...]
