Truck Accident Law

(a) General. (1) The rules in this part apply to all motor carriers and drivers, except as provided in paragraphs (b) through (q) of this section. (2) The exceptions from Federal requirements contained in paragraphs (l) and (m) of this section do not preempt State laws and regulations governing the safe operation of commercial motor vehicles.

The federal rules for commercial driver licensing and commercial motor vehicles apply to each state. Nevertheless, each state has the authority to modify the regulations within certain parameters. In this section you will find state specific statutes, regulations and some applicable case law.

In 1997, the New York State Police consolidated three existing traffic safety details - Motor Carrier Safety, HazMat, and Scales - into one unit, dedicated to removing unsafe trucks from the state's roadways: the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit. All NYSP troopers work to ensure the safe operation of commercial vehicles on New York's roadways. Their enforcement efforts have helped make New York's commercial vehicle safety record one of the best in the nation.

Federal interest in preserving highways goes back to the enactment of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, which authorized the Interstate and Defense Highway System. To preserve our Nation's infrastructure and to keep trucks and buses moving efficiently, states must ensure that commercial motor vehicles comply with federal size and weight standards. FHWA is responsible for certifying state compliance with Federal standards. This site provides a ready source of information on Federal standards and guidelines, state enforcement activities, reporting requirements, and contacts.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration Office of Hazardous Materials Safety (OHMS) is the Federal safety authority for ensuring the safe transport of hazardous materials (hazmat) by air, rail, highway, and water, with the exception of bulk transportation of hazmat by vessel. OHMS promulgates a national safety program to minimize the risks to life and property inherent in commercial transportation of hazardous materials.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is focused on reducing crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving large trucks and buses.

This standard applies to trucks, buses, and trailers equipped with air brake systems.

The goal of the Government Affairs Department at CTA is to advocate and influence potential legislative proposals, laws, regulations and public policies impacting the trucking industry in California. In order to achieve our goals, staff works to develop strong relationships with policy and opinion makers inside the state capitol along with our CTA lobbyists.

To amend titles 23 and 49, United States Code, concerning length and weight limitations for vehicles operating on Federal-aid highways, and for other purposes.

We are the Transportation Security Administration, formed immediately following the tragedies of Sept. 11. Our agency is a component of the Department of Homeland Security and is responsible for security of the nation's transportation systems.

Since 1992, all drivers of commercial motor vehicles in the United States have been required to hold a Commercial Driver’s License. Commercial motor vehicles include large trucks, vehicles carrying hazardous materials, transit buses, school buses, over-the-road motorcoaches, and other vehicles designed to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver. While the federal government does not require an individual to hold a CDL in order to operate a van or other vehicle designed to hold between 8 and 15 passengers, some states have adopted this requirement and several of the other driver qualification requirements.

The Washington State Patrol's Commercial Vehicle Division strives to make Washington roadways the safest in the nation. Through education and enforcement, the mission of the division is to ensure compliance of the commercial motor vehicle regulations in order to protect resources, prevent accidents, and save lives.

From the outset, the Trucking Law Committee leadership envisioned creating a committee dedicated to addressing the concerns of the trucking industry. Over the years, the committee addressed those needs by producing seminars, writing articles for the committee perspective issues of For The Defense dedicated to trucking law, a periodic newsletter to keep our members and clients informed about current developments and a compendium of the law of spoliation for all fifty states, the federal courts and U.S. territories. The Committee also held its first teleconference addressing hours of service requirements and driving fatigue issues. On the horizon we plan to work with other DRI committees to produce additional projects of interest to our committee members and clients.

The new European rules on driving and rest time in road transport have led to an increased number of rest periods, but also to concerns and unwanted side effects. This is the main conclusion of research undertaken by the Flemish Foundation STV – Innovation and Work. On the basis of the study’s results, the Belgian sectoral social partners are calling for more flexibility in implementing the rules and better harmonisation of the controls between the Member States.

European emission regulations for new heavy-duty diesel engines are commonly referred to as Euro I ... VI. Sometimes Arabic numerals are also used (Euro 1 ... 6). We will use Roman numerals when referencing standards for heavy-duty engines, and reserve Arabic numerals for light-duty vehicle standards.

eSafety, the first pillar of the Intelligent Car Initiative, is a joint initiative of the European Commission, industry and other stakeholders. It aims to accelerate the development, deployment and use of Intelligent Vehicle Safety Systems that use information & communication technologies to increase road safety and reduce the number of accidents on Europe's roads.

C.R. England’s first truck driving priority is safety and the goal of our Safe Driving Department is to prevent major accidents or “critical crashes.” To successfully accomplish this objective, we’ve created the following training and management programs.

Transport Canada administers a number of Acts (laws) related to transportation. It also assists with the administration of many others. Access to the full text of federal Acts and Regulations is provided by the Department of Justice Canada, which is responsible for maintaining the Consolidated Statutes of Canada. Please read the note from the Department of Justice Canada.

Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) is Australia’s largest injury prevention specialist.

The Transportation Working Group (TPTWG) aims to achieve the liberalisation of transportation services and works to enhance the safety of APEC transport systems to encourage economic development in the Asia-Pacific region. It aims to balance security, safety and environmental requirements with trade facilitation and its efforts are focused on: the facilitation of domestic policy regulations; the development of intermodal supply chains and secure transport activity; the integration of Corporate Social Responsibility; and building the capacity of all stakeholders to help them reach the eventual goal of free and open trade. At the same time, parallel measures are being undertaken by individual economies to strengthen the security of all transportation modes - land, sea and air.

The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) is a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization developing model programs in motor vehicle administration, law enforcement and highway safety.

ASTL is a professional organization founded in 1946 by a group of industry leaders to insure a high level of professionalism and promote continuing education in the field of transportation and logistics.

The American Truck Historical Society was formed to preserve the history of trucks, the trucking industry, and its pioneers.

Official web site of the national image and advocacy organization for the US trucking industry. Includes news of interest to truck drivers and owners.

Comprehensive site for all things related to transportation in the U.S.

CVSA is an international not-for-profit organization comprised of local, state, provincial, territorial and federal motor carrier safety officials and industry representatives from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Our mission is to promote commercial motor vehicle safety and security by providing leadership to enforcement, industry and policy makers.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is focused on reducing crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving large trucks and buses.

The Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) was established in 1991 as a not-for-profit organization to foster the use of advanced technologies in surface transportation systems. We are the leading advocate for technologies that improve the safety, security and efficiency of the nation's surface transportation system.

The mission of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, Inc. is to serve owner-operators, small fleets and professional truckers; to work for a business climate where truckers are treated equally and fairly; to promote highway safety and responsibility among all highway users; and to promote a better business climate and efficiency for all truck operators.

Since 1986, the Professional Truck Driver Institute (PTDI) has been working with the carriers, truck driver training schools, insurance industry, and government to make safety a #1 priority in the trucking industry.

The Truck Safety Coalition is dedicated to reducing the number of deaths and injuries caused by truck-related crashes, providing compassionate support to truck crash survivors and families of truck crash victims, and educating the public, policy-makers and media about truck safety issues.

The Underride Network is an organization of truck safety experts and victim/survivor volunteers working to educate the public and industry to the dangers of truck and trailer underride crashes and to promote the crash compatibility of all motor vehicles.

Case summaries of heavy truck accident investigations.

In early 2008, Matthieu Desiderio created Transport Expertise, an innovative and unique website dedicated to the “transport sphere”; providing its readers with topical news, case studies, and analysis using a comparative “touch of French-American way of thinking” on how transport is managed in both countries.

TRB’s varied activities annually engage more than 7,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest by participating on TRB committees, panels, and task forces. The program is supported by state transportation departments, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individuals interested in the development of transportation.

Canadian website and magazine publishing information and content on truck news, trucking regulations, etc.

Articles written by attorneys and experts worldwide discussing legal aspects related to Motor Vehicles Law including: auto dealer fraud, automobile accidents, automotive, bus accidents, lemon law, motor vehicle accidents, motorcycle accident, railroad accidents, rollover accident, traffic violations, trucking accident.