Georgia Trucking Accidents: New Hours of Service Rules Should Help Reduce Trucking Fatalities and Traffic Accidents in the Atlanta Area and Throughout Georgia
Traffic accidents in the Atlanta area and throughout the State of Georgia claim the lives of over 1,500 people each year while injuring tens of thousands more. No type of motor vehicle accident is more devastating than a tractor trailer accident. These massive commercial trucks can weigh 80,000 pounds resulting in massive carnage in an accident with a passenger vehicle.
These accidents are far too frequently preventable tragedies. While most truck drivers are well trained and careful, some truck drivers and trucking companies trying to protect their profit margin will often violate hours of service (HOS) rules. These rules are designed to reduce fatigue so that big rig drivers are not involved in trucking accidents as a result of being overly tired. Montlick and Associates, Georgia Injury Attorneys, have been helping those suffering serious injuries or fatalities and their families in Georgia trucking accidents for over 39 years.
The frequency and seriousness of big rig accidents have led many to lobby Washington for changes in hours of service rules to reduce fatigue based trucking accidents. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) that regulates interstate trucking has now responded to this call to make the roads safer. Under the new regulations, tractor trailer drivers may only be on the road 11 hours per day. Truck drivers must also rest at least 10 hours before climbing back behind the wheel of their truck. The new regulations also cap the total number of hours a driver may spend on the road in a given week at no more than sixty.
Fatigue is one of the leading causes of tractor trailer accidents, so it is hoped these new stricter rules will significantly reduce the accident and fatality rates associated with big rig trucks. The reality is that some trucking companies and truck drivers may continue to falsify log books so that they can avoid the new stricter rules. However, black boxes on board tractor trailers can be used by an experienced Georgia trucking accident lawyer to verify the information in the log book regarding hours of service. With nearly 3.5 million truck drivers on the road, the risk of serious injury from a truck driver who is trying to increase his pay by finishing the run more quickly will remain substantial.
If you or someone you love suffers serious injuries or is killed in a Georgia trucking accident, the compassionate team of attorneys at Montlick and Associates, Attorneys at Law, will help you seek the compensation necessary to obtain medical and rehabilitative care and to compensate you for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Sometimes in these cases punitive damages can also be recovered to punish a defendant for gross negligence. Our experience handling trucking accidents means we know how to preserve evidence of fatigue and hours of service violations. This important evidence can disappear quickly following a serious Georgia trucking accident so it is imperative you contact an experienced Georgia tractor trailer accident lawyer promptly. We are available to assist clients throughout all of Georgia including, but not limited to, Albany, Athens, Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Dalton, Gainesville, Macon, Marietta, Rome, Roswell, Savannah, Smyrna, Valdosta, Warner Robins and all smaller cities, towns and rural areas in the state. Call us today for your free consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333), or visit us on the web at www.montlick.com. No matter where you are located, we are just a phone call away, and we will even come to you.