Special Rules in Truck Accidents

Special Safety Rules in Bronx Truck Accident Lawsuits

Driving a truck is a lot different than driving even the biggest of cars and SUVs, and the risks of unsafe truck driving practices are orders of magnitude greater because of the size and weight of a truck. Because trucks often carry multiple tons, or thousands of gallons, of hazardous materials as cargo, the need for safe operation of trucks is of the utmost importance. Everybody knows that Bronx truck accidents are often far more severe than even the most serious car accidents, and that safe operation of trucks, in full compliance with all applicable safety rules, is essential to maintaining safety on New York City’s streets and highways. Our Bronx truck accident attorneys have seen it all when it comes to violations of even the most basic truck accident safety rules, which occur all too often throughout the Bronx and New York City, often resulting in devastating consequences for injured truck accident victims.

In recognition of these realities, government bodies ranging from the City of New York all the way up through the Federal Government of the United States have implemented various special safety rules designed to ensure safe operation of trucks on streets and highways throughout the Bronx and New York City. These special rules apply in addition to the rules of the road found in the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law (the “VTL”) that apply to every New York driver, no matter whether they are involved in a car accident, an SUV accident, a bicycle accident or a truck accident. Unfortunately, these important safety rules are not always obeyed by truck drivers and trucking companies, and violations often result in serious truck accidents that leave victims permanently injured, disabled, or even dead.

The particular safety rules that apply to a Bronx truck accident often depend upon the size of the truck, the weight of the truck, whether the truck features a free-standing trailer, and the type of cargo being transported by the truck. Our team of skilled Bronx truck accident lawyers is intimately familiar with these rules, and will teach you how to apply these special truck accident safety rules to your case if you are injured in a truck accident anywhere in New York City. If we accept your Bronx truck accident lawsuit, we will hire the best truck accident reconstruction and safety experts to investigate exactly how these special rules can be used to hold those responsible accountable in court, and will gather the necessary evidence to prove that violations of these safety rules and the negligence of the defendants caused your truck accident. Contact us today at (718) 354-8000 for a free consultation regarding your truck accident injury case.

Using the Special Truck Accident Safety Rules to Win Your Case

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (the “FMCSA”) is the federal agency that is responsible for promulgating federal truck safety rules. The State of New York has adopted the FMCSA rules to apply them to truck accidents occurring anywhere in the Bronx or elsewhere in New York State. Top Bronx truck accident lawyers must be familiar with these rules, and should prepare every truck accident lawsuit so as to highlight violations of these safety rules by negligent truck drivers who cause a serious truck accident.

For example, FMCSA Rule 392.3 provides specific requirements regarding the operation of trucks by exhausted or sick truck drivers. This rule provides that truck drivers may not operate a truck when they are either too sick or too exhausted to be sufficiently alert to operate a truck in a safe and proper manner. Specific regulations under this rule set strict limits on how many consecutive hours a truck driver may work, how much rest a driver must have before beginning to work again after working the maximum amount of permissible consecutive hours, and how many total hours a truck driver may work during any particular week. If you believe that truck driver exhaustion may have caused a Bronx truck accident in which you were injured, contact us at (718) 354-8000 today to learn more about whether or not the truck driver violated this important safety rule and caused your truck accident as a result.

FMCSA Rule 392.4 and 392.5 provide strict, no-tolerance rules against using drugs – even prescription medication that may make a driver drowsy, or amphetamines or caffeine pills designed to keep a driver awake during a long drive – or drinking alcohol while operating a truck. These rules apply over and above Section 1192 of the VTL, which proscribes operation of any motor vehicle while impaired by the use of alcohol or drugs. The FMCSA rules are even stricter than the VTL rules regarding the use of drugs or alcohol while driving a truck, and for very good reasons: Trucks are much more complicated to operate than standard vehicles, require much better reaction time, and truck crashes are usually much more serious than other types of motor vehicle accidents. If you have been injured in a Bronx truck accident in which you suspect that the truck driver was under the influence of any alcohol or drugs whatsoever, call our expert Bronx truck accident lawyers today at (718) 354-8000 for a free consultation to learn how these strict rules can be applied to win your truck accident lawsuit.

Trucks using the roads and highways throughout the Bronx and New York City are also subject to FMCSA rules pertaining to the safety and inspection of the truck itself, as well as requirements pertaining to the proper securing of any cargo carried by the truck. If a truck is not properly inspected or maintained, and equipment failure leads to a serious Bronx truck accident, the injured victim may be able to point to a violation of FMCSA Rule 392.7 to hold the owner and operator of the truck responsible in court. Also, if a truck is not properly loaded or its cargo is not secured and this causes a truck crash, the owner and operator of the truck, as well as the party responsible for improperly loading the truck, may be held accountable pursuant to FMCSA Rule 392.9. Liability for truck accidents is not always clear, and our expert Bronx truck accident lawyers are standing by to help you identify the proper defendants so as to maximize the available amount of insurance coverage and compensation that you can obtain if you are seriously injured in a truck crash.