Gadsden Personal Injury Lawyer - Tractor-Trailer Accidents

Interstate Trucking Driver Qualification Records

Michael Roberts — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:39:56 GMT

Interstate trucking companies (federal motor carriers) are required under federal regulations to maintain and preserve certain records about their drivers. The purpose of these regulations is to place specific obligations on the part of these companies to make sure that only qualified, competent drivers are safely operating these commercial motor vehicles in interstate transportation. 49 C.F.R. § 391.51 requires that these companies maintain in their “driver qualification files” the driver’s application for employment; the response by each state agency about inquiries into the driver’s driving record during the 3 years before the application for employment; certificate of the driver’s road test; responses from state’s agencies from each state where the driver held a CDL in the previous 12 months; a note naming the person who reviewed, on the company’s behalf, the driving record; lists of all traffic violations for which the driver was convicted, or forfeited bond through the previous 12 months; the medical examiner’s certificate for the driver; and any letter of a waiver of physical qualification.

In addition to these requirements, a motor carrier must review the driving record of each driver it employs on an annual basis to make sure the driver meets minimum requirements for safe driving and is not disqualified pursuant to the regulations.

Obviously if a company, whose driver has injured another person, violates the law and fails to keep these records, this can be very important in lawsuits involving interstate trucking companies.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Roberts

Tractor Trailer Wreck Birmingham Alabama

Emily Hawk — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:08:06 GMT

On March 21, 2008 a major wreck involving a large Fed-Ex truck and a convertible occurred on I-459 near Overton Road. The accident, which happened just after 11am, involved a large Fed-Ex truck and a convertible. Four people were killed. According to reports, the driver of the tractor-trailer was not injured.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Emily Hawk

Winslow Truck Driver Killed in Truck Accident

Chrissie Cole — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 03:20:00 GMT

A Winslow man, 57, lost his life in a truck accident on Wednesday, when his Tyson feed truck overturned on Arkansas Highway 59, landing in an embankment on the highway.

The truck driver was attempting a sharp right-hand curve, but lost control of the 2004 Mack Truck he was driving. The truck overturned onto the driver's side and went off the side of the roadway, according to Arkansas State Police.

Rescue from Siloam Springs Fire Department extricated his body from the truck where he had been entrapped by the steering wheel. He was not wearing his seatbelt at the time of the accident.

The accident is still under investigation by Arkansas State Troopers.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole