Help for truck drivers
Posted on November 14th, 2011
As a truck accident lawyer, I am frequently asked for help from good truck drivers. Many of these truckers are pushed or pressured by their companies or the safety directors to break mandatory safety laws.
Sometimes this causes egregious violations of the FMCSRs, such as pushing these drivers to drive way past the hours of service requirements, or pressuring these drivers to skip pre-trip inspections so they can complete deliveries faster.
In the past, I’ve even included some of these requests for help with the truck driver’s permission. The most frequent request I get is simply for help when these truckers are being pressured by their company to do something illegal. These truck drivers want to report company violations that endanger both themselves and threaten the public, but they fear retaliation (by the way, this is one of the biggest reasons why I’m a fan of union truckers who have more safety provisions in place to prevent this type of illegal pressure and abuse of drivers). Drivers ask me what they should do, especially when they work for trucking companies where safety and maintenance violations are rampant and widespread.
The answer lies in Section 405 of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act, which prohibits retaliation/discrimination for truck driver whistle blowers.
Be forewarned that in some cases a claim will become a long process. OSHA oversees these whistle blower claims and depending on the claim, an OSHA investigation will take time. However, the statute does provide protection for truckers. There are some truck accident lawyers who now specialize in these type of whistle blower cases against bad trucking companies that pressure drivers. Also, the statute allows collection of attorneys fees, so even if you live in a state that does not have a truck accident lawyer that handles Section 405 whistle blower type cases, I am happy to give you the name of a truck attorney who does.
Stopping this type of abuse translates to saving lives. Most truck drivers I’ve met (almost all of them in fact), are genuinely good people and really hate being pushed by companies to break safety rules that threaten them and the public. Section 405 claims serve the public interest, protect good drivers and promote safety.
Tags: Drivers, Truck Drivers
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Cheap Car Insurance & Tacling Uninsured Drivers
Posted on January 10th, 2011
There is finally some good news on the horizon for those people who love their cheap car insurance and yet either stand to lose it or have suffered with it at the hands of uninsured drivers in the past. The government is finally taking a much tougher stance on it that will hopefully discourage those people that are tempted to put others at risk when they start the engine on their uninsured car. Not only has this already been announced but the measures are set to come into force in spring thanks to the action by the Department of Transport.
Although 400 uninsured drivers are caught by police everyday, many ultimately get away with it because they never get pulled over.
Tags: Car Insurance, Cheap Car Insurance, Drivers, Uninsured Drivers
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Young Drivers Insurance & Longer Learning Periods
Posted on October 4th, 2010
Did you know that just over a third of all deaths on the road are young drivers under the age of 25? If you did not then you may be surprised at these figures, but then it does make sense in the context of premiums offered via young drivers car insurance. This is why many believe that the rules of the road are in need of reform and research released just a few days ago has demonstrated that this has the backing of over 75% of drivers.
The proposals would see learners learning how to drive for at least a year to give them more experience on the road with a view to reducing accidents. It would certainly solve a few problems on the road but whether it would ensure the young drivers are sensible enough to obey all road laws and not drive recklessly remains to be seen.
Tags: Drivers, Young Drivers
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Cheap Car Insurance & Older Drivers
Posted on September 22nd, 2010
I have just been watching a clip for a documentary that is on BBC tonight about elderly drivers and I was torn between being completely shocked and wanting to laugh at the 80 year old man who had managed to flip his car on a quiet residential street with no other cars around.
As an experienced driver, I am used to meeting two types of people on the road – younger drivers and elderly drivers. I know that people complain about younger drivers and how fast they go but, in my opinion, elderly drivers provide a greater threat to cheap car insurance premiums.
I had one over the weekend. The older guy could barely see over the wheel of the 4×4 he was driving and pulled out in front of me without looking.
Tags: Drivers
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