Atlanta Commercial Vehicle Rules Violations Attorney

Georgia Commercial Vehicles and Truck Accidents

Federal and state commercial vehicle rules exist to protect the general public from the serious consequences of trucking accidents. When truck drivers and trucking companies put their own profits ahead of the safety of others by cutting corners and ignoring warning signs, they deserve to be held accountable.

At Butler Prather LLP, our Georgia 18-wheeler accident lawyers have a track record of getting results for truck accident victims and their families, partially by identifying motor carrier safety violations. Don’t hesitate to contact us today to discuss your truck accident case.

Holding Trucking Companies Accountable to Federal and State Regulations

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has the authority to regulate interstate commercial vehicles. Georgia and other states have their own regulations that apply to other commercial trucks and those, for the most part, mirror the federal regulations.

These rules are designed to impose clear standards on the trucking industry and are extremely detailed. The following are just a few of the areas covered by commercial vehicle regulations:

• Training and supervision: Trucking companies are required to perform background checks on drivers (both before hiring them and during their employment), provide them with adequate training, perform drug tests and supervise their driving. Trucking companies have the responsibility to take unsafe and dangerous truckers out of their trucks and off of Georgia’s roads.
• Maintenance: Federal and state regulations provide detailed standards for the condition that trucks must be kept in. The trucks must be checked every day to ensure they comply with the standards before they are allowed on the road. Trucking companies and drivers are both responsible for inspecting their trucks regularly.
• Hours of service: Drivers are only permitted to be on the road for limited amounts of time. There are limits to the amount of time a driver can drive on any given day, as well as the amount of time he or she can drive over a stretch of days. Truckers are required to take adequate breaks and get enough sleep, because tired drivers cause severe accidents.
• Log books: Drivers must keep detailed log books of their hours of service, inspections and other information. Falsification of these log books is a federal criminal offense, and failure to keep proper log books is often a sign that other regulations are being violated regularly.

If your Georgia truck accident lawyers can prove that your truck accident was caused by behavior that violated commercial vehicle rules, you may be entitled to punitive damages. Our firm acts quickly, with the help of skilled investigators, to identify rules violations in trucking accident cases.

Even when truck drivers and commercial vehicle companies follow all of the motor vehicle safety regulations, they still must drive carefully, just like any other driver. Contact us today to have our attorneys investigate all possible causes of your truck accident so we can pursue the full compensation you deserve.