Are Authorities Jumping the Gun in the Fort Worth 18-Wheeler Crash that Killed 4 People?
By now most people in the Dallas-Fort Worth area have heard about the I-35W crash that occurred Monday, September 11, which claimed the lives of Susana Longoria, Kiara Barker, Jasmine Jones, and Chase Mapes. The crash also left two people hospitalized. If you missed the story, here's what officials say happened: At around 9:00 p.m....
We’re Relieved Someone is Trying to Hold Fuzzy’s Taco Accountable
Late last week, when we heard the news that the family of Alex Cervantes filed a lawsuit against Fuzzy's Taco for their alleged role in the officer's death, we were all relieved. I thought I'd take a moment to discuss why we're relieved and how this lawsuit is a win for the community. Before getting...
Violations Found During the Roadside Inspection Blitzes Are Nothing to Brag About
Admittedly, truck safety inspections are one of those topics (like tax law, insurance coverage, and federal regulation) that doesn't stir up a lot of excitement. Enforcing truck safety regulations is something that largely takes place outside of the general public's consciousness, but that doesn't make it unimportant. The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) is a...
How Concerned Should I Be about News Reports of Electric Bicycles Catching on Fire?
I first heard about electric bicycles (aka e-bikes) catching fire when a writer for the United Kingdom-based newspaper The Guardian wrote a piece stating that in 2022 there were "about 200 fires and six deaths" in New York alone due to e-bike fires and that, in November 2022, an e-bike fire in an apartment "became...
A Look Back at How Spectacularly Wrong a 1982 Truck Accident Study Predicted the Future
New data bombards us, regardless of what we do. Given what I do for a living, I see a constant stream of truck accident data and studies. While I read, digest, and comment on this data, federal regulators make new laws based on the same studies, and responsible trucking companies use them to devise new...
Why Is a Trucking Magazine Bragging About Poor Out-of-Service Rates?
Perhaps there isn't a stranger sight than someone bragging about mediocrity. That's what an author in Land Line Magazine did recently when discussing the results of International Roadcheck 2021. For those unfamiliar with International Roadcheck, it's a coordinated enforcement effort between officials in the United States, Mexico, and Canada to ensure that the commercial trucks...
Can We Retire the Myth of the Truck Driver Shortage?
Have you heard that a shortage of truck drivers exists and it's only getting worse? According to the American Trucking Association (ATA), the American trucking industry finds itself in need of 61,000 drivers. To make matters worse, within 7 years, that number could balloon into hundreds of thousands of truck drivers short of what the...
What’s the Difference Between an Injury Attorney and a Truck Accident Injury Attorney?
An accident injured you or perhaps killed a loved one. Initially, your focus is on your recovery or remembering your loved one, as it should be. Then you have to manage the hospital expenses and piles of bills. If the accident involves a commercial vehicle, you're in for another shock; The insurance company for the...
The Chamber of Commerce Is Lying About Our Legal System (Again)
Last fall, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform (the organization's tort reform propaganda arm) released a shocking report, Tort Liability Costs for Small Businesses, claiming that our court system costs the average person upwards of $3,000 annually, due to injury and other damages claims. The report also claims that these costs fall...
FMCSA Rule Suspension Doesn’t Mean that Hours of Service Rules Are Pointless
A couple of years ago, attorney Michael Grossman wrote about the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate implementation. As you can imagine, there were heated comments from a diverse group of truck drivers, with a range of opinions about the ELD mandate, and ELDs in general. Michael appreciates that people still take the time to respond...