Lease and Interchange The lease of CMVs, primarily the tractors or “power units,” constitute a significant aspect of many if not most trucking-related personal injury claims. Abuses in the trucking industry in the 1950’s, such as motor carriers that leased or hired “gypsy” independent contractor drivers, who owned their own…
Regulatory Compliance and Recordkeeping The FMCSRs have been discussed in detail in preceding blog posts. This blog post will address various aspects of the regulations necessary to give the practitioner an understanding of the recordkeeping requirements imposed upon motor carriers, including how and when those regulations apply. While these sections…
Pre-Trip and Emergency Equipment Inspection: Overview The regulations require inspection of certain components of intermodal equipment prior to driving the CMV. These requirements are generally referred to as the “pre-trip” inspection, and while the regulations do not limit their requirements to an inspection at the beginning of a “trip”, this…
Drug and Alcohol Use and Possession: Overview The regulations’ directions concerning use or transportation of drugs or alcohol are fairly straightforward, but have been subject to at least one rather questionable interpretation by the DOT. Further, the regulations are not limited to “drugs” in their prohibition, and it is important…
CMV Operations: Pertinent Case Law As was just mentioned, most of the cases involving operation regulations deal with claims for wrongful discharge brought by drivers against their employers/motor carriers as a result of their being terminated for refusing to drive while tired or sick. Gaibis v. Werner Continental, Inc. Many…
CMV Driver’s Logs: Observations If there is any question about whether time or fatigue is a factor in a wreck, an audit of the logs produced in discovery should be performed quickly after they are received. If counsel finds significant errors, this may provide a basis to seek more logs…
Observations And Hours Of CMV Service Starting with the premise that all drivers are subject to the HOS regulations, there are some significant exceptions, particularly as to local drivers and drivers who encounter unforeseen adverse conditions. There are other exemptions, many of a technical nature, that come into play on…
Pertinent Case Law In a case involving a challenge to the FMCSA regulations governing assignment of safety fitness ratings of motor carriers, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held that violation of regulations pertaining to alcohol use, and by implication controlled substance use, were properly designated as…
Pertinent Case Law The majority of cases deal with employer-employee disputes over the Americans with Disabilities Act, civil rights, and related issues. However, a number of courts have addressed the medical exam and related physical qualification issues in the context of a personal injury action. CMV litigation It comes as…
The Road Test “Equivalent” If a driver is already in possession of a valid CDL issued by a State which requires a road test in the type of vehicle the motor carrier intends to assign, this may be accepted as the equivalent of a road test. The Road Test “Equivalent”The…