Do Commercial Vehicles Have to Follow Special Safety Rules? | Indiana Lawyer Discusses

David Holub 2022-10-24

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https://www.davidholublaw.com #IndianaLawyer #FightingForTruth

Hi, I'm Indiana personal injury attorney David Holub.
Often, attorneys must educate people serving on a jury about commercial motor vehicle safety rules.
Car drivers must know the driving rules that apply to operating a car.
Car drivers think they know the rules that apply to the safe operation of a semi-tractor-trailer truck. But most do not.
Other than police officers who serve as DOT compliance inspectors, even most police officers do not know the rules that apply to the safe operation of heavy trucks.
In this video and the several that follow, I will explain to you what every truck driver and commercial motor carrier must know.
The special rules applicable to semi-tractor-trailer operation are known as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.
Just who is a motor carrier for purposes of these regulations? Basically, any person who owns or leases a commercial motor vehicle.
These regulations deal with many things that do not apply to driving a car.
For example,
– drivers have to undergo drug and alcohol testing
– drivers have to have a commercial driver's license called a CDL for short
– a driver's qualification file must be maintained where all aspects of a driver's qualification are documented
– drivers and motor carriers must be familiar with the mechanical parts and accessories of the vehicles they are operating
– there are detailed rules for inspection, repair, and maintenance of vehicles, and
– records about vehicles maintenance must be preserved
In this video, I focus on the regulations that apply to alcohol and drugs.
In most cases, a pre-hiring screening for drugs or alcohol must be conducted.
Motor carriers must also randomly test for drugs and alcohol.
Following an accident involving a fatality, there must be a drug and alcohol test as soon as practicable.
There must be a test if a citation is issued to a truck driver involved in a crash.
The regulations are violated if these tests are not conducted.
If a test should have been conducted in a fatality accident, for example, but wasn't, the victim's family may be entitled to have the court instruct the jury that they are free to presume the driver was using alcohol or drugs at the time of the crash.
But, drug and alcohol screening requirements are just one piece of the regulations puzzle.
In our next video, I will delve into the type of vehicles covered by the regulations and discuss what the regulations require to do to investigate drivers before putting them behind the wheel.

To learn more about the Law Offices Of David W Holub visit https://davidholublaw.com today.

To read David Holub's book "Fighting For Truth: A Trial Lawyer's Insight Into What It Takes To Win" visit https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1732468206/

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