Why has the number of trucking accidents risen so steeply in the past few years? Is it coincidence or are there identifiable factors contributing to the problem? At Badgley Law Group, we know the trucking industry inside and out, and we have answers.
- Many trucking companies put profits first, sacrificing public safety and even their own drivers’ wellbeing.
- The trucking industry has a powerful lobby that has successfully influenced Congress to loosen regulations.
- Working hour limits, rest period standards, size and weight limits, and safety standards have all been compromised as a result.
Orlando personal injury attorney Jeff Badgley once represented some of our nation’s biggest trucking companies, and he observed the industry’s problems first-hand. Now, an expose published in the Huffington Post has revealed these behind-the-scenes issues that put lives at stake.
As Senior Congressional Reporter Michael McAuliff wrote, “…Congress has been caving, very quietly, to lobbying from trucking interests that want to roll back, block or modify at least a half-dozen important safety regulations.”
While regulations governing trucking safety have already relaxed, consider how many more related deaths will occur if the trucking industry successfully influences Congress to:
- Allow trucks to haul loads heavier than the federal 80,000-pound limit;
- Allow trucks to have longer double trailers (going from 28 feet to 33 feet per unit);
- Allow trucking companies to increase their drivers’ work weeks from 70 hours to 82;
- Allow trucking companies to hire drivers as young as 18;
- Prevent federal regulators from raising insurance requirements that were established decades ago;
- Keep federal motor carrier safety ratings for unsafe trucking companies secret.
“Unfortunately, it will take more lawsuits to get the attention of the trucking industry to make our roads safer. It’s a shame that people need to get injured before we can do something about it,” says Badgley.
If you or someone you love has been injured in a trucking accident, you know how serious a concern the relationship between Congress and the trucking lobby is. To recover damages in your case, you need an attorney who knows the trucking industry, and can uncover the root cause of a trucking accident.