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<p>Trucking safety laws aim to prevent <a href=”http://www.farrowpulicelaw.com/truck-accidents/”>truck collisions in Southwestern Florida</a>&nbsp;from occurring. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)&nbsp;passes Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) aimed at reducing the chances of dangerous behaviors which cause truck accidents. &nbsp;States can also pass their own trucking safety laws to impose stricter rules than federal laws, if they wish to do so.</p>
<p>At least states have this authority to do this right now. <a href=”http://www.richmond.com/business/ap/article_2cc5f928-0f20-56fb-a6b9-530df123a89f.html” target=”_blank”>Richmond Times Dispatch</a>&nbsp;indicates states may soon no longer be able to impose additional rules related to&nbsp;trucker meal breaks or to trucker rest breaks which go beyond the rules which exist on the federal level. This is because a provision has quietly found its way into a federal aviation bill which would pre-empt state law and prevent states from giving more protections to truckers when it comes to&nbsp;guaranteed breaks. &nbsp;This provision is one of several recent efforts by federal lawmakers which appear to have the effect of undermining trucking safety.</p>
<p style=”margin-right: -270px;”><strong>Federal Laws Increasing the Risk of Truck Accidents</strong></p>
<p style=”margin-right: -270px;”>In December of 2014, the&nbsp;<em>Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act</em> passed and was signed into law. This Act was essentially a&nbsp;<em>must pass</em> act to keep the government funded and operational. Because it was must-pass legislation, lawmakers were able to put&nbsp;provisions into it which they wanted to get passed quietly, which might not have passed if the individual provision had come up separately for a vote. One of the clauses included suspended a requirement which had been issued by FMCSA. The requirement had mandated a 34-hour rest break, with two periods spanning the hours between 1 AM and 5 AM. This break would be required after a trucker had driven 60 hours over seven days or 70 hours over eight days.</p>

<a href=”http://www.farrowpulicelaw.com/posts/federal-government-could-increase-sarasota-truck-accident-risks/”>Read more…</a>

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