Commercial trucking is one of the essential components involved in keeping the domestic market moving as it is responsible for the delivery of countless consumer goods to end users and to businesses. In New York, there is respect for this work but there is also a concern about the safety of large commercial trucks on the roads and highways. In 2017 alone, truck accident fatalities accounted for more than 12 percent of all vehicular fatalities statewide according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

In 2017, there were a total of 999 people killed in motor vehicle accidents in New York and 121 of those people died in crashes in which a large commercial vehicle was involved. For many years now, one of the big concerns when it comes to safety and trucking has been fatigue among drivers. A few years ago, the federal government enacted a new set of rules that provided parameters for the number of hours a trucker may work and drive in a given day or week.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has also set forth a mandate that trucks be equipped with electronic logging devices. These devices are able to communicate with a truck’s engine to capture the date, time and location of a truck when its engine is started. ELDs can track how many minutes or hours a truck has been driven and has been idling.

The ELD mandate is one more way that the government is aiming to prevent trucker fatigue in a larger effort to promote improved safety on the roads.

Contact Our Personal Injury Law Firm in New York City

If you’ve been injured in an accident in Manhattan, NY, and need legal help, contact our New York City personal injury lawyers at Rosenbaum & Rosenbaum, P.C. to schedule a free consultation.

Rosenbaum & Rosenbaum, P.C.
100 Wall St 15th Floor
New York, NY 10005
(212) 514-5007