Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations

New "Hours of Service rules for truckers come into force next month, reducing the amount of time a truck driver can spend on the road without sleep, and increasing the amount of rest before returning to the roads.

On October 1, 2005, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's new Hours of Service Rules require truck drivers to rest for at least 10 hours between shifts and provides one hour rest period, 34 for recovery of cumulative fatigue between work weeks.

These new rules are in addition to the rules introduced in 2003, which prohibits commercial truck drivers to drive for over 11 hours straight, working over 14 hours in one shift and driving more than 60 hours per week.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) was established by the U.S. Department of Transportation to reduce accidents, injuries, accidents and fatalities involving large trucks and buses.

"We have a very ambitious objective the Ministry of Transportation to reduce fatalities on our nation's highways, so safety is a major issue in our rule-making process," said Annette Sandberg, chief of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Jeffrey D. Slakter, a lawyer specializing in truck accidents each year, more than 5,000 people died following a collision with a big truck, and an estimated 130,000 victims suffer injury. "

Mr. Slakter also stresses that a commercial truck loaded weighs more than 25 times the amount of a passenger car, which may be a difference of more than 75,000 pounds. "The size and weight of an eighteen-wheel: the result almost always produces serious injury or death," he said.

The FMCSA has used a number of studies and statistics on collisions across the United States to find what they hope is a fair balance between the safety of all our roads and the sustainability of the industry trucking. Nevertheless, there continue to be major accidents involving commercial vehicles. With the trucking industry working to maintain profit margins by allowing drivers to work longer hours, and on the FMCSA regulations to reduce the number of hours a trucker can drive, and an accident involving mortality statistics will be much debated next year. Meanwhile, lawyers for trucking accidents , as Mr. Slakter continue to protect the rights of individuals who make up these statistics