Cargo Securement: Overview The regulations that address cargo securement are detailed, numerous, and therefore, well beyond the scope of these blog posts. However, this section will discuss certain important concepts and general rules that should be considered in any case where cargo movement is an issue. Cargo Securement The first…
Tires: Overview The concept that damaged, worn, or defective tires, or proper tires overloaded by the motor carrier, may fail is not a novel one. However, the regulations do include some requirements and exceptions that may come into play in a case. CMV Tires Under subpart C of part 393,…
Brakes And Braking Systems: Overview Lights and reflective devices are important at night, and may or may not make a difference, especially where adequate lighting is present. Brakes, on the other hand, count every time the accelerator is pressed. Indeed, few parts of a CMV are as critical or as…
Introduction 49 CFR Part 393 discusses “[p]arts and accessories necessary for safe operation” of a CMV. The regulations therein provide explicit instructions about many of the components that fit together to make up a CMV. Prompt inspection of a vehicle, particularly in a case where no obvious reason for a…
Pertinent Case Law A considerable body of law has emerged which construes many aspects of regulation, and provides guidance for those who deal with stopped CMV litigation. For example, in the Harmon case, a motor carrier was held to face direct liability for failing to instruct its driver in the…
Stopping a CMV: Overview While state “rules of the road” may address stopping of any motor vehicle, the dangers created by the stopping of a large truck were sufficient to motivate the authors of the FMCSR to implement detailed and specific requirements to warn oncoming traffic. In considering these requirements,…
Pertinent Case Law First, the USDOT has interpreted regulation to say that it is the driver, not the motor carrier, who makes the call on discontinuing operation. If the driver says he wanted to pull over but was told by the motor carrier that no shut-down had been declared, both…
Operating in Hazardous Conditions: Overview The hazardous conditions regulation creates a significant issue in any case where an accident involving a CMV occurs in bad weather. Failing to address the regulation in deposition and discovery and failing to argue it and seek its charge, is inexcusable in a bad weather…
Pertinent Case Law The courts recognize a distinction between a claim of a shipper against a motor carrier when cargo is damaged, as opposed to a claim by a member of the traveling public injured by an improperly secured load. This distinction was illustrated in the case of Syngenta Crop…
Cargo Securement: Overview The duties incumbent upon the driver of a CMV relative to cargo are strict, and frequently ignored in practice. These rules are critical to the prosecution of a claim involving cargo which falls off a truck, shifts causing the vehicle to wreck or otherwise interferes with operation…