Feds to Reduce Hours for Semi Drivers, Increasing Safety for All on U.S. Highways

Virginia (VA) Truck Accident Injury Lawyers
Offices in VA Beach, Hampton & Elizabeth City, NC

Crashes Caused by Trucks

11/1/2009
Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton
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Feds to Reduce Hours for Semi Drivers, Increasing Safety for All on U.S. Highways

You get in your car to drive to your parents' house for a Thanksgiving visit. You moved away from home decades ago, and now every trip to your old home takes 10 hours each way. You give yourself 15 or 16 hours for the trip. Hey, you figure, that may be a full day spent en route, but no one could safely drive for 10 hours straight. Right?

You obviously aren't a commercial truck or bus driver.

Federal regulations permit operators of interstate freight trucks to spend up to 11 hours behind the wheel without taking a break. Bus drivers taking passengers across state lines can drive for the 10 uninterrupted hours you would never contemplate.

Believe it or not, federal regulators have tried three times since 2003 to lengthen the legal limit of hours of service for tractor trailer and bus drivers. Two attempted change were invalidated by federal judges who determined that the risks of driver fatigue outweighed any benefits from letting commercial drivers stay on the road longer. Last week, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration agreed to vacate the latest revised hours of service rule and draft new standards that would shorten permissible driving shifts in separate 24-hour periods and impose longer rests between multiday trips.
Tired truckers and bus drivers cause hundreds of highway fatalities and injuries each year. The only cure for fatigue is rest. As a lawyer who specializes in representing victims of accidents involving tractor trailers and other commercial vehicles, I welcome the move to require more rest for those who do the most driving.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton is a law firm which focuses on injury and accident law, and our attorneys have experience handling truck accident cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Our primary office is in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA), but our lawyers hold licenses in NC, SC, WV, KY and DC. We are ready to talk to you by phone right now, and we provide free initial confidential injury case consultations. Call us toll free at 1-800-752-0042. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube. Furthermore, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as pro bono public information services.

EJL

Labels: 18 wheeler Accidents bus drivers distracted driving driver fatalities fatigue Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration industry standards injury lawyer John C. passenger van semitrailer staying focused on the road tractor trailer crashes truck accidents trucker fatigue

How can you identify a top Virginia injury lawyer for your case? Look no further.

Our VA personal injury lawyers have been selected for many accolades.

Two of the attorneys with our Virginia Beach accident injury law firm, James Lewis and Rick Shapiro, have been named the Best Lawyers in America since 2008. Two of our VA injury lawyers -- Lewis and Shapiro - have been named to Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury since 2010. In addition, Lewis and Shapiro have been selected for inclusion in the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 2009.

Our VA accident injury law firm was the first in the commonwealth nvited to join Primerus, a select group of highly ethical and respected law firms. Rick Shapiro was named as one of the Top 100 Injury Lawyers in Virginia by the National Trial Lawyers Association.

In October, 2000 our law firm and co-counsel obtained what was then the largest verdict in Virginia's history for an injured person. Our brain damaged client received an initial award of $46 million that rose to $60 million with interest when the defendant abandoned an appeal and agreed to settle.

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Our personal injury lawyers handle personal injury cases throughout the eastern USA, and work closely with lawyers in other states on signficant injury cases.

In Virginia, this includes Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Hampton, Newport News, Suffolk, Richmond, Petersburg, Roanoke, Salem, Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Charlottesville, Ashland, Big Stone Gap, and every community on the Eastern Shore, including Accomack, Onancock, Chincoteauge, Wachapreague, and Cape Charles, Bloxom, Eastville, Exmore, Greenbackville, Machipongo, Mappsville, Melfa, Nassawadox, Onley, Tangier, Temperanceville, Wachapreague and Wallops Island.

In West Virginia, we can handle personal injury claims in Bluefield, Beckley, Bridgeport, Charles Town, Charleston, Fairmont, Huntington, Lewisburg, Madison, Martinsburg, Morgantown, Moundsville, Parkersburg, Ripley, Sutton, Weirton, Wheeling and any other town or county.

Injury Lawyers licensed in VA, WV, North Carolina (NC), South Carolina (SC), Kentucky (KY), Florida (FL) and Washington, DC.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton is a Virginia injury law firm whose attorneys focus on personal injury and accident law and have experience handling truck wreck cases. Check out our truck accident case results and our free consumer guide on what to do if you get involved in an accident with a commercial truck.

We have offices in Virginia Beach and Hampton, VA, but we're ready to come to you anywhere in Virginia, including Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Newport News, VA, if you've been seriously hurt by someone else's carelessness.

Rick Shapiro and James Lewis have been named to the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 2009 and included among the Best Lawyers in America since 2008. Jim and Rick have been named Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law since 2010. Fewer than 5 percent of practicing lawyers receive this honor.

In addition, our VA injury law firm was the first in the commonwealth to join Primerus, a select group of highly ethical and respected law firms, and we have the highest rating of AV from Martindale-Hubbell, a national lawyer ranking organization. The rating indicates we have a reputation for preeminent legal skill.

While not every injury case meets our criteria, we offer a free initial confidential consultations. Call us toll free at (800) 752-0042. If you cannot get through due to high call volume, please leave a message so we can get back to you.

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Feds to Reduce Hours for Semi Drivers, Increasing Safety for All on U.S. Highways

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