Georgia Injury Law Blog
As part of a new reprieve granted by the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT), truck drivers who perform daily pre-and post-trip safety inspections of their vehicle do not have to file a report if their inspection does not yield any defects.
USDOT has relaxed the requirement that mandated that trucking companies file a report for every inspection conducted by a driver before and after a trip, even if the inspection does not yield any defects. However, that does not mean that truck drivers don’t have to conduct inspections anymore. Inspections still have to be conducted as normal, but if no defects are found, the driver does not need to fill out any paperwork.
That means more time savings for truck drivers, and not surprisingly, the trucking industry has been very pleased with this reprieve granted by USDOT. The change comes as part of a directive by President Barack Obama, asking federal agencies to cut down regulation and red tape that could be hindering their business’ ability to make profits.
According to Transportation Secretary Anthony Fox, this law change is a win-win situation for the industry as well as regulators, because it removes an expensive and cumbersome duty for all trucking companies and truck drivers, while not increasing truck accident risks.
The trucking industry is very happy about this requirement elimination because it could offset some of the costs that the industry is likely to incur as a result of the other federal trucking safety rules that are now in effect. For instance, the trucking industry is still very displeased with the Hours of Service rules, which now mandates fewer working hours for truck drivers, and more rest between shifts. The rule was recently upheld by a federal appeals court in Washington. The American Trucking Association has insisted that the new Hours of Service rule promotes trucking inefficiency, and will generate massive losses for the industry.
Our
believe a complete inspection of a truck before and after a trip is definitely a must, and the new rule relaxation in the requirement is not expected to affect inspections of trucks. It is very important to make sure that all components of a truck are functioning properly, in order to reduce the risk of a malfunctioning component contributing to a crash. Malfunctioning brakes can lead to a brake failure, for instance, and such failure has been linked to devastating accidents on our nation’s roadways.