U.S. Capital

Truck Accidents On the Rise, But Industry Wants to Relax Safety Rules

Dec 8, 2015

Chicago, IL (Law Firm Newswire) December 8, 2015 – The trucking industry is pushing for relaxed safety rules, even as truck accidents increase.

Nearly 4,000 people die in the United States each year in accidents involving large trucks. More than 85,000 are injured. Fatalities involving big rigs have increased 17 percent since 2009, and injuries have increased by 28 percent. However, the trucking industry is pushing Congress to loosen safety restrictions.

“Far too many people lose their lives or are seriously injured in truck accidents,” said Paul Greenberg, a truck accident attorney with the Chicago firm of Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. “We need to be strengthening truck safety standards, not weakening them.”

The trucking industry supports proposals that would allow younger drivers, and significantly heavier and longer trucks. Supporters of the changes say that public safety would be improved, because there would be fewer trucks on the road, but truck safety advocates say that claim is ridiculous. Opponents of the changes say that truck safety would be degraded by the changes, and the proposals would serve only to enrich the trucking industry.

A bill currently pending in Congress would enact another change favored by the trucking industry: blocking the public from being able to view the safety ratings of truck companies online. As of now, the public is able to search the Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) database of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, to see how companies rank in terms of vehicle maintenance, unsafe driving, crashes and alcohol and drug violations by drivers. The proposed legislation would block the public from viewing the database until changes are made to the CSA system.

Linda Lipsen, head of the American Association for Justice, said the bill was a giveaway to the most dangerous trucking companies and would harm public safety.

Learn more at http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/practice-areas/chicago-car-truck-accident-lawyers/

Briskman Briskman & Greenberg
351 West Hubbard Street, Ste 810
Chicago, IL 60654
Phone: 312.222.0010
Facebook: Like Us!
Google+ Contact a Chicago personal injury lawyer from Briskman Briskman & Greenberg on Google+.

  • Illinois Car Accident Deaths Likely to Increase in 2015
    Traffic fatalities in Illinois are on pace to increase in 2015. In 2014, there were fewer fatalities from car accidents in Illinois than in nearly a century. The total of 910 traffic deaths was the lowest recorded since 1921. However, preliminary data from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) indicate that fatalities are likely to …
  • New Study Finds Major Mistakes Made in Half of All Surgeries
    This month’s Chicago Injury Alert addresses a recent study indicating that in the United States, surgery goes very wrong in every other operation.
  • Illinois construction companies face heavy fines for exposing workers to asbestos
    Two Illinois companies face heavy fines for exposing workers to deadly asbestos fibers. Joseph Kehrer and two companies affiliated with him, D7 Roofing and Kehrer Brothers, violated numerous health and safety standards, according to an investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), part of the U.S. Department of Labor. Joseph Kehrer and Kehrer …
  • Chicago hospital sued for medical malpractice after allegedly botched blood transfusion
    A medical malpractice lawsuit has been filed against a Chicago hospital, claiming that a woman died after a transfusion with the incorrect blood type. The lawsuit was filed by Olessor Anthony against the hospital and medical personnel over the death of Dorothy Foster after a blood transfusion. According to the lawsuit, Foster was given a …
  • Medical malpractice lawsuit filed against Cook County doctor over appendectomy
    A medical malpractice lawsuit has been filed against a Cook County doctor and medical group, by a patient who claims that a 2014 procedure resulted in an infection that required additional surgery. Raymond Simpson filed the lawsuit July 28 in Cook County Circuit Court, claiming negligence in the operation, which took place in November 2014. …