Atlanta Lawyer Bruce Millar Says Safety Goals of New Rules on Truckers’ Hours Will Depend on Compliance
Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) July 18, 2013 -- Bruce Millar, an Atlanta personal injury lawyer and traffic safety advocate, said today that he is “cautiously optimistic” about new federal rules that limit the number of hours that truck drivers can spend on the road each week.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) first proposed the rules in December 2011, with the goal of reducing the number of crashes caused by fatigued, sleep-deprived truckers.
Despite heavy opposition from the trucking industry, the rules are now being enforced by FMCSA officials, according to a July 3 Wall Street Journal article, “Truckers Are Losing Sleep Over 70-Hour Work Limit.”
The regulations have cut truck drivers’ weekly “hours-of-service” from a maximum of 82 hours to 70 hours and limit drivers’ ability to “restart” their workweek by taking off 34 consecutive hours to one restart every seven days.
“As attorneys who feel strongly about promoting traffic safety, our law firm has supported the new hours-of-service rules, and we are cautiously optimistic that they will make our roads in Georgia and across the U.S. safer,” Millar said.
“We’re cautious because, based on our experience of representing victims of truck accidents in Georgia and other motor vehicle accidents, these crashes are usually caused because someone broke the rules,” Millar continued.
“The new hours-of-service rules will only improve safety if members of the trucking industry comply with them – from the major trucking corporations to independent owner-operators.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, federal regulators estimate that the new rules could prevent about 1,400 truck accidents, 560 injuries and 19 lives each year.
However, members of the trucking industry have pointed to a steady decline in tractor-trailer crashes without the shorter workweek rules in place and have warned that the rules will lead to traffic congestion during daylight hours and higher costs passed on to consumers, WSJ reports.
Millar said he is hopeful that the new rules will be taken seriously and won’t lead to misconduct such as falsifying logbooks that document truckers’ driving hours.
“Most members of the trucking industry are honest, hard-working people, but as experience shows, there will always be those who will push the rules, break the rules or ignore them altogether,” Millar said.
“When those truckers and trucking companies cause harm to others, our law firm’s mission is to stand by the victims’ side and make sure their rights and interests are fully protected.”
About Millar & Mixon, LLC
The personal injury law firm of Millar & Mixon, LLC, focuses on representing persons injured from dog bites, animal attacks, slip-and-fall accidents and all types of car, truck, motorcycle, bus and other motor vehicle accidents. The firm serves clients throughout the Atlanta metropolitan area and the state of Georgia, including Jonesboro, East Point, North Atlanta, Sandy Springs, Forest Park, College Park, Decatur, Roswell, Marietta, Peachtree City, Fayetteville, Riverdale, Lawrenceville, Athens and Macon. The firm’s office is located at Colony Square, 1201 Peachtree Street, N.E., Atlanta, GA 30361. For more information, call (770) 477-6360 or contact the firm through its online form.
Bruce Millar, Millar & Mixon, LLC, http://www.MillarandMixon.com, (770) 477-6360, [email protected]
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