Trucking safety is an important issue when it comes to improving the rate of traffic fatalities. According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, a total of 3,921 individuals were killed in 2012 in accidents involving large trucks, and another 104,000 were injured. Clearly, work needs to be done in this area.
Although there are a variety of reasons truck accidents can occur, poor safety performance is an important indicator of a truck driver’s or trucking company’s risk on the road. Federal and state regulators know this, and take action against those who have poor safety records. That is the case with Sorbon Transport Inc. of Aurora, which was recently ordered to cease all operations when it was determined that the company was in violation of a variety of safety rules.
Among the safety rules the company had been violating were out-of-service orders, maintenance-related rules, and hours of service rules. In addition, feds found that the company was not doing its due diligence in regard to ensuring the qualifications of its drivers. All of these are fairly serious violations, of course, which is why the company was ordered to stop operations.
Clearly, trucking companies don’t always address safety violations on their own initiative. In some cases, it takes a routine investigation or a motor vehicle accident to prompt change. Those who are harmed by a trucking company’s negligence, of course, deserve to be compensated for their losses, and should work with an experienced attorney to ensure they build the best case possible.
Source: Truckingnewsonline.com, “FMCSA Shuts Down Colorado Truck Fleet for Dozens of Safety Violations,” Feb. 19, 2015.