The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has laid down many rules and regulations, which have to be adhered to by trucking companies, truck drivers, and commercial trucks. The main goal of these rules and regulations is to increase the safety of the commercial trucks that navigate the roads of America, and to reduce the instances of commercial truck accidents.

Trucks that only run within a particular state may not be governed by all such federal rules, but interstate commercial trucks, meaning those which run between different states, are governed by these federal laws. In addition to federal rules, there are various state laws as well, which govern commercial trucks, their drivers, and the companies that own them.

Here are some of the federal rules and regulations that apply to the trucking industry.

Rules and Regulations for Trucks

• All commercial trucks are required to have proper markings, which identify them as commercial trucks and also give an indication about the nature of the goods that the trucks are transporting.
• Federal Rules also mandate cargo to be properly secured on the trucks. This means using better securing devices on the trucks and loading and unloading the cargo in the right manner.
• Federal regulations are in place, which mandate commercial trucks to have various kinds of insurance coverage. This insurance coverage depends on the types of goods that are usually carried by the commercial truck. Such insurance rules and regulations are established, so as to protect people who have been involved in commercial truck accidents, from truck owners and trucking companies which may not be in a financial position to compensate the victims and pay any damages arising from truck accidents.

Rules and Regulations for Trucking Companies

• Trucking companies are required to comply with the federal rules for carrying and transporting any kind of hazardous materials.
• Trucking companies have to carry out regular drug and alcohol testing of their truck driver employees.
• Trucking companies are mandated by law to give their truck driver employees the specified time off from duty, after driving for a set number of hours. No company may force a driver to continue driving his truck beyond the hours allowed or if the driver is fatigued.

Rules and Regulations for Truck Drivers

• Truck drivers have to follow the federal rules regarding hours of service. No truck driver can drive beyond the specified number of hours, without taking a rest period in between.
• Truck drivers are required to maintain a log book of their hours of service, including driving and non-driving hours.
• Truck drivers cannot report for duty, or drive a truck; if they have a blood alcohol concentration of more than 0.02. A truck driver cannot ingest any intoxicating substances within a minimum of 8 hours before driving.
• Any commercial truck driver cannot have more than one commercial truck driving license. Such a license has to be issued in the home state of the truck driver.

The entire trucking industry is required to be in compliance with the federal rules that govern them. If there has been a truck accident, and if any trucking company or truck driver is found to be negligent in following the federal rules, or has deliberately chosen to disregard these rules, then the victim of such an accident can file a legal claim for damages against the parties who have failed to comply with the federal rules and regulations.

Find legal information and lawyers that specialize in Truck Accidents by state: