Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is responsible for ensuring the safety of our highways, particularly for motor carriers and commercial truck drivers. One of the ways the administration regulates safety for truck drivers and motor carriers is by issuing Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, which establish a minimum level of safe conduct acceptable to professional truck drivers and trucking companies.

Trucking Regulations

Besides the regulations, the administration also provides guidance in the interpretation of the regulations for clarity. Some of the lesser-known regulations relating to truck driver safety are as follows:

What the Safety Rules Cover

The regulations cover almost every facet of the trucking industry.

These rules and regulations are vital to traffic safety, both for truck drivers and the public. These regulations were necessary due to the size of semi-trucks and other commercial vehicles.

Some of the important areas covered in the regulations include:

• Driver medical requirements
• Hours of service for truck drivers
• Maintenance and inspections
• Drug and alcohol testing
• CDL requirements

An Example of a Safety Regulation

FUELING PRECAUTIONS

Section 392.50 – Ignition of fuel; prevention

This section provides that a driver, employee, or motor carrier must seek to prevent the ignition of fuel by following the safety guidelines set forth below.

• The commercial motor vehicle must be turned off when fueling, except when necessary to fuel the commercial motor vehicle.
• Smoking or exposing any open flame around the truck is prohibited while it is being fueled.
• The nozzle of the fuel hose must be continuously in contact with the intake part of the fuel tank.

Additionally, the regulation provides that the truck driver or motor carrier shall not permit, as far as practical, any other person to engage in prohibited activities that would likely lead to the result of a fire or explosion.

While these rules of evidence, as outlined in the regulations, may seem like common sense, they are part of an ongoing effort to keep professional truck drivers and the public as safe as possible.

Additional regulations provide that open flame heaters, which are commonly used in the loading and unloading of a commodity, shall not be in operation while the commercial vehicle is in motion. These common-sense rules are to ensure that a commercial vehicle does not become a fire or explosion hazard.

Many commercial vehicles are involved in accidents that end in a fireball. One of the reasons for the risks of a vehicle fire in a commercial semi-truck is that the fuel tanks are commonly located outside the frame in an area that is subject to breach in an accident.

The risk of a fire after an accident obviously is increased for vehicles containing hazardous or flammable loads. Special rules apply to trucks and truck drivers that transport hazardous materials. Generally, section 397 of the FMCSR provides the rules and regulations applicable to the transport of hazardous materials.

If You Were in a Large Truck Accident, Get Legal Help Quickly

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident with a tractor-trailer, contact the best 18-wheeler accident attorney in Houston as soon as possible after the accident. In semi-truck accidents, acting quickly is important. It’s best to talk to a truck accident lawyer as soon as possible.

Contact a truck accident lawyer in Houston, TX, for help.