FMCSA Fines Numerous Moving Companies for Failing to Meet Federal Standards; Houston Trucking Accidents a Risk

A Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) enforcement sweep handed out civil fines of $25,000 to three household goods moving companies.  The enforcement sweep took place in nine major U.S. cities back in March, according to FMCSA.  The companies all received the fines for failing to meet moving truck regulatory standards in Texas and elsewhere in the United States.

The FMCSA conducted compliance reviews to 67 different moving companies during the safety sweep. They do this as a part of the agency's year-round Household Goods Strike Force initiative that is designed to protect the public from fraudulent moving companies.  Our Houston trucking attorneys applaud the effort and encourage you to do your homework before selecting a moving company.

"We are committed to protecting the public from unscrupulous movers that attempt to operate unsafely," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "We want these carriers to know that there are serious legal and financial consequences for evading federal regulations."

Federal and state investigators conducted the comprehensive compliance reviews and looked for regulatory violations.  They searched the companies for such things as failing to relinquish possession of a household goods shipment, failing to provide consumers with an arbitration process and collecting fees more than the original binding estimate.

"FMCSA is committed to raising the bar for safety and closing cases on rogue household goods movers," said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. "We will do this by keeping the focus on safety and on improving service to the American public, one safe and successful move at a time."

 If you need to file a household goods moving company complaint or a any complaint on a passenger carrier company or commercial motor vehicle company, you can file it through the FMSCA website or call toll free 1-888-DOT-SAFT (1-888-368-7238) from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM eastern time, Monday through Friday.

If you or a loved one has been involved in an accident with a passenger carrier vehicle or commercial motor vehicle in the Houston area, contact the Houston Truck Accident Lawyers at The Stephens Law Firm at (713) 224-0055 to discuss your rights.

Anti-Distracted Driving Efforts push Trucking Safety in Houston

As National Distracted Driving Awareness Month comes to a close, the National Safety Council and FocusDriven encourage truckers and other motorists to practice safe driving year around.  For the entire month, the safe driving advocate groups urged drivers to curb their cell phone use while behind the wheel.  The National Safety Council estimates that 1.6 million accidents, 28 percent of all crashes, are caused by drivers using cell phones or texting while driving.  This makes cell phone use the number one cause for distracted driving accidents in Texas and elsewhere in the United States.
Our Houston truck accident lawyers would like to urge drivers to do their part in helping to keep our roadways safe.  We ask that all motorists put away all distractions while operating a vehicle.  A large truck and a distracted driver is a recipe for serious injury.

“Every single time someone takes their eyes or their focus off the road - even for just a few seconds - they put their lives and the lives of others in danger,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “Distracted driving is unsafe, irresponsible and in a split second, its consequences can be devastating.”

The NSC thinks that this month is an excellent time to implement a cell phone policy in the work place as many work accidents are motor-vehicle related.  The Safety Council has  provided employers with a Cell Phone Policy Kit to help them get the ball rolling on a safer and injury free workplace.  Employers are encouraged to hold open meeting with employees. Many materials in the Cell Phone Policy Kit kit will help you communicate. It is recommended that you request feedback from employees regarding the policy as well.

“National Distracted Driving Awareness Month also is the perfect opportunity for businesses to implement cell phone policies to protect employees. When businesses allow employees to conduct business on cell phones while driving, they are putting their employees at a 4 times greater risk of a crash,” said Janet Froetscher, NSC president and CEO.

Statistics, provided by Distraction.gov, illustrate just how dangerous distracted driving habits are:

 -Nearly 5,500 people were killed, and another 448,000 injured, in the United States because of motor-vehicle accidents that reportedly involved a distracted driver in 2009.

-Of those killed in distracted-driving related accidents, nearly 1,000 of them -- 18 percent of fatalities -- reported cell phone use as the distraction.

-Drivers who use hand-held devices while driving are four times more likely to get into an accident that results in serious injury.

-Using a cell phone behind the wheel delays a driver's reaction time as much as being legally drunk, or having a blood alcohol concentration of .08 percent of higher.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, over 3,300 fatal large truck accidents occurred in 2009. Nearly 300 of those fatal accidents involving semi-trucks and other large trucks happened in the state of Texas the same year

Recently, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, led by Administrator Anne Ferro, placed a ban on commercial truck and bus drivers from texting with any hand-held cellphone or other devices while driving as they take driver’s attention off the road.

"Our regulations will help prevent unsafe activity within the cab, and we want to make it crystal clear that texting is one of those unsafe activities these regulations prohibit," said Ferro.

According to a New York Times report, over 30 states have text messaging bans for all drivers.  One-third of those laws were enacted back in 2010.

“Unfortunately though, the problem doesn't end there.  Distracted driving occurs across all age groups and all modes of transportation, from cars to buses and trucks to trains. We must work together to find solutions that will prevent crashes caused by driver distraction,” said Secretary LaHood.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident with a truck in Houston or the surrounding areas, contact the Houston Injury Lawyers at The Stephens Law Firm by calling (713) 224-0000.

Spring Work Zone Safety seeks to reduce Houston Trucking Accidents, Car and Work Accidents

The Texas Department of Transportation (TexDOT) and U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) join forces each April to raise awareness about safety in construction zones. With spring here, officials urge you to pass the word during National Safety Zone Awareness Week, according to TexDOT.  TxDOT hopes that the campaign, "Safer driving. Safer work zones. For everyone." will help reduce the risks of a Houston work zone accident.

"One work zone fatality is one too many. We are continuing our efforts to educate motorists on the dangers of speed and distracted driving in work zones," said the Texas Transportation Commissioner, Fred Underwood. "Each of us has the power to protect lives as we drive. We just need to put our cell phones down, stop adjusting the radio and focus on driving safely."

Our Houston truck accident lawyers urge you to join the fight against work zone accidents and do your part to keep our roadways safe.  Of the nearly 700 work zone motor-vehicle traffic deaths that were reported by the U.S. in 2009 to The National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse, Texas contributed approximately 100 of those fatalities.  The United States experienced nearly 44,000 injures in these zone as Texas, again contributing nearly 10 percent of the nation's total.  A large number of these fatalities involve trucking accidents -- either in the construction zone or as a result of a traffic backup leading to a road construction zone.

Texas has more than 1,000 road maintenance or construction projects underway at any given time.  The constant lane changes, congested roads and lack of driving attention, all put motorists at high risk for accidents in areas of road construction.   It is estimated that more than four out of five work zone deaths are caused by motorists traveling through these zones.  More specifically, it is speeding and distracted driving that are the main contributors to these accidents.  One in three of these incidents are reportedly rear-end collisions.  Truckers, again, are involved in many of these accidents as they typically take longer to stop than average size motor vehicles.  It is not uncommon for rear-end collisions to happen with these trucks.

The National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse offers these tips to motorists passing through potentially dangerous work zones:

-Always obey posted road signs, flaggers and other instructional objects in these areas.


-Have patience.  Delays are common in these areas and loosing your cool will do nothing to help the flow of traffic to move any faster.  Getting aggravated will only lead to aggressive driving habits and put you at an increased risk for an accident.

-Avoid distracted driving at all costs.  A driver that fails to put full attention on the road greatly increases the risk for an accident.  Distracted driving is one of the leading causes for fatalities in these areas.

-Plan ahead.  If you know you'll be passing through a work zone during your commute it is recommended that you leave earlier or plan to take an alternative route.

-Don't tailgate.  Make sure to leave a safe distance between you and other objects occupying the roadways.  This includes the car in front of you, zone workers and zone equipment. 

For more information about work zone safety, you are invited to visit the TexDot Facebook page or listen to our TexDOT podcast.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a work zone accident in Houston or surrounding areas, contact The Joe Stevens Law Firm for a free and confidential consultation to discuss your rights.  Call (713) 224-0000.

Department of Transportation Urged to Implement Truck Driver Training to Decrease Risks of Houston Car Accidents

While the federal government has the ability to establish a standard for license requirements for interstate truck drivers, the U.S. Department of Transportation has yet to do so, according to Road Safe America. Without proper training, motorists may be at higher risk of a Houston car accident with a tractor-trailer or other commercial vehicle.

Katy personal injury lawyers would like to remind you that you may be the only one who could save you and your passengers from a serious -- if not deadly -- vehicle accident. Without proper training -- or at least training that has been standardized across all 50 states -- you really have no idea who is piloting the 80,000 pound rig barreling down the highway next to you.

According to the National Highway Traffics Safety Administration, there were approximately 66,000 large trucks involved in injury crashes in 2009. Of those injured,  71 percent were occupants in the other vehicle, only 26 percent were occupants of a large truck.

Nearly every state requires a Commercial Driver's License (CDL) that can be obtained in two simple steps.  First, a driver much pass a written test on the rules and regulations pertaining to commercial trucks on the road.  Secondly, a driver must pass a driving test, usually including a parking lot test, a road test, and an eye exam.  What concerns Road Safe America about these testing procedures is that no minimum driving time or classroom time has been established.

Approximately one-fourth of all truck drivers that were involved in fatal accidents in 2008 have had at least one previous speeding infraction.

Road Safe America finds the current standards for large truck drivers inadequate in keeping motorists safe on our roads.  While they push for more hands-on training for drivers, the rule has been repeatedly shot down.  Rejection aside, they will continue to push the federal government to enact these requirements in order to keep our roads and motorists safe.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a serious or fatal Houston car accident, contact our Houston personal injury lawyers at Stephens Law Firm by or calling us at 713.224.0000 to set up a free and confidential appointment to discuss your rights.

New Research Proves Faulty Underride Guards Increase Risk of Injury in Houston Car Accidents

Studies show underride guards on tractor-trailers create a high risk for injury -- even death -- for passenger vehicle occupants involved in Houston car accidents, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The IIHS has determined that these underride guards on tractor-trailers are prone to failure in low-speed crashes and they've petitioned the federal government to set higher regulations so these guards will remain in place and be effective during rear-end collisions with passenger vehicles.

Our Houston personal injury lawyers recommend you remain especially alert while riding behind a semi and that you always maintain plenty of following distance. We warn you that it may not come down to the model or year of car you're driving, but the skill and awareness of the driver that will keep you save on the road. You can't count on the truck driver -- and you certainly can't count on an underride guard to keep you from traveling beneath a semi in the event of a rear-end collision.

"Cars' front-end structures are designed to manage a tremendous amount of crash energy in a way that minimizes injuries for their occupants," said IIHS President Adrian Lund. "Hitting the back of a large truck is a game changer. You might be riding in a vehicle that earns top marks in frontal crash tests, but if the truck's underride guard fails — or isn't there at all — your chances of walking away from even a relatively low-speed crash aren't good."

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), approximately 420 passenger vehicle occupants die each year when striking the back of tractor-trailers. They estimate that more than 5,000 passengers are injured from these types of accidents.

The study brought up more questions regarding underride failure, so the IIHS conducted a test of its own. They evaluated the effectiveness of underride guards on three different tractor-trailers, including those that met Canadian standards and those complying with U.S. rules. The underride guards meeting U.S. requirements failed miserable in preserving the vehicles that rear ended them. Canadian guards stopped vehicles before the damage reached the occupants in the passenger vehicles. The U.S. guards did not return such favorable results, according to Transport Topics.

"Damage to the cars in some of these tests was so devastating that it's hard to watch the footage without wincing. If these had been real-world crashes there would be no survivors," said Adrian Lund, Institute president.

If a you or someone you know or love has been seriously injured in a Texas trucking accident, contact our Houston personal injury lawyers at Stephens Law Firm calling us at 713.224.0000 to set up a free and confidential appointment to discuss your rights.