Bernard Walsh Comments On The Latest Attempt To Weaken Trucking Safety Regulations

BRADENTON, Fla. - Feb. 5, 2015 - PRLog -- The proposed changes to the regulations seek to weaken the two basic pillars of hours-of-service rules that ensure drivers are rested enough to be on America's highways. Specifically that drivers have to take a 30-minute rest break within the first eight hours of their shift, and that drivers must take a 34-hour “restart” period once every seven days before a new work week can begin. That 34-hour rest period must include two consecutive overnights between 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m.

However changes to these important safety rules are being proposed, and have been included in the latest spending bill referred to as “cromnibus” (continuing resolution (CR) + omnibus) under review by congress.

The changes introduced by Sen. Susan Collins (r) from Maine, would remove the requirement that drivers must include two overnights, as well as allow drivers to take more than one restart in a seven-day period, thereby starting a new 70-hour workweek before seven days have passed.

Federal Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx reacted to the proposed changes by stating, “The net effect of these changes was to reduce the average maximum week a driver could work from 82 hours to 70 hours.”

As the fatal-crash rate from accidents increased each year from 2009 through 2012, reversing a five-year trend changes to weaken trucking safety regulations have been controversial.

Injury Attorney Bernard F. Walsh of the Shapiro Goldman Babboni & Walsh law firm in Bradenton Florida had this to say about the proposed weakening of safety regulations,”NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) databases show us that on average 83000 accidents per year are due to fatigued or drowsy drivers. Fatalities due to fatigued or drowsy drivers are 2.5% nationally. This tells us that more must be done to enforce the out of service (rest/sleep) requirements imposed on all truck drivers by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations to cut down on these fatigue, drowsy related crashes.”

About Personal Injury Attorney Bernard Walsh

A highly experienced, AV Rated attorney, and Founder of the Manasota Trial Lawyers Board, Bernard Walsh is an active member in multiple legal organizations including The Association of Plaintiff Interstate Trucking Lawyers of America (APITLA), the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, the Florida Justice Association and the National Trial Lawyers Association.

Bernard Walsh is an active member of the Manatee and Sarasota Sheriff’s Advisory Boards, the Florida Highway Patrol Advisory Council and the One Hundred Club for Law Enforcement in Manatee.

A managing partner at the Personal Injury and Civil Trial Law firm of Shapiro, Goldman, Babboni and Walsh, Bernard Walsh has helped hundreds of Floridians get fair compensation for injuries. Additionally Bernard Walsh has won one of Florida's largest motorcycle accident recoveries and has an AV Preeminent® rating on AVVO, a doctors and attorneys ratings website.

More about Sarasota Injury Attorney Bernard Walsh at http://www.GetMeJustice.com