By James Girards.
As you've heard, Tracy Morgan was critically injured when his bus was rear-ended by an 18-wheeler. At least one passenger died. Our hearts go out to him and the families of all of those injured. But, this crash has far more implications than most realize. That's because days before the crash, some US Senators who do the bidding of the trucking lobby were in the process of relaxing the hours of service regulations that protect us all from fatigued truckers. These are the rules that require minimum rest periods between driving hours. They protect drivers from being forced to drive excessive hours by the trucking companies and they protect you and your family when on the nation's highways. You can read a summary of the current hours of service regulations by clicking here. The ring-leader of this dangerous group is US Senator Susan Collins from Maine. The US Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration director Anne Ferro recently posted an impassioned blog entry against this mis-guided effort. You can read the post by clicking here. Our reader should not misunderstand what is happening in the US Senate. This is bare-knuckled politics paid for by the US trucking lobby and US Senators who hope you aren't paying attention. Wal-Mart, the trucking company who injured Morgan, has alone spent more than $63,000,000 in lobbying the US Senate on transportation issues from 2006 through today. You can check out the data by clicking here.
It must be hard for Senators like Collins to say "no" to that kind of money or to that kind of client. If you want to do her a favor and help her say "no" to relaxing hours of service rules contact her by clicking here and you can contact your own US Senators by clicking here.
For more information or for help in any trucking collision case contact the trucking lawyers at The Girards Law Firm at 214-346-9529 in Texas or in Arkansas at (501) 288-9529 or in Oklahoma at (405) 598-7825.