Federal and State Law regarding Trucking

In many instances, Federal law trumps state law in the regulation of commerce.  For example, if a medical device, such as a prosthetic hip, is approved by a governmental agency for sale under federal law, state law is said to be preempted by the Federal Law.  That is to say that state law cannot impose greater regulation on the manufacture of the product than is required by Federal Law.  This is not true as it pertains to the regulation of trucking on our highways.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act (FMCFR) specifically addresses this issue. Under the FMCFR section 390.9  Except as otherwise specifically indicated, subchapter B of this chapter is not intended to preclude States or subdivisions thereof from establishing or enforcing State or local laws relating to safety, the compliance with which would not prevent full compliance with these regulations by the person subject thereto.  The key word in the sentence is safety.  Semi Tractor-Trailers are essential to keeping this country, and our economy humming.  We could not function without them.  However, we could not use our roads safely if semi tractor-trailer accidents were the rule rather than the exception.  These safety regulations keep Hoosier families safer by eliminating poor maintenance which can lead to serious personal injury and wrongful death.  Issues such as speed control, lane control, amount of time a driver can operate and drunk driving are all part of what the safety rules are designed to control in order to make our roads safe.

If you, or a loved one has been seriously injured in a semi tractor-trailer collision and you need help, we understand the rules of the road, and have the experience to ensure that whoever caused the harm to you and your family makes up for that harm.