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Trucking Industry

New Marijuana Legislation Brings Challenges to the Trucking Industry

July 3, 2019 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

On May 31st, 2019 Illinois joined 10 other states in officially making the decision to legalize recreational marijuana. The decision promises to provide a major financial boost to the state, bringing in roughly $800 million to $1 billion a year in taxes. With the potential for great financial gain, many have seen the new law as a win for the state of Illinois. While the new law does bring great economic potential, it’s important to remember it may have a variety of ramifications for those in several industries throughout the state.

As we previously touched on regarding truck driver impairment and the necessary precautions that must be taken with drug use on the rise in the United States, the legalization of marijuana does pose a threat to the truck driving industry. Just like any other driver on the road, an individual who is impaired via the use of marijuana should never get behind the wheel of a vehicle. Similar to alcohol consumption, the drug delays an individuals’ reaction time and ultimately impairs their judgement. Now pair those adverse effects with a truck driver who has been behind the wheel for up to 14 hours at a time, and this is a recipe for disaster. Unfortunately, the reality of the situation is that marijuana use amongst truck drivers has become far more prevalent, with positive marijuana tests among truck drivers increasing 4% year over year to 2.6% for the federally mandated drug testing that drivers must undergo. While that number may appear small, it is an increase, nevertheless. More importantly, we must keep in mind that although the positive test rate remains in the single digits, it is absolutely unacceptable to have drivers on the road who participate in any sort of recreational drug or alcohol use.

Unfortunately, driver impairment is not the only issue that residents of Illinois need to be considering since the new law has been passed. Over the last decade, there appears to be a new report circulated each year that warns of the truck industry being in dire need of more professionals due to the small pool of drivers to choose from. We even wrote an article on how aging truck drivers are a factor in this exact issue. With Illinois legalizing recreational marijuana and with more states following suit, the driver pool throughout the United States and Illinois will be affected. Heavy Duty Trucking wrote an article in 2018 exploring this topic in further detail and noted that “in an industry facing a driver shortage, legal use of cannabis may cut into the available driver pool. Some drivers could even consume edible cannabis unawares and fail a pre-employment drug test.” The article also cites a study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Highway Loss Data Institute, which found that in the “first states to legalize the sale of recreational marijuana, there has been a 5.2% increase in crashes.” The hope is that any time a substance is legalized, no accidents occur as a result of such substance abuse; however, while that is clearly wishful thinking, there are steps that can be taken to make certain that such drivers using marijuana are not allowed on the road. 

Safety Precautions Must Be Taken to Increase Road Safety

In March of 2019, the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) produced a manual, Marijuana Legalization and Impaired Driving: Solutions for Protecting our Roadways, with the goal of providing useful tips on maintaining safe roads. One of the key points of note throughout the manual is the fact that it acknowledges that drug testing for marijuana is not the same as testing for blood alcohol content. The manual goes on to provide several reasons as to exactly why drug testing for marijuana is currently not a viable option to truly see if an individual has been driving under the influence of the drug:

  1. Unlike alcohol, where impairment level is easily predicted by BAC, the severity of impairment resulting from marijuana use depends on a number of factors, including the frequency of marijuana use and consumption method. While higher doses of marijuana often result in greater impairment, this relationship is less predictable than that of alcohol and impairment.
  2. Peak subjective marijuana impairment does not coincide with peak THC blood concentrations.
  3. THC deteriorates rapidly in the user’s blood.
  4. Low levels of THC in a user’s blood are not necessarily indicative of recent use.

As established by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) under CFR § 382, commercial truck drivers must be tested for controlled substances and alcohol use. However, it is only mandatory that a urine test be taken, not a hair analysis which has proven to be far more accurate when testing for specific drugs other than alcohol.

Moving Forward with Legalization

Unfortunately, as the federally mandated drug testing appears to be behind the curve when it comes to accurately finding whether a driver is under the influence of the drug, it appears that one of the best measures that can be taken to ensuring such drivers stay off the road for good is not only requesting that a hair analysis become a part of the federally mandated testing, but that transportation and law enforcement officials begin collecting data immediately on such drivers involved in unfortunate crashes. For example, Transport Topics cited another study conducted by ATRI, which quoted that “whether or not the federal government recognizes the legality of marijuana, it should take the lead on related federal data collection programs; . . . key to this role is identifying and conveying standards for state – and local – level data collection by law enforcement and the criminal justice system.” While this clearly appears to be a quick fix approach to driver impairment, it may be the best way to curb the increase in truck driver’s driving under the influence as more states continue legalizing marijuana. As a state, we must make certain that the public remains safe, and advocating for increased measures to keep drivers who will abuse drugs and alcohol off the roads should be something we are all for.

Rising Drug Abuse Poses Significant Threats to Road Safety

June 20, 2019 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

As we are all well aware, the United States is facing an ongoing opioid crisis it has long been struggling to control. With a total of 11.4 million people misusing prescription opioids in 2017, it is easy to see the ramifications of the opioid epidemic have found their way into the lives of commercial truck drivers throughout the United States. As of January 1st, 2018, any individual taking a Department of Transportation federally mandated drug test, as those with a commercial driver’s license must do, would be subject to testing not only for drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamines, but for semi-synthetic opioids like OxyContin, Percodan, Percocet, and Vicodin. This expansion upon the previous drug testing regulations embodies how the trucking industry has had to deal with the issue of drugs among its drivers. While opioids statistically are not the most prevalent drugs being used by drivers within the trucking industry, the new drug testing regulations confirm what many within the industry have known for years; the drug crisis America faces has hit one of its largest industries the hardest.

On June 12, 2019, the Alliance for Driver Safety & Security, what many in the industry know as the “Trucking Alliance,” submitted a statement to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Sub-Committee on Highways and Transit regarding the state of drug use within America’s trucking industry. As part of its statement to Congress, the Trucking Alliance provided data which had been given to the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) and found compelling evidence of severe drug use among commercial drivers. The data showed results of “151,662 truck driver applicants, who were asked to submit to two drug tests – a urinalysis and a hair analysis. Almost all applicants held an active commercial driver’s license.” In addition, 94% of the applicants tested drug-free; however, there were thousands of applicants who failed either one or both of the tests given. Making the issue far worse, the urinalysis test, which happens to be the only method used by USDOT, actually did not identify a majority of users, missing 9 out of 10 actual illicit drug users. On the other hand, the Trucking Alliance has proposed that USDOT begin mandating a hair analysis to be conducted in addition to the current urinalysis routine. In total, the Trucking Alliance has now stated that based on the estimated 3.5 million commercial drivers within the United States, the data compiled would result in roughly 301,000 commercial drivers failing or refusing a hair analysis. Even though this number appears shocking, it only begins to convey the hazard that such drivers pose to road safety.

Drug Use Among Drivers is Leading to Dangerous Roads

Part of the Trucking Alliance’s plea to Congress on June 12th was to make certain that motorists are not placed in more danger due to a commercial driver’s potential drug abuse problem. As evidenced by the survey conducted, public safety is at risk if trucking companies fail to acknowledge and appropriately test for drugs that have been proven to be rampant within the industry itself. In fact, a Quest Diagnostics analysis conducted between 2015 and 2017, found that commercial drivers who went through post-accident testing saw an increase in positive drug-testing rates rising 51%, from 3.1% in 2017 all the way to 4.7% in 2018.

Of course, the trucking industry is not the only one afflicted by the ongoing drug crisis in the United States; however, as in other industries of high stress and long hours, drug abuse seems all the more likely. With that being said, it is absolutely essential that employers take this data seriously and consider adopting new, more accurate drug tests, in addition to the mandated urinalysis test that has been proven to fail. For the health of the commercial drivers spending hours on the road alone and for the overall well being of the general public, employers must do all they can to keep unsafe drivers off the road.

The Effects of Driving Impaired

While the opioid epidemic is a crisis that must be addressed, many companies are actually finding that the legalization of marijuana through various states in the US is also contributing to driver impairment. Trucking Info’s recent Safety and Compliance report cited an interview with the American Trucking Association’s Abigail Potter, Manager of Safety & Occupational Health Policy. Abigail recently mentioned that even if a driver is operating a vehicle under 26,000 pounds, “you still have to be medically qualified to operate, and one of the requirements is to not use a controlled substance, which include marijuana.” Further, being impaired by marijuana causes “drivers to exhibit poor judgment, decreased motor coordination, and decreased reaction time,” leading drivers to be all the more likely to get into an accident and place others at risk. If these are the effects that marijuana has on drivers, now imagine the impairment that such drivers experience from opioids, which have proven to be prevalent in the trucking industry as the US experiences this ongoing crisis.

What Can Be Done

As it appears the best way to directly attack the ongoing issues within the trucking industry is based solely on understanding who is actually being affected by drug abuse, creating an appropriate guideline for company testing is the most appropriate way to start. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration provides a checklist to help employers with drug testing. The checklist includes the following:

  • Identify any federal or state laws with which you must comply
  • Consult union officials, if applicable
  • Identify and contact a laboratory certified by the Department of Health and Human Services
  • Create a system that maintains and protects the confidentiality of employee drug testing records
  • Designate an employee who will receive test results from the lab and keep results confidential
  • Develop a clear, consistent and fair policy before reviewing it with legal counsel
  • Notify employees 30 to 60 days before implementing the testing program
  • Contract with a medical review officer; and
  • Inform employees that organization leadership will comply with the policy

The most important thing to keep in mind for trucking companies overseeing this process is to know that there is data suggesting that opting for an additional hair analysis drug test will likely result in far more accurate readings. While the country is as reliant as ever on trucking to transport goods from place to place, that does not mean we should sacrifice driver and road safety to keep more commercial drivers in the industry without getting help. We need to be smart and make certain that everyone on the road remains safe.

Significant Risks Associated with Shifting Age Demographics in the Trucking Industry

June 5, 2019 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

It has been widely covered in the media the last several years that the United States trucking industry is experiencing a significant decline in its labor market that will ultimately result in a shortage of 175,000 drivers by 2026. What’s more, the American Trucking Associations, ATA, who conducted the research, has estimated the industry would need to hire “900,000 drivers over the next 10 years just to replace drivers leaving the industry, mostly through retirement.” However, a recent market analysis conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that while the ATA’s research and data certainly show a restricted market in need of an influx of drivers, the trucking industry itself has proven to be resilient as “supply responds to increasing labor demand over time.” 

Trucking Companies are Forced to Change Their Hiring Process

Even though this new research provides some optimism surrounding the future of the trucking industry, there are still a variety of factors that suggest trucking companies will continue to be negatively affected and forced to drastically change their businesses. One factor that is arguably the most consequential is that of aging truck drivers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average age of a commercial truck driver is 55 years old, meaning a majority of drivers in that age range will soon be retiring in the coming years. With such a large portion of its driving population retiring within the next decade, trucking companies have been forced to actively recruit younger drivers or provide increased incentives to older drivers to convince them to keep driving past the age of retirement. While the former option brings questions of inexperience, is the latter decision to encourage older commercial truck drivers to stay on the road posing a significant risk to driver safety?

Recent Uptick in Commercial Trucking Crashes

While there are numerous benefits for keeping experienced drivers on the road, it cannot be denied there is evidence of an increase in the number of crashes taking place each year with aging commercial truck drivers behind the wheel. Based on an investigation conducted by CBS News in 2016, drivers over the age of 65 made up 10 percent of commercial vehicle operators in the United States and over a three year period from 2013 to 2015, there were more than 6,636 accidents involving elderly drivers in 12 states throughout the US, marking a 19% increase. This isn’t to say that elderly drivers should not be on the road. Just as there are many highly capable teenage drivers, they also happen to maintain the largest fatal crash rate amongst all drivers in the United States. With that being said, understanding the risks associated with the decisions being made by these trucking companies can only help us be more aware and safer in our driving habits. 

Making the matter more complicated is the fact that under Section 391.11 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), a maximum age limit has not been set for commercial truck drivers, making it all the more likely that the rate at which aging drivers remain on the road will continue to increase. It is easy to imagine that while the demographics of the industry rapidly change over the next decade and trucking companies find ways to retain drivers and expand employment to a younger demographic, the number of crashes involving elderly truck drivers will only continue to rise. 

Although there is no age limit restricting older drivers from maintaining their commercial license, the FMCSA, under Section 391.41, requires all drivers to meet a series of physical qualifications to be determined by a medical examiner, which is valid for up to 24 months. Several examples of qualifications that must be met are that the driver must not have a loss or impairment of limbs; have no established medical history of respiratory dysfunction, arthritis, epilepsy, etc. However, more interesting is the fact that the FMCSA mandates that a driver must have a “distant visual acuity of at least 20/40 in each eye without corrective lenses or visual acuity separately corrected to 20/40 or better with corrective lenses.” As we all know, our vision only gets worse as we age and although 20/40 vision is not terrible, this law effectively establishes that so long as an older driver has corrective lenses providing them with 20/40 vision, they may continue driving for two additional years before having their eyesight checked again. One can only imagine how much an individual’s vision may change in two years, especially as we age, only making the FMCSA’s requirement more suspect. 

Available Resources for Drivers and Companies 

All of this information makes it appear as though the industry is allowing unqualified drivers to remain on the road. With that being said, commercial truck driving is already a grueling job, requiring long hours and the ability to maintain focus. As a way for trucking companies to be more diligent in the hiring process and manufacture safe driving conditions, J.J. Keller & Associates, Inc’s. Preventable Accident Manual serves as a great resource. The manual goes to great lengths to provide many countermeasures trucking companies may take. Looking at Section A6 of the manual, covering Illness and Fatigue, several tips are provided which inform managers they should be cross-checking driver logs, notifying drivers of violations, and most importantly, they should be aware of the physical qualifications and medical examinations required for the hiring process. As more evidence points to aging commercial truck drivers remaining on the road past their years of retirement, such countermeasures must become more central to how trucking companies employ and train their drivers.  

While this new data on the trucking industry may show positive signs that the industry is not struggling as much as it was previously believed to be, it’s important for the public to be aware that although the industry may be resilient, there are still significant risks associated with these changing demographics of drivers. We must maintain knowledge of how road safety dynamics may shift in the coming years due to changes such as these. The more we know and study this data, the better protected we will all be.

Stay safe out there!  

Technology Could Stop the Rise in Fatal Truck Crashes

June 3, 2019 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Despite numerous safety regulations put in place to protect commuters, the number of traffic deaths involving semis and large trucks is on the rise. This puts travelers in passenger vehicles at greater risk on our nation’s highways. Rear end accidents are the most common types of crashes with big rigs going too fast and failing to stop in time to prevent crashes.

A lot of new cars are equipped with automatic breaking technology that assists drivers when they get too close to vehicles in front of them on the road. There has been no action in Washington and resistance by the trucking industry to require installation of automatic emergency breaking systems or warning signals in large trucks to try and decrease, if not eliminate, rear-end truck wrecks. Instead the death toll keeps climbing.

Driving a truck is hard work. Federal regulations allow truck drivers to work 11 hour shifts and they do. A trucker has to stay alert and focused on the road, traffic, and other potential hazards for extended periods of time. Add to that the time constraints that shippers place on getting their goods delivered on time and you have the potential for fatigued operators who might be driving too fast.

With trucks being the largest and heaviest vehicles on the road, it makes sense to require trucking companies to equip their rigs with sensor technology that will alert drivers when they are following too close to other vehicles. A big rig can destroy another semi in a high speed collision, and a truck driver may be more protected from injury in a big vehicle, but riders in passenger cars are at a much greater risk of injury or death from a rear-end collision from a truck. This is clearly a case where technology could help save lives.

Truck Drivers Must Stay Alert

April 29, 2019 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Data compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), showed that nearly a third of fatal crashesin work zones involve a large vehicle or semi-truck. With such large vehicle sharing the roadway with passenger cars, truck drivers should be extremely vigilant in taking every possible precaution to avoid collisions. 

Keeping an eye out:

Looks can sometimes be deceiving. The weather can make it hard to see what’s happening on the road in front of you. A driver might forget to turn their lights on. A trucker might look at the radio for a split second when traffic starts to slow down. It’s important for every long-haul driver to look ahead to try to anticipate what’s coming. Scan the road in front of you and check the mirrors regularly to be aware of what’s happening in your blind spots. 

Don’t rush:

The online fidget spinner store may have promised delivery within 48 hours, but despite our growing demand for things from the internet, we should still be demanding safe travel on our nation’s highways. Soon there may not be any corner stores left to get basics like groceries as giant companies buy everything and turn the world into robot-run warehouses. The stuff we order on our smartphone apps has to get to us somehow. Before artificial intelligence replaces the need for us to ever travel outside of our houses, it may be a good idea to keep travel times for the big truck deliveries on a realistic schedule. When a driver has to carry a shipment across the country, safety should always supersede faster delivery times. I’d rather have my special order, customized hanging flower pot late than risk a driver sliding off the road in a storm because he’s trying to get there quickly. 

There is no valid reason for a semi-truck to drive too fast for road conditions. Trucking and shipping companies should be regulated with this in mind. Rather than focusing on getting bigger trucks to go faster, these outfits should be making sure that everyone arrives at their destination safely. If slightly longer shipping schedules can result in fewer crashes, it’s an idea worth studying. 

Also, from a labor supply point of view, truck drivers might want to look into working for another firm if they feel pressured to cut corners to make faster deliveries. In an ideal world, everyone would just follow the rules. But let’s be realistic. There is a truck driver shortage in America. The pay isn’t bad, but it’s not an easy job. Long hours, sometimes monotonous, repetitive tasks, and physically demanding job requirements means this line of work is clearly not for everybody. If a driver works for a company that doesn’t put safety first, he or she should not be shy in demanding that companies follow safety laws that are put in place for a reason. We all need to earn a living, but in this labor market you probably have options. 

Put your phone away:

Distracted driving is a huge problem. As tempting as our social media feeds are, when it comes to driving, you can’t do two things at once. Anyone who drives a car these days has seen a person behind the wheel looking down at their phone. No matter how talented you think you might be at texting and driving, don’t do it. Traffic conditions can change in an instant. That’s all it takes for a distracted driver to cause a wreck. If a message is so important that it can’t wait, find a safe place to pull over. It’s a no-brainer. 

The Trucking Industry Wants Congress to Consider Allowing Longer and Heavier Semi-Trucks on the Road, But Is It Safe?

April 16, 2019 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

As Congress considers new spending on infrastructure projects in 2019, trucking and transportation companies are looking to convince legislators to approve more relaxed rules that would allow shippers to haul heavier loads and longer trailers on their trucks.

A number of American shipping companies, including UPS, FedEx, and Amazon formed an advocacy group with a wholesome sounding name called Americans for Modern Transportation that is actively seeking to influence Congress to allow trucks to start pulling two, connected 33-foot trailers, adding 10 feet to what the current law allows. The shipping companies argue that longer trucks would reduce the number of trucks on the road and would allow companies to better meet online shopping demand.

With people buying more things online, online shopping is rapidly overtaking brick and mortar retail sales. This begs the question that even if current shipping demands could be met by by fewer trucks with longer trailers, as demand in e-commerce inevitably increases, won’t the number of huge trucks on the road also go up? Shippers certainly aren’t looking to ship less.

Even if we imagine that these new rules would result in fewer big-rigs on the highway, longer trailers would mean heavier trucks. The increase would be measured in tons. This would also lengthen the stopping time for drivers carrying such massive cargo. Since it takes more time and distance to stop a heavier vehicle, commercial drivers would need more space on the road to operate safely.

Current rules limit truck weights to 80,000 pounds. Trucking companies want this number raised by over 5 tons to allow hauling up to 91,000 pounds. As for the trailers carried by trucks, industry advocates want to increase their length by five feet. With two, connected trailers this ads 10 feet to vehicles that are already on the road making already massive big-rigs even bigger.

Congress already rejected a similar industry proposal back in 2015. One main concern is the damage that an increase of over 5 tons per truck might cause to our already deteriorating roads and bridges.

Illinois, like the rest of the country is dealing with an aging infrastructure problem that needs to be addressed. Just recently a cracked bridge shut down Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. Federal authorities said the bridge did not meet minimum national standards for new bridges, and the Federal Highway Administration called it “obsolete.”

The Briggs Street bridge that runs over I-80 in Joliet is causing concerned residents to plead to local authorities to replace it before a proposed truck stop is built right next to it.

An inspection of the bridge showed that it is in even worse condition than the partially collapsed Lake Shore Drive bridge. A truck stop there would only add more pressure, wear, and tear to an already failing bridge. Adding longer and heavier trucks to the mix could be a recipe for disaster.

Congress should consider the real impact these shipping industry proposed rules would have on people’s lives not only in the inevitable increased travel times for passenger vehicles trying to navigate around these new super trucks, but even more importantly the concern for public safety that arises. A paramount concern should be that these vehicles have safe roads and bridges to travel over. Let’s fix the roads first and then talk about bigger rigs to fill our Amazon orders.

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