Are Insurance Limits Too Low?

A new statistical analysis shows that more than 28.000 companies of the carrier vehicles, which operate 200,000 trucks violations of federal safety regulations.

Process Bar Association, the American Association for Justice (AAJ), said he found commuters share the road with trucks, which suffered one thousand safety violations such as faulty brakes, bald tires, loads that exceed the weight limits dangerously and driving with little or no training or alcohol, drugs and addictions.

Group also stated that the current minimum insurance requirements Truckers are inadequate.

AAJ said that the data on the safety performance of U.S. companies ride from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

States in which the ratio of companies found in violation of safety above the national average to West Virginia, North Dakota, Nebraska, Vermont, Iowa, Montana, Delaware, Idaho, Arkansas, Connecticut, Kentucky, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oregon, Indiana, Mississippi, Wisconsin and South Dakota.

According to the FMCSA more than 4,000 people die every year in collisions with trucks and 80000 are more seriously injured. Moreover, while trucks account for less than four percent of all passenger vehicles on the road in the U.S., they are involved in 12 percent of all motor vehicle fatalities.

AAJ also argues that the minimum insurance requirements for commercial trucks are "totally inadequate to compensate those who were seriously injured in collisions involving multiple vehicles and multiple victims. In 1980 Congress set a minimum level of insurance to $ 750,000, after factoring in inflation , $ 750,000 only $ 292,000 in 1980 dollars, according to the analysis.

While large companies driving may carry more than the required level of coverage, smaller companies often perform only the minimum, according to the AAJ. AAJ Analysis of the U.S. horse industry found that 87 percent of companies in violation of safety standards for small businesses that have fleets of 10 trucks or less.

AAJ said that many fatal accidents involving trucks dangerous are not recorded as a breach of security. 2005 Government Accountability Office (GAO) study showed that almost one-third of commercial motor vehicle accident that the states are required to report on the federal government have not been registered. In addition, do not, bug reports, the State has always been accurate.

The following analysis AAJ July 2009 GAO study, which showed that more than 1,000 commercial trucking companies, which have been procured from service because of federal safety violations to avoid compliance by operating under a different name, but often use the same owner, address, and employees.