Georgia Truck Accident Lawyers Blog

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR) require that all trucking companies systematically “inspect, repair and maintain or cause to be systematically inspected, repaired and maintained, all motor vehicles subject to its control.” By law, therefore, all motor carriers must maintain its vehicles in good working order. This duty obviously requires trucking companies to maintain repair records and inspection reports, which must be filed by all drivers each day a vehicle is driven, as well as a duty to make periodic inspections of each vehicle under its control. The failure to so maintain a vehicle can subject a motor carrier to liability for beach of its duties under these safety regulations. If an operational defect in a vehicle is not discovered, which could have been discovered in the exercise of due care, this can be a independent basis for liability against the trucking company. If a driver reports defects in its vehicle in pre-trip inspection reports or post-trip inspection reports and the company fails to address such issues, this too can be a violation of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations which imposes liability upon the trucking company. In short, amongst its many other duties under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, a motor carrier or trucking company must maintain its trucks and equipment in safe working conditions. A failure to do so is a basis of liability and if it is established that a company allowed a defective and unsafe vehicle to be placed on the roadway in violation of such duties, such a violation under the right circumstances can also be the basis of a punitive damage claim against the motor carrier.
We have set forth the legal duty to comply with the safety regulations below.