Nearly 30 million Americans traveled U.S. roads during the Labor Day holiday. A new analysis of government data reveals that more than 28,000 motor carrier companies, representing more than 200,000 trucks, are currently operating in violation of federal safety laws.
In an original analysis of data not previously available to the public, an American Association for Justice report found commuters are sharing roads with trucks that have incurred thousands of safety violations – such as defective brakes, bad tires, loads that dangerously exceeded weight limits and drivers with little or no training or drug and alcohol dependencies.
The data was obtained on the safety performance of U.S. trucking companies through the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS), which is maintained by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Over a million lines of data were analyzed in an effort to pinpoint just how many unsafe trucks might be on the road.
West Virginia, North Dakota, Nebraska, Vermont and Iowa had the highest rate of companies in violation of federal safety requirements. The effects of these violations are deadly. While truck accidents occur for a variety of reasons, many are preventable, and often a direct result of trucking companies violating safety standards to cut corners and maximize profits.