Chicago Accident and Injury Lawyer Blog

As Chicago trucking accident attorneys, we know that it is important to report trucking safety driving violations. Many of us have driven behind a truck that displayed one of those "How am I driving?" signs, but how many of us have actually ever called the displayed number to make a complaint? Often, it is just too risky to find a pen and paper and jot down the phone number or license plate of the offending truck. To make things a little easier, the U. S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) provides a way for drivers to report trucking safety violations by filing an online safety violation complaint or calling the toll free number, 1-888-DOT-SAFT. The FMCSA database allows you to search for the name of the offending company, even if you know only a few of the letters in the company's name. So, if you don't know the license plate number or even the company's full name, you can still make a complaint.

According to the FMCSA, they often receive complaints in the following areas:

-- Hours of Service Complaints, where truck drivers report that their company requires them to drive more hours than permitted by law.

-- Unqualified Driver/Use of Drugs and Alcohol Complaints

-- Unsafe Equipment Complaints

-- Lumping Complaints, where a driver reports he/she was required to pay people to unload the cargo from his/her truck.

-- Motorists' Complaints from persons who have witnessed unsafe driving of a commercial truck or bus.