Commercial Truck Drivers Need Retesting

The Associated Press reports that the State of Tennessee is notifying more than 1,000 commercial truck drivers licensed in Tennessee that they must be retested on their driving skills.  The testing is required because the drivers were not tested and graded by an unnamed consulting company under contract with the Tennessee Department of Safety.  The company’s failure to administer the tests, and the truck drivers’ failure to take the tests, are violations of state and federal trucking regulations.

State of Tennessee Safety Commissioner, Dave Mitchell, was quoted as saying “This is a matter of public safety” and the drivers are being notified by mail that they have 30 days to get retested or face loosing their licenses.

The Commercial Appeal reports that in addition to the untested Tennessee truck drivers, there may be as many as 1200 drivers in Georgia, 400 in Ohio, 300 in New York, 600 in Florida, 400 in Mississippi, 100 in Arkansas and 300 in Alabama who also were not tested.

The failure to test these drivers is significant.  Without testing, driver deficiencies may not be discovered and may leave dangerous truck drivers on Tennessee and other state highways.  Further, trucking companies and drivers who knowingly fail to require or submit to the tests are actively violating Tennessee regulations and/or Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.  Such failures highlight the need to aggressively investigate trucking company compliance and drive qualifications when handling personal injury cases resulting from wrecks or collisions with tractor trailers. 

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