How Do You Report a Truck Driver?

Chances are when you’re driving on a highway or even a more rural road, you’ll likely see a truck driver. Most times, you can both coexist on the road without problems because truck drivers are highly trained. Unfortunately, sometimes truckers can be exhausted, intoxicated, or distracted at the wheel, and cause an accident with an object or another vehicle on the road. When that happens, you could report them for their reckless driving.

Truck accidents can cause life-changing, debilitating injuries to everyone involved in the collision. When you didn’t cause the crash, you can file a truck accident claim against the trucker who was responsible for the collision and your injuries. You could use the help from Belsky & Horowitz, LLC. A Baltimore truck accident lawyer from our firm can fight for justice for you in your personal injury claim.

Before an accident happens, you might notice a truck driver making negligent or reckless decisions on the road and decide to report them. Let’s look at how to report a Maryland truck driver.

Reporting a Maryland Truck Driver

When a truck driver is driving in a way that puts themselves or others on the road in danger, you should report them to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) National Consumer Complaint Database (NCCDB) by filing a complaint. You can report all kinds of truck drivers—from moving companies, bus companies, cargo tank company, and any other type of trucking company.

You can file a complaint online, or you can call the FMCSA’s toll-free hotline 1-888-DOT-SAFE, or 1-888-368-7238, to report commercial truck drivers who you suspect are violating regulations. In Maryland, you are supposed to report suspected violations to the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division of the Maryland State Police. Their phone number is (410) 694-6100, according to the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT). However, if you believe that their violations are directly threatening anyone’s safety, then you should call 911 immediately.

You’ll need specific information about the truck in order to report them. Here are some things you’ll need to know for your report:

• Vehicle description—make, model, color, license plate state and number
• Driver description
• Location of violation
• Date and time of violation
• Description of the suspected violation
• Your contact information if you are willing to be a witness

If you’re filing a report through the phone, it’s important that you remain calm and stay as objective as possible in your descriptions. The more you stick to the facts of what happened, the better the operator can take your information and get a clear picture of what happened. If the incident leads to an accident and the police come to the scene and you give a statement as a witness, then you should keep the same objectiveness and stick to the facts for that statement as well.

What Can You Report a Truck Driver For?

Now that you know how to report a Maryland truck driver for driving recklessly or negligently, you might be wondering what exact behavior constitutes reporting a driver to the Maryland State Police or the FMCSA. Although it’s vague, MDOT claims you can report any truck driver who is unsafe. You can also report any suspicions of a trucking company forcing drivers to be unsafe.

An example of being an unsafe driver, or being forced into unsafe driving conditions, would be if the trucker is driving for too many hours at once, and therefore is too tired behind the wheel. According to FMCSA regulations, a trucker can only drive 11 hours in a day. Even if they are following regulations, though, truckers can still get fatigued from driving long hours for days on end.

Drowsy driving is dangerous and can lead to fatal truck accidents, which is why reporting unsafe driving is so important. Reporting unsafe activity has the potential to prevent deadly collisions from happening.

Contact Belsky & Horowitz, LLC

Even if you made a report about unsafe driving by a commercial truck driver, sometimes an accident still results from the driving. Their negligence caused the accident, and your subsequent injuries from the crash shouldn’t be your financial responsibility. With the help of a Baltimore truck accident lawyer from Belsky & Horowitz, LLC, you can receive the compensation you deserve for any medical bills, damages, lost wages, or other costs you incurred from the accident that wasn’t your fault.

Our experienced personal injury lawyers know that the injuries from a truck accident can be life changing. We’ll fully investigate your claim to ensure that we include every expense that the accident caused and hold the negligent party fully responsible for your damages. Reach out to our office today so we can discuss your potential claim and get started on the legal process.