Trucking accidents often involve multiple vehicles which means many people may have been injured as a result of the accident. I came across truckaccidents.com which is a wonderful site dedicated to, well, you guessed it, truck accidents. Here is something I found on that site which provides some information about the laws and regulations truckers, while operating in Massachusetts, must adhere to:

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (Title 49, Parts 350-399) govern all vehicles engaged in interstate traffic.

There are some situations where a tractor-trailer or other commercial motor vehicle is involved in only intrastate travel. For example, an appliance store in Boston may own a truck that only makes in-state deliveries.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Safety has adopted Title 49, Parts 382-384 and 390-399 of the federal regulations.

If you want to learn about the federal laws that apply to all over-the-road trucks, click here.

The following provisions are an overview of Massachusetts laws that affect trucks operating only in Massachusetts:

Driver Qualification:

Massachusetts has adopted Part 391 of the Federal Regulations with some exceptions. Intrastate drivers are exempt from the 21 year age requirement, from having the ability to fluently read and speak the English language, and from 391.31, pertaining to road tests and written examinations.

A Massachusetts resident may obtain an operators full time license at the age of 18; commercial vehicle operators must be at least 18 years of age.

Driving of Motor Vehicles:

Massachusetts has adopted Part 392 of the Federal Regulations. A driver isn’t allowed to run the engine of a motor vehicle for more than 5 minutes if the vehicle is stopped.

Parts and Accessories:

Massachusetts has adopted Part 393 of the Federal Regulations in its entirety. One notable regulation from Part 393 is that a driver isn’t allowed to operate a motor vehicle unless the vehicle is equipped with a muffler in good working order to prevent excessive or unnecessary noise.