Holding Litigious Motor Carriers Accountable Amid Federal Regulatory Rollbacks

Every day, commercial trucks drive on Kentucky’s streets and highways. Most of the time, their trips go as planned. But if a commercial truck crashes into a personal vehicle, the chances are good that those in that vehicle will be seriously, if not fatally, injured. Satterley & Kelley, PLLC attorneys help those injured in accidents with commercial vehicles obtain compensation for their injuries.

Satterley & Kelley, PLLC has the knowledge and experience to take on insurance companies and the trucking companies buying their policies. Call us toll-free at 855-385-9532 to learn more.

What Threat Do Commercial Trucks Pose to the Driving Public?

Commercial trucks represent a serious and growing threat to public safety on Kentucky’s roads.

• In 2024, 5,218 large trucks were involved in fatal crashes in the US. That number is about 30% higher than it was ten years ago, according to the National Safety Council
• Also in 2024, more than 120,000 large commercial trucks were involved in crashes that caused injuries. In 2016, there were 18% fewer such trucks in these accidents
• There were 10,286 trucks involved in accidents in Kentucky in 2024, 4.8% of all crashes, resulting in 82 fatal collisions, or just over 7% of the total. That’s nearly two fatal accidents a week, according to the state police
• 2025 CVSA International Roadcheck data shows that 22.6% of inspected commercial vehicles were taken off the road for what were considered “critical” safety violations. Brake problems were the most common issue, accounting for 41.1% of those orders
• Vehicle failure is the “critical cause” in 10% of truck crashes and a contributing factor in nearly 40% of all large truck accidents

About 70% of deaths in large-truck collisions are occupants of other vehicles, not the truck driver, reports The Auto Channel. Given that commercial trucks can weigh up to 80,000 pounds, about 20 times more than the average passenger vehicle, the potential force delivered by a commercial truck into a passenger vehicle could cause more serious injuries than if you were struck by another car.

This isn’t someone else’s problem. Louisville is one of the busiest trucking cities in America. UPS has a giant hub here. Interstates 64, 65, and 71 all come together in our city. Trucks drive through our neighborhoods every single day.

Why Aren’t Commercial Trucks Getting Safer?

When it comes to safety, no matter the kind of business, there are incentives and disincentives to improving it. Spending more on maintenance to make trucks safer and hiring more drivers so they drive fewer hours would improve safety but could increase costs.

Not doing those things, if it results in crashes, would also increase costs because insurance premiums would rise, the company would need to pay for repairs, and it would lose time and energy defending personal injury lawsuits.

Another incentive to make trucks and drivers safer is potential citations, fines, and investigations by state and federal safety agencies. It appears that incentive has largely disappeared on the federal level. The Auto Channel reports the following:

• The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) punished far fewer unsafe trucking companies in 2025 than it did the prior year
• The number of its closed enforcement cases went from more than 3,000 in 2024 to about 500 in 2025, a drop of 84%
• The fines the FMSCA collected went from $27.8 million to $9.8 million
• The number of trucking companies labeled “unsatisfactory” (the worst safety grade) dropped 92%, or about 200 companies, to 17

Have trucking companies become dramatically safer between 2024 and 2025? No. The FMCSA’s rules changed, making it more difficult to penalize objectively dangerous trucking companies. Situations that would’ve resulted in some agency action in the past now result in nothing happening.

Other actions that could save lives have either been postponed or canceled, according to Freight Waves, including the following:

• A rule requiring big trucks to have automatic emergency brakes that could prevent collisions has been repeatedly delayed
• A rule mandating side guards on trailers, which could prevent vehicles from going under them, has been pushed back
• A rule limiting commercial trucks’ top speed was canceled

Although there are incentives to make trucking companies safer, the federal government is providing fewer of them. As trucking companies take on more risk to make more money because they don’t fear government law enforcement, there will be more truck accidents, injuries, and deaths. As trucking companies save and make more money, the driving public pays the costs.

Trucking Companies Choose Their Poison: More Lawsuits

Less government intervention + more risk taking = More accidents + more lawsuits

As personal injury lawyers, we see this playing out all the time. A company or industry calculates that making a product or service less safe will yield savings greater than the financial consequences of more people being injured or killed as a result.

Cost savings are the carrots encouraging the trucking industry to become less safe. We’re the stick providing the lawsuits seeking compensation to those injured and to family members of crash victims who are killed.

 When trucking companies put profits ahead of safety, innocent people can suffer devastating consequences. If government regulators fail to hold those companies accountable, Satterley & Kelley, PLLC is prepared to pursue accountability through the civil justice system.

Speak to a Louisville Truck Accident Lawyer Near You

If you are injured in an accident involving a commercial truck, we can and will help you handle legal matters with confidence. Put boots on the ground with help from Satterley & Kelley, PLLC.

To schedule a free initial consultation at our Louisville office, call 502-589-5600 (toll-free at 855-385-9532) or complete our contact form today.