Trucking can be a hazardous profession for drivers – and that’s before the driver has even set foot in the cab or put the vehicle in gear. For good reason -- fleets focus much of their attention on minimizing risks on the road, but there are also risks when a driver is on his or her feet as well, due to the risk of a fall.

Four employees were hospitalized, two of them in critical conditions, after an explosion at a St. Louis trucking terminal on Aug. 6, 2014. The explosion's cause: a forklift's ignition source and a loose coupling connection to a liquid propane gas tank.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has declared a Mitchell, South Dakota-based trucking company, Lonnie Roth, and separately its owner, Lonnie Roth, as a commercial driver, to be imminent hazards to public safety and ordered the company and the driver to immediately cease all interstate and intrastate commercial operations.

Selection of binding chains: (49CFR 393.102) Truckers frequently use chains to tie down their loads securely, to enhance safety and abide by the law. There are two important factors to keep in mind when evaluating chains.