The Moving Forward Act, a $1.5 trillion plan to rebuild infrastructure across the United States, could see major changes soon. The Act was put together with a goal of updating roads, bridges, transit systems, schools, housing and aims to put more zero-emission forms of transportation across the country. This is to create infrastructure that is built in a smart and safe manner and is made to last.
Congress deemed it important to tackle issues such as bottlenecks, gridlocks, road safety for pedestrians and drivers alike, etc. Illinois congressman Chuy Garcia has another vision for the Moving Forward Act. This vision includes an already proposed amendment to significantly increase the minimum insurance requirement for commercial motor carriers.
The proposed change requests an increase in the minimum requirement from $750,000 to $2 million. Supporters of congressman Garcia’s proposal find the minimum requirement increase as a necessity in order to keep pace with inflation over the years. This change would protect and support those who are facing life-altering injuries or death due to the negligence on behest of truck drivers or due to semi-truck related accidents.
The current minimum has come into scrutiny because all too often commercial motor carrier businesses have not been able to cover expenses of those that have been injured and are in critical conditions. An additional addendum to congressman Garcia’s current amendment requests that the FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) re-asses and re-adjust the minimum insurance requirement every 5 years to take inflation into consideration.
On the other hand, those opposed to congressman Garcia’s amendment state that many commercial trucking businesses would become obsolete, directly harming the economies of many states across the country. The other concern is that premiums would naturally have to rise along with an increase in minimum insurance coverage.
While both of these are true, proponents counter that this amendment is important in order to fairly and properly care for and compensate those injured in commercial vehicle accidents. The minimum insurance requirement has remained unchanged over the last 40 years and does not account for inflation that has taken place over the last 4 decades. In fact, the $750,000 minimum insurance requirement would be valued at over $2.3 million in today’s monetary value. $750,000 does not have the same impact or reach as it did 40 years ago.
This tied in with increasing medical costs creates a scenario of unfairly compensating those injured in truck accidents. It would be unethical and unfair to expect a victim’s family to take on the brunt of the financial burden because of a severely outdated minimum requirement.
Some other impacts of the Moving Forward Act include: investing $100 billion+ into our nation’s affordable housing infrastructure, offering safe drinking water by investing $25 billion into the initiative, investing $70 billion into clean energy to create more electric vehicle charging stations, weatherization, providing the USPS with $25 billion to modernize their own infrastructure and much more. You can learn more about the Moving Forward Act through the government fact sheet here:
We at the Parrish Law Firm support this increase and believe it would go a long way for victims of truck accidents. It could be the difference between extreme financial strain and having one less thing to worry about when someone’s loved ones are injured mentally and physically. If you have been injured in a commercial vehicle accident, call us today for a free legal consultation so we may help you seek the damages you rightfully deserve. You can contact us at (571) 229 – 1800.
Call or Text 571-229-1800 or Complete a Free Case Evaluation form
