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Missouri Truck Accident Attorneys

Missouri truck accidents may be governed by Missouri or federal law, depending on whether the truck was involved in intrastate or interstate transport. Listed below are some Missouri laws that affect truck accidents. For a more comprehensive list of truck laws, click here.


Large trucking companies and their insurance companies work quickly to protect themselves when one of their trucks is involved in an accident, often sending investigators directly to the scene.

To protect your rights, it's imperative to have knowledgeable legal council to begin investigating immediately, preserve evidence, and help you get the best possible result in pursuing your claim against the trucking company. E.J. Leizerman and Associates is a law firm that accepts semi truck accident cases across the country. In Michigan, we work with Gursten, Koltonow, Gursten, Christensen & Raitt, P.C., a firm that accepts semi truck accident cases throughout the state.
A member of the exclusive Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Steve Gursten serves on the Executive Board of the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association and has served on the Representative Assembly of the State Bar of Michigan. He is a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group and currently serves on the Board of the ATLA Interstate Trucking Litigation Group.
Steve has been recognized as a nationwide expert in handling brain injury cases, lecturing at numerous seminars and having appeared on The Lawyers Weekly national program "Ask the Experts," answering questions from attorneys around the United States on handling traumatic brain injury cases.
Steve graduated Phi Beta Kappa from University of Michigan with a 3.8 grade point average. He is the author of “Handling Automobile Accident Cases” in the Michigan Lawyers Manual treatise.
Other members of the firm also have experience successfully handling catastrophic semi truck accidents.
E.J. Leizerman & Associates and Gursten, Koltonow, Gursten, Christensen & Raitt, P.C are familiar with exceptions to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (title 49, Parts 350-399) that affect trucks operating only in Michigan, as there are some situations where a tractor-trailer or other commercial motor vehicles are involved in only intrastate travel. For example, an appliance store in Detroit may own a truck that only makes in-state deliveries.
The Michigan Department of Public Safety has adopted Title 49, Parts 382-384 and 390-399 of the federal regulations with a few notable provisions, including:

Driver Qualification:

Missouri has adopted Part 391 of the Federal Regulations with a few notable differences in age requirement and physical qualification. A driver must be at least 18 years of age to obtain a CDL or Class E license, and at least 21 if transporting hazardous materials. Not all federal physical requirements are applicable to drivers in intrastate commerce, however they are not exempt from the periodic drug testing requirements.

Hours of Service:

Missouri has adopted Part 395 of the Federal Regulations with one notable difference. The maximum driving and on-duty requirements don’t apply to intrastate drivers transporting agricultural commodities or farm supplies if the transportation is limited to within a 100-air-mile radius from the source of the commodities or distribution point for the farm supplies when transporting happens during planting and harvesting seasons.

Vehicle Marking/Identification:

Missouri had adopted Sec. 390.21 of the Federal Regulations with one notable exception. Missouri doesn’t regulate or issue DOT numbers to intrastate private carriers.

Crash reports are available from:

Missouri State Highway Patrol
Traffic Division
P.O. box 568
Jefferson City, MO 65102
(573) 526-6113


If you have been involved in a truck accident in Missouri, contact one of our Missouri lawyers or attorneys to help you with more information or to answer any questions you have.

In the event this material is not deemed to fully comply with the provisions of the rules of professional conduct of any particular state, this firm will not accept clients or representation that derive from the distribution of this material within those jurisdictions.

"Extracting data from the ECM often answers critical questions regarding vehicle speed and the driver's actions leading up to, during, and after a vehicle accident."

Learn more about State and Federal Trucking Laws