Delivery Van Accidents: Amazon, FedEx, and UPS Claims

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After a crash with a delivery van, the person who was hit needs to know who stands behind the driver and what coverage stands behind the van. Georgia law answers the first question through the driver’s relationship to the business and who controlled the work. The second depends on the van: whether it is heavy enough to count as a commercial motor vehicle under federal rules, and whether its operator is an intrastate motor carrier that Georgia requires to register and insure.

Who Is Responsible for the Driver

A person is liable for torts that a servant commits by the person’s command or within the scope of the person’s business, whether through negligence or voluntarily (OCGA 51-2-2). Under OCGA 51-2-4, a business that hires someone who works independently, outside its immediate direction and control, generally does not answer for that person’s torts. That protection has exceptions: an employer is liable for a contractor’s negligence in six listed situations, among them where the employer keeps the right to direct or control the time and manner of the work, or steps in and takes control in a way that creates a master-servant relationship or causes an injury traceable to that interference (OCGA 51-2-5(5)).

Is the Van a Commercial Motor Vehicle?

Federal motor carrier rules apply to a “commercial motor vehicle,” which 49 CFR 390.5 defines as a vehicle used on a highway in interstate commerce to transport passengers or property that meets one of four tests. For a package van, the weight test is the first to check (the others concern passenger capacity and placarded hazardous materials): a gross vehicle weight rating or gross combination weight rating, or actual gross weight, of 10,001 pounds or more, whichever is greater. Interstate commerce includes transportation between two places in a state “as part of trade, traffic, or transportation originating or terminating outside the State or the United States” (49 CFR 390.5).

The weight line carries into insurance. The federal minimum-coverage schedule sets $750,000 for a for-hire carrier in interstate or foreign commerce whose vehicle is rated at 10,001 pounds or more and carries nonhazardous property, and a vehicle rated under 10,001 pounds appears in the schedule only for listed hazardous materials (49 CFR 387.9, Table 1). A van’s weight rating therefore bears on both questions.

Georgia Registration and Insurance for Intrastate Carriers

Georgia requires “[a]ny intrastate motor carrier, leasing company leasing to a motor carrier, broker, or freight forwarder that engages in intrastate commerce and operates a motor vehicle on or over any public highway of this state” to register with the commissioner (OCGA 40-2-140(d)(1)). A for-hire intrastate motor carrier may not be registered unless a certificate of insurance is filed, “[t]he commissioner shall determine and fix the amounts of such indemnity insurance,” and “[f]ailure to file any form required by the commissioner shall not diminish the rights of any person to pursue an action directly against a for-hire intrastate motor carrier’s insurer” (OCGA 40-2-140(d)(2)). A separate paragraph allows a person to join “the motor carrier and its insurance carrier only when” a related motor carrier is insolvent or bankrupt or personal service cannot after reasonable diligence be effected on the driver or the motor carrier (OCGA 40-2-140(d)(4)(A)).

The Driver’s Phone

A driver must use due care and may not engage in actions that distract from the safe operation of the vehicle (OCGA 40-6-241(b)). While driving, no one may hold or support a wireless telecommunications device or a stand-alone electronic device with any part of the body, apart from an earpiece, headphone, or wrist-worn device used for voice communication, or write, send, or read a text-based communication (OCGA 40-6-241(c)(1), (2)). The texting bar does not reach use of the device for navigation or GPS (OCGA 40-6-241(c)(2)). A commercial motor vehicle driver may not use more than a single button to start or end a voice communication, or reach for a device in a way that takes the driver out of a seated driving position or out of a safety belt (OCGA 40-6-241(d)).

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the company name on the van decide who is responsible?
The name alone is not the test. The Georgia statutes on responsibility for another’s torts turn on whether the driver acted as a servant within the scope of the business and on who directed or controlled the work (OCGA 51-2-2, 51-2-4, 51-2-5).

Can the van’s insurer be sued directly?
For a for-hire intrastate motor carrier, OCGA 40-2-140(d)(2) states that a failure to file a required form does not diminish the right to proceed directly against the carrier’s insurer, and, for a cause of action accruing on or after July 1, 2024, OCGA 40-2-140(d)(4)(A) allows joining the carrier and its insurer only in the situations it lists (Ga. L. 2024, p. 966, § 4).

May a delivery driver use a phone for directions?
Navigation is outside the texting prohibition, but a driver following directions still may not hold or support the device while driving (OCGA 40-6-241(c)(1), (2)).

  • OCGA 51-2-2; OCGA 51-2-4; OCGA 51-2-5(5)
  • 49 CFR 390.5; 49 CFR 387.9 (eCFR text as of September 1, 2026)
  • OCGA 40-2-140(d)(1), (2), (4)(A); Ga. L. 2024, p. 966, § 4
  • OCGA 40-6-241(b), (c), (d)

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about delivery van accidents under Georgia and federal law. It does not describe how any company organizes its drivers or vehicles. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Who is responsible depends on the driver’s relationship to the business, the vehicle, the insurance in place, and the specific facts. A person injured in a delivery van accident should consult a licensed Georgia attorney promptly about the particular situation.

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