Editorial Policy

Accuracy and sourcing

Every factual claim in a BTT Road & Legal piece should trace to a source a reader can check. We prefer original sources: the dataset rather than the press release, the regulation rather than a summary of it, the court opinion rather than commentary about it. Sources are listed at the end of each article and cited in the text where the claim appears.

When a figure comes from a dataset, we name the dataset, the year and, where it matters, the table. When we compare figures from different sources, we say whether they measure the same thing. A count of deaths in crashes involving a large truck is not the same as a count of deaths caused by a truck, and we write it that way.

Statistics

Numbers get the context needed to read them correctly. We distinguish:

• Counts from estimates. Sample-based figures carry their margin of error where the source provides one.
• Association from causation. A factor present in a crash is not necessarily its cause. Causation studies such as the Large Truck Crash Causation Study code associated factors, and we describe them that way.
• Assignment from blame. Research findings about which driver or vehicle made the last error before a crash are not findings of legal fault.

We do not publish a statistic we cannot verify against an original source. Draft pages may mark a gap openly until the figure is confirmed.

Legal and regulatory coverage

Our law and insurance pieces explain how rules and doctrines generally work. Law varies by state and outcomes depend on facts, and each legal piece says so. Nothing we publish is legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. When a piece has been reviewed by an attorney or other professional, the reviewer is named on the page with a link to their profile.

Regulatory explainers are written against the current text of the regulation. When rules change, we update the affected pieces and note the update.

Bylines and credentials

Every piece names who is responsible for it. Staff work appears under the desk byline; contributed work carries the contributor’s name and a profile. We list only credentials a reader can verify. We do not use invented personas, composite bylines or anonymous experts, and we never fabricate quotations.

Independence and partner content

Editors make coverage decisions. Advertisers, sponsors and partners have no say over what we report or how.

If we publish sponsored or partner material, it is labeled “Partner content” at the top of the page and in its listing, its outbound links are marked as sponsored, and it is never presented as our reporting. Writers disclose any financial or personal interest in a subject they cover, and editors decide whether that interest rules them out of the assignment.

Updates

When we materially revise a piece, such as adding new data, reflecting a regulatory change or rewriting a section, we show an “Updated” date beside the publication date. Small changes like fixing a typo or a broken link are made without a note. Corrections of factual errors follow the corrections policy.

Images

Photographs illustrate the general subject of a piece unless the caption says otherwise. We do not describe a photo as showing a specific crash, place or person unless it does. Photo credits appear with each image.

Questions

Questions about these standards go to editorial@bttlaw.com.

Last reviewed October 8, 2026.