Articles Posted in Truck Accidents

Commercial truck thefts have spiked across the country, including Georgia, and the implications for safety are enormous.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Georgia along with Texas, California, New Jersey, Illinois and Florida continues to be at a high risk for such heists. The number of such thefts increased dramatically during the same period from 2007 to 2008. For instance, when you consider the value of goods, 2009 saw truckloads worth $487 million stolen, as compared to the $290 million worth stolen in 2008.

The biggest possible explanation for this increase in heists seems to be the weak economy that’s pushing amateurs into crime. This is also corroborated by the fact that most cargo heists seem to involve loads of consumer goods, electronics, clothing and food.

Thirty five truck drivers from Georgia have been honored by UPS for their impeccable driving. The 35 have been admitted to the company’s “Circle of Honor.” The Georgia drivers are among 928 UPS drivers who have been admitted into the elite group this year.

The honor is given to those drivers who have completed 25 years of driving without accidents. Georgia’s safest UPS driver is Robert Millican Jr. of Flintstone, who has accumulated 40 years of driving without a single accident. Milliken Jr. is placed at 9^th position among 102,000 UPS drivers.

The Circle of Honor is a UPS tradition that celebrates drivers who have completed a quarter century or more without accidents on their record. Out of a total of 2,436 UPS drivers in Georgia, there are now 197 drivers who are members of the Circle of Honor. These drivers have among them a total of 5,693 years of driving without an accident.

Tractor Trailer Accident in Perry, Georgia Kills One

A hit and run tractor trailer accident in Perry, Georgia has killed one person. According to reports, the woman was a Michigan resident. She and her husband were in a Ford pickup truck when the truck was hit by a tractor trailer. The woman was declared dead at the scene, while her husband suffered serious injuries and had to be airlifted to the Medical Center of Georgia.

The driver of the tractor trailer, Texas resident Luis Lopez Guzman Jr. drove off after the crash. He has now been charged with drunk driving and leaving the scene of the accident. Guzman also apparently ran a red light before crashing into the pickup truck. So far, there is no information about the trucking company that employed Lopez Guzman.

It looks like the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration wants to make sure that any new Hours of Service rule for truckers includes public concerns. The agency has announced public listening sessions to gain public input about the issue.

Trucker working hours have been a subject of great debate since these were changed to 11 hours from the previous 10 years by the Bush administration in 2008. As Atlanta trucking accident attorneys, we have strongly opposed any move to increase the number of consecutive hours a trucker can operate his rig, because of the risk of driver fatigue. An additional hour can save the industry approximately $2 billion a year, but places the trucker and innocent motorists at high risk of an accident.

Last year, the Federal Carrier Motor Carrier Safety Administration promised that it would revise the trucker HOS rules, and come up with a new set of rules. The agency has now announced on its website, a series of 4 listening sessions that will allow the public to add their suggestions or comments to the decision-making process. The first three sessions will be held in Dallas, TX, Arlington, VA and El Segundo, CA. The fourth venue is expected to be announced soon. The agency has also drafted a list of questions that will be discussed during the sessions.

Just in time for Christmas comes a new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rule that increases pressure on new truck and bus companies to meet safety rules, thereby reducing their risk of accidents.The rule went into effect in February this year, but requirement to comply began on the 16^th of December.

According to the new rule, newly registered truck and bus companies will have to comply strictly with the agency’s 16 regulations. These regulations cover driver qualifications, testing for alcohol or substance abuse, repair of truck defects listed by the driver, failure to periodically inspect these vehicles and other safety aspects.If a new bus or truck company violates even one of these 16 regulations, then it stands to fail its safety audit. Also, if roadside bus and truck inspections find additional violations, then the new company may be subjected to an expedited safety audit, and may be fined or even placed out of service.

The FMCSA has also improved the quality of its educational and technical assistance materials, so that these new companies can keep themselves informed about motor carrier safety standards that apply to them, and make sure that they are in compliance with these. The agency believes that the new rule will enhance its ability to identify unsafe motor carriers, and crack down on these companies.

Atlanta Firefighter Injured in Accident Involving Loose Truck Tire

As Atlanta truck accident lawyers, we often find a common misconception that in a tractor trailer or commercial truck accident, the truck must be involved in a direct impact accident with the other vehicle for it to qualify as grounds for liability. As we often see, semi rigs and 18 wheelers can cause injuries to motorists and bystanders even if there is no contact between the rig and smaller vehicle. An example of an injury like this occurred in Atlanta in June this year when a firefighter was seriously injured from a tire that rolled off a nearby 18-wheeler.

Firefighter Willie Surry was fighting a brush fire on Interstate-285 near Langford Parkway.According to Surry, the last thing he remembers is putting out the brush fire, before he woke up severely injured in the hospital. A wheel had flown off a tanker truck, hitting the firefighter. Surry suffered serious injuries, including a punctured lung, multiple broken bones and a tear in the knee. He was hospitalized for a month and a half, and may need more surgeries.

As Georgia truck accident lawyers, we have spoken out against the rule allowing a truck driver to drive for 11 consecutive hours. The rule was passed by the Bush Administration, which proposed it a total of 3 times during its tenure in the White House. It was blocked twice in court after consumer safety advocates and truck safety groups challenged the rule, claiming that the government had failed to determine its impact on trucker health and motorist safety. But the Bush administration ultimately succeeded in reinstating the rule.

Now, the Obama Administration has agreed to review the 11-hour rule. The Associated Press is reporting that on Monday, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration signed an agreement with safety and labor groups, promising to revise the rule. For now, the FMCSA is not saying how it will revise the rule, and what new limits will be placed on trucker hours, but as Georgia truck accident lawyers, we hope that any new rule will be closer to the ten-hour limit that was earlier in place. The agency has said that it will consider the situation, and come up with a new rule within the next 9 months.

For truck safety groups who have been campaigning against the rule, it is a hard fought victory. These groups include those who have lost the most from the rule – parents of victims of truck accidents involving fatigued truckers driving beyond their stipulated working hours.

TV Report Focuses on Poorly Trained Truck Drivers

Last week, respected journalist Dan Rather presented a report on the poor quality of truck drivers emerging from the several CDL mills around the country on his weekly HD Net program.

The episode underscored what Georgia trucking accident lawyers have known for years – that the quality of truck drivers is a major contributing factor to accidents. Trucking companies often use questionable hiring practices. While a company is required to hire drivers only after checking his records, and verifying his training and skills, we know that doesn’t always happen.

UPS Trucker Marks 3.5 Million Miles without an Accident

AsAtlanta truck accident lawyers, we constantly come up against negligent truck drivers who have caused a deadly accident by their reckless or impaired driving. That’s why it gives us great happiness when we come across the likes of Ginny Odom.This 59-year-old UPS driver has completed 3.5 million miles and 35 years driven without a single accident.

According to Odom, her feat has been made possible by the training provided by UPS, and some amount of luck. She also says she makes it a point to start her day at 4 am before the highways get busy.

Big Rig Crackdown in Chatham County, Georgia Reveals Maintenance Issues

A new task force in Garden City, Chatham County is cracking down on truckers to keep unsafe big rigs off the roads and prevent accidents. The first few days of the crackdown have already revealed severe maintenance issues that could place tractor trailer drivers at possible risk of an accident.

Members of the task force know that while a tractor trailer may look like it’s in perfect condition, there may be several maintenance issues that can place the vehicle at risk of an accident. The task force is already seeing some major maintenance problems on some of the trucks that have been pulled over. For instance, they have found trucks with a variety of maintenance issues, including malfunctioning lights, loose straps securing cargo, nearly bald tires with little tread and a host of other issues.