Articles Posted in Truck Accidents

Mandatory Electronic Stability Control Systems Would Prevent Truck Rollover Accidents

Electronic stability control systems have been found to significantly reduce the risk of rollover accidents in passenger vehicles.These systems are mandatory on all new passenger vehicles, but have not yet been made mandatory in commercial trucks.According to researchers at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, if electronic stability control systems were made mandatory in all commercial trucks, it would reduce the risk of rollovers, and save approximately 106 lives a year.

Researchers estimate that approximately 3,500 rollover accidents involving commercial trucks could be prevented each year, if all trucks were equipped with stability control systems.These systems could prevent about 4,400 injuries every year.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is waiting for the results of a formal study into the benefits of having electronic stability control systems in all trucks, to make a decision about mandating these in all commercial trucks.

A truck driver from Texas, believed to have been involved in a fatal tractor-trailer accident that killed a woman from Sandy Springs two weeks ago, has now been arrested.The driver, Joseph Leon Golden drove his truck into the emergency lane, where Rosario Velez had stopped her minivan to make a call.The truck crashed into Velez’s vehicle, leaving her seriously injured.She was rushed to the Grady Memorial Hospital and died a while later.Golden has now been arrested and charged with second-degree vehicular homicide and a lane violation.Sandy Springs police have been investigating the accident.

The catastrophic damage and loss of life and property that can result from truck accidents is why trucking companies and their drivers are held to such high standards of operations and safety.Traffic violations by any motorist can have serious consequences, but when it is the driver of a tractor-trailer guilty of such violations, the results can be horrific for those unfortunate enough to be at the receiving end.

Pursuing a truck accident claim in Georgia can be complicated and daunting. In any auto accident, you’re up against the driver of the other car and /or his insurance company.In a truck accident claim, you’re up against not just the driver, but also the trucking company, the insurers, their legal team, and other experts.The entire process of filing a claim can leave an Atlanta resident intimidated and frustrated.

Risk of Trailer Accidents Increases During Summer

USA Today has a report on the higher risk of towing trailer accidents during summer, when many Americans hitch a trailer to their vehicle to tow boating gear and head to the nearest lake. Summer is also when many people plan a move, increasing the risk of a trailer accident.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, towing trailer-related accidents kill at least one person every day somewhere in the country. In Georgia alone, since 1975, these accidents have cost a total of 280 lives. Over the past two decades, such accidents have contributed to close to 8,500 injuries, which have led to a total economic loss of more than $42 million. Property damage caused from these accidents has resulted in more than $65 million in damages in Georgia. Those statistics come from dangeroustrailers.org, a website established by trailer safety activist Ron Melancon.

The Federal government finally decided to crack down on truck companies and truck drivers with poor driving records. According to the Federal Motor Common Carrier Safety Administration website the “Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010, CSA 2010, is a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) initiative to improve large truck and bus safety and ultimately reduce commercial motor vehicle (CMV)-related truck accidents, injuries and fatalities. The initiative has three major components – measurement, evaluation and intervention.Using inspection and truck accident results, the initiative identifies carriers and drivers whose behaviors could reasonably lead to truck accidents and injuries. The FMCSA and its state partners then evaluate the data to create better methods for improving the safety of these problem drivers and companies. Finally, the initiative allows the FMCSA to intervene to resolve safety issues with trucking companies and truck drivers who are unsafe.

However, at a recent meeting in Atlanta, Georgia sponsored by Eyefortransport, trucking companies complained that the new initiative will cause an increase in driver attrition of at least 5 to 8 percent. The American Trucking Association continues to support the initiative, but seeks to have two changes. First, it only wants data regarding accidents considered if the truck driver was determined to be at fault in the accident. Second, it does not want warnings issued by law enforcement officials considered in the data.

Simply put, it is about time that the FMCSA aggressively evaluated the safety and accident records of all truck companies and truck drivers.The initiative is likely to have two significant positive impacts. First, it will result in the removal of unsafe truck drivers from our public highways and roads. Second, it will cause truck drivers to driver more carefully due to the risk of losing their commercial driver’s license.In order to decrease the number of trucking accidents, there needs to be a significant change in how truck drivers choose to driver. The initiative is long overdue and needs to continue to be strengthened and not watered down.

Rear-ender accidents involving passenger vehicles hitting large commercial trucks, are far more common than we think. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there are approximately 23,500 such truck accidents every year in the country, and these kill approximately 160 people.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is working on technologies that will help minimize the number of these accidents. The agency is working on a number of configurations of lights that will alert motorists approaching the back of an 18 wheeler to the risk of a collision. But the most promising configuration involves two sets of six LED lights, each placed on the back bumper. When a passenger vehicle gets too close to the back of the truck, a rear-facing radar system will activate the lights, alerting the motorist to slow down. The agency has already begun testing the system, and will likely move on to dynamic testing on the highways of Virginia. The FMCSA is likely to begin field operational testing involving the placing of these systems on fleet vehicles, by the end of this year.

A commercial truck can be up to 40 times heavier than other vehicles on the road. Whether it is a rear end accident involving a large commercial truck striking a smaller vehicle, or whether the truck is the one being hit, the consequences are the deadliest for the occupants of the smaller vehicle.

New FMCSA System Promises to Eradicate CDL Fraud

In 2002, an inspector general’s report informed the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration of widespread Commercial Driver’s License fraud in the industry. Drivers who obtained fraudulent CDL’s were linked to a large number of accidents that resulted in fatalities and serious injuries. The fact that there is little FMCSA control over the issuance of Commercial Driver’s Licenses is one that has worried Atlanta truck accident lawyers. But not for long now. The FMCSA is in the process of rolling out a web-based system that will streamline the process of issuing CDLs to truck drivers, and limit the amount of fraud.

Once the new system is in effect, testing for CDLs will be scheduled through the system. The system will contain information of all examiners, the test site, date of the test, as well as the results.Testing that is done outside of the system will result in no CDL being issued.

FMCSA Passes Rule Requiring EOBRs on Certain Carriers

The question of having Electronic Onboard Recorders on commercial trucks has been out there for several years.The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has finally made its decision. The agency has adopted a rule that will require electronic onboard recorders to be installed on the vehicles of trucking companies that are found to exceed the hours of service rules by 10%.

Failure to comply during a single review is good enough to impose the EOBR rule on a carrier. Carriers found to be in violation of hours of service for more than 10% of the time in a single review will be required to have the recorders installed for a period of two years.

Georgia Senate Passes Landmark Bill Requiring Pickup Truck Drivers to Buckle up

On this very blog, we have frequently discussed Georgia’s failures in enacting mandatory seatbelt laws that include pickup truck drivers. The law relegated Georgia to the backwoods of traffic safety, with our state being the very last in the country to hold on to an archaic law allowing pick up occupants to go without bucking up. Not anymore. The Georgia Senate has passed a bill that will make it mandatory for pickup truck drivers to buckle up.

The failure to buckle up contributes to the deaths of approximately 67% of all pickup drivers killed in accidents. Those rates have galvanized Atlanta car accident attorneys, and citizens groups. Buckling up might be pure common sense, but as we have seen, you need laws to get people to do the sensible thing and save their own lives. With this bill, pickup drivers in Georgia will have a much higher chance of surviving an accident.

The widow of a trucker, who was killed during a robbery as he parked his truck in an abandoned gas station, is spearheading legislation to allocate funds for truck stop and rest area expansion across the country.

Hope Rivenburg’s husband Jason was shot on March 5, 2009 by a robber at a gas station in South Carolina. Rivenburg was waiting for a milk store to open to make his delivery. At the time of his death, Hope was pregnant with their twins.

A year later, Hope Rivenburg is lobbying for legislators to pass Jason’s Law. The legislation will pay for a pilot program to build new parking facilities and rest areas in high-tech corridors across the country that are currently starved for such truck stops. The law will also provide for enhancement of current truck stops, opening up of current parking facilities to allow parking of trucks, and easier access to safe parking areas.

Atlanta accident lawyers will be pleased to know that the Department of Transportation has posted a Notice of Proposed Rule Making, which deals with stricter testing for drug use.

The NPRM proposes a number of measures that are designed to prevent commercial motor vehicle drivers abusing drugs from slipping through the cracks.The NPRM proposes initial testing for 6-acetylmorphines, and lowering the cut off for cocaine and amphetamines. The idea is to align testing standards with the testing standards of Health and Human services. According to the HHS, such testing would help identify approximately 10% of drug users in the commercial driver population, who currently remain unidentified.

Truck drivers are at a higher risk of amphetamine abuse. These drugs are used to induce alertness, helping truckers stay awake for longer periods of time. Use of stimulants like methamphetamines can have serious side effects. The person may begin to feel extremely drowsy as the drug’s effects begin to wear off, with serious consequences. Employers can now identify drivers who had been using these drugs, but had remained unidentified because of the higher cut off points.