Item: Flaxman Law Group
Rating: 5
Author: Clara Barman

Why It’s Important to Get Help If You Have Been in a Florida Truck Accident

Published on: March 21, 2011 | By Flaxman Law Group

Each year, almost half a million truck accidents occur across the country each year, resulting in serious burn injuries, spinal cord injuries, and even fatalities. When commercial truck accidents are Florida car accidents involving a passenger car, the injuries to the passengers in the passenger vehicle are often severe. While the truck driver may walk away from such an accident unharmed, in many cases the other passengers in the other vehicle suffer severe injuries. Many Florida spinal cord injury, burn injury, and brain injury patients sustain their injuries in traffic accidents.

Unfortunately, many injury victims assume that their car insurance will cover all costs and do not seek out professional or legal help after an accident. This is unfortunate because in many cases Florida truck accidents involving commercial trucks are quite complex. There may be a few liable parties as well as several contributing factors to the accident and its injuries.

When patients sign any documentation from an insurance company they often sign away at least part of their rights to pursue legal action. All truck carriers have teams of attorneys to help companies avoid expensive litigation. What many patients do not realize is that they may be entitled to more compensation and more coverage of their injuries.

In too many cases, Florida truck accident victims receive less than the full cost of damages from insurance carriers. While immediate hospital care may be covered, for example, long-term care, counseling, and other treatments may need to be paid out of pocket. It is often difficult for injured parties without legal training to truly appreciate the liability of an accident or to calculate the full cost of an injury.

This is why consulting with a Florida personal injury attorney is so crucial. An attorney can investigate the causes of an accident, find all liable parties, and aggressively pursue a fair recovery for the patient. In many cases, this recovery can help the patient pay for lost income, medical treatment, car repairs, and any related costs. As well, an attorney can help the victim understand and take advantage of all their rights.

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Why Are Truck Accident Rates Dropping?

Published on: March 18, 2011 | By Flaxman Law Group

According to both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and The American Trucking Association (ATA), fatal truck accidents have declined as much as 14% through 2009. The improved safety of the industry can be attributed to many things, according to the ATA:

1) Better driver training. Truck carriers are improving driver training and driver training courses are improving at schools across the country, stressing things such as driver safety, defensive driving, and other similar topics which help reduce fatal truck accidents. Most industry experts agree that today’s drivers receive more training and better-quality safety training than drivers of years past.

2) Lower truck highway speeds, which are mostly self-imposed. Many truck drivers are slowing down. Thanks to government regulations and a greater awareness among carriers that safety is good business, there is less pressure on drivers to deliver by deadline at any cost. Since speeding is considered a major contributor to most Florida car accidents and truck accidents – not to mention traffic accidents nationwide – slower speeds mean safer highways.

3) Improved truck safety systems. Systems such as roll–stability, GPS, lane-departure warning, and collision-avoidance systems are increasingly being installed in new commercial trucks. Manufacturers have been aggressively researching and developing new safety devices over the past five years, which are designed to help prevent serious accidents. These technologies are being implemented more often, helping to avert disaster, although the ATA has argued that better incentives would make implementing newer technologies more universal.

4) Improved regulations. The past five years have seen growing awareness about Florida truck accidents and US truck accidents in general. States and the federal government have passed legislation aimed at making streets safer. For example, last year all commercial truck drivers were banned from texting while driving. Better regulations and enforcement reduce the instances of violations and improve safety in the industry.

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What Else Can be Done to Reduce Florida Truck Accident Rates?

Published on: March 16, 2011 | By Flaxman Law Group

According to both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and The American Trucking Association (ATA), fatal truck accident rates continue to drop, as do personal injuries resulting from truck accidents. In 2009, there were 1.17 fatalities involving trucks per 100 million driven miles, the lowest rate since 1975. According to the NHTSA, there were 3 380 truck accident fatalities across the US in 2009, compared with 2 245 in 2008.

According to The American Trucking Association, statistics show that the trucking industry is getting safer, but agree that more can be done to improve overall safety. For example, the ATA is currently asking the government to allow programs which give incentives to truck companies that install safety technology. Tax incentives and other incentives, the ATA argues, would encourage carriers to install the latest technology that can help prevent accidents. Some of this technology, for example, creates alerts when truck drivers drive too fast or drive too long without taking breaks. This alerts carriers when drivers break the rules and makes it harder to circumvent federal rules which are designed to make trucking safer.

The ATA also recommends creating a national clearinghouse to streamline blood alcohol and drug test results. According to the organization, this would help coordinate information, so that drivers with poor records could not simply move to another state in order to avoid career problems in their home state. A national clearinghouse, according to the ATA, would help the industry track drivers with drug and alcohol problems, offer better treatment, and help catch repeat offenders.

Further, the ATA recommends advanced notification systems to target drivers with problems. Current systems, according to experts, allow drivers with repeat offenses and repeat problems to find themselves on the road again and again. Drivers and carriers sometimes go to great lengths to ensure that drivers remain on the road. Advanced notification systems, the ATA argues, could help alert carriers and authorities when a driver has multiple near-misses, multiple accidents, or other problems. These problems could then be addressed before the driver is allowed to return to the road.

Florida, too, could make changes to help make trucking safer in the state. Legislation is already proposed to ban texting and driving, which could help prevent Florida car accidents involving trucks caused by distracted drivers. As well, Florida could work on legislation which could help support federal efforts to prevent Florida truck accidents and accidents across the country.

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Safety Practices and Policies Alone Won’t Prevent Florida Trucking Accidents

Published on: March 14, 2011 | By Flaxman Law Group

When Florida trucking accidents happen, legislators often call for new laws and regulations. While policies are useful in preventing Florida drunk driving accidents and other types of accidents and while safety practices instituted by the trucking industry have helped to prevent many accidents, these steps alone are not enough. In order to really help prevent more Florida car accidents involving trucks, it is important to move beyond reactive practices to more proactive practices.

Most safety policies focus on violations and post-violation action rather than focusing on preventing problems in the first place. That is, most policies are created as a response to existing problems and current violations. They are looking back at the mistakes already made. Many safety experts believe that the trucking industry needs to look forward to anticipate problems and create holistic solutions to these problems.

For example, it is expected that Florida will see more and more trucks on the road as industries boom. The state will also see more extra-large trucks as a result of legislation passed last year to allow larger and heavier trucks on the road. While no accidents have yet been reported from this change, now is the time to address the change and to take steps to help prevent any future accidents. For example, investing in new tire technology would help the industry avoid trucking accidents caused by tire defects. This will become especially important as trucks increase in size and weight load.

Another way to become more forward-looking is avoid too much attention on incident rate leads. These tend to look back, just like safety policies, rather than looking forward to future problems. Of course, incident rate leads and safety policies are important. However, to truly create greater safety on the road, we must look beyond these issues and anticipate problems and address them in a forward-thinking way.

Drivers of course play a significant role in preventing Florida truck accidents. Training drivers extensively and well to anticipate problems and to become part of the solution is important. When drivers are given a greater voice to improve safety and their concerns are heard, good things can happen. Truck drivers want to help prevent accidents; giving them more leeway to take action to prevent accidents can help prevent collisions.

Many carriers have incentives based on lack of injury, but this, too can backfire. Drivers may be less likely to report injuries or possible injuries if it means discipline or lack of incentives, and this can mean more drivers driving unwell. Rewarding the right behaviors means rewarding safety and a commitment to safety, not rewarding lack of accidents. Rewarding additional training and any action taken by the drivers to remain safer simply may make more sense.

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How the Trucking Industry And Carriers Can Create a Safety Culture

Published on: March 11, 2011 | By Flaxman Law Group

In many industries, the term “safety culture” is a buzzword and a key goal. Broadly, safety culture means creating an environment in which safety is an essential part of all tasks and business matters. Creating a safety culture is important because it can help reduce accidents and injuries. To help prevent Florida truck accidents, the trucking industry and local carriers may wish to work to create the type of safety culture than many other industries are creating.

Most experts agree that in order for safety culture to be effective, industries need to see culture as actionable. That is, it’s easy to talk about a safety culture as something abstract, but companies need to create a culture rooted in specific steps so that it is easy to implement. For example, the trucking industry has taken steps to create a safety culture by banning texting and driving all across the country. Safety must be translated into steps of action in order to work.

Most experts also agree that safety policies alone do not mean safety culture. While it is important to have safety rules, in other words, rules alone will not create a culture of safety. A safety culture needs to go well beyond rules and regulations to work. The problem with many safety policies is that they are top-down. That is, authorities in an industry impose rules and everyone else is expected to follow them. This creates directives, not a culture. To create a safety culture that prevents Florida car accidents and truck accidents, industry authorities need to work with truck drivers and even the drivers of passenger cars to create solutions that involve everyone.

In order to work, safety culture must mean integration. That is, a safety culture includes all levels of a company or industry and it involves everyone. In the trucking industry, everyone must be held accountable for safety and safety must become a priority at all levels – from driver training to loading and unloading of trucks to truck maintenance and tire manufacture.

Safety cultures are not created overnight. In many cases, they begin with a goal to improve safety and with a few policies. Many industries dedicated to implementing a culture safety do so over time, working with employees and other stakeholders to gradually make safety a larger and larger focus across the board. As the trucking industry continues to do this, hopefully the number of Florida car accidents involving trucks will decline.

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Preventing Driving Error Can Help Prevent Truck Accidents

Published on: March 9, 2011 | By Flaxman Law Group

Many Florida truck accidents – and indeed many Florida car accidents — are attributed to “driver error.” In many cases, this general term simply means that a driver had no intention of harming anyone but has made a mistake which has resulted in an accident. Most experts agree that such accidents are highly preventable.

To prevent traffic accidents caused by driver error, it is important to first eliminate causes of error. Many factors can make a driver more prone to mistakes. For example, a driver who is taking cold or flu medication that results in drowsiness is more likely to make mistakes behind the wheel, even if the medication is not a controlled substance. If a driver is sleepy or ill, he or she is also more likely to cause a Florida car accident due to error. Similarly, a distracted driver can make mistakes simply because he or she is not alert enough to notice possible hazards. Eliminating drowsy driving, distracted driving, and driving while ill means that drivers who are well and alert are behind the wheel – and focused, healthy drivers are less likely to make mistakes.

Another way to eliminate driver mistakes is to improve and increase truck driver training. In many cases, driver error is caused simply by lack of experience on the part of the driver. Experienced drivers make fewer mistakes, typically, simply because they are more familiar with a wide range of driving experiences and know to respond appropriately. Truck driving training can mean that drivers have the skills to avoid potentially tragic mistakes. Truck training also means more truck driving experience. Drivers who take additional training are also enjoying more experience in controlled conditions – which means they are more prepared for the road.

Many driver mistakes can also be prevented by creating an environment of safety for drivers. That is, having reasonable work deadlines and sensible schedules ensures that drivers can care for themselves and can therefore be in better shape to avoid mistakes on the road. Carriers and the trucking industry can help create an environment of safety and prevent truck accidents by continuing to focus on safety and driver comfort.

Another way to prevent driver errors and the accidents they cause is to make it easy to focus and stay error-free. In many cases, drivers make mistakes because their minds and eyes are not 100% on the road. Drivers who are focused on the task at hand are less likely to make mistakes because they are not distracted. Banning texting and driving for drivers is an important first step. Carefully screening drivers to ensure that they can focus on one task for extended periods of time is another potential step to help prevent distracted driving and accidents.

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Why It’s Not Enough to Focus on Commercial Trucks When Trying to Prevent Florida Truck Accidents

Published on: March 7, 2011 | By Flaxman Law Group

When most news programs report on truck accidents, they report on commercial trucking accidents. It is true that commercial trucking accidents are often very serious or fatal due to the large size of the vehicles. As well, commercial trucking accidents usually are legally very complex, since there are usually a few liable parties.

However, there are other types of Florida trucking accidents which receive less attention but which can still cause fatalities and serious injuries. For example, much less is written about rental truck accidents, although this is a topic that deserves serious attention. Many companies rent trucks – even large trucks – to customers without truck driving licenses. In many cases, these trucks are rented to individuals who are moving. Lately, even building supply stores have been offering short-term truck rentals to customers who want to get building supplies home.

Unfortunately, truck rentals pose quite a few problems. In most cases, drivers who have driven nothing but passenger vehicles are allowed to drive these trucks – some of which can be quite large and unwieldy – with no training, instruction, or help. While rentals no doubt save customers money, many experts do not think they are safe. Due to the fact that customers renting these large trucks do not have experience with larger vehicles, it can mean that even good drivers with no record of Florida car accidents can easily get into a collision with these trucks.

The safety record and maintenance of these trucks has also been an issue. Several investigative journalists have looked into the safety records of trucks offered for rent in this manner and have found all sorts of troubling problems. Some investigative journalists have discovered aging fleets while others have found that trucks cannot pass a mechanic’s inspection. Lawsuits and claims that these companies know about mechanical problems just add to the issue.

Another common problem is the prevalence of light trucks and the role they play in accidents. More drivers and car buyers are selecting light trucks when buying a vehicle. In fact, in some cases, buyers say that the perceived safety advantages of these trucks influence their buying decisions. However, light trucks still can and do mean Florida truck accidents. These trucks can mean more blind spots when compared with passenger vehicles. Some light trucks also have high rollover rates and other known problems, all of which can contribute to Florida truck accidents.

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Could Safety Devices Be Causing Florida Truck Accident Fatalities?

Published on: March 4, 2011 | By Flaxman Law Group

Studies conducted by The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) show that a popular truck device used to increase safety may actually be causing hundreds of fatalities each year. According to the study, truck safety guards may actually be causing fatalities through decapitation in car accidents involving trucks.

The unusual thing is that truck safety guards are in fact designed to help prevent the very accident them seem to be making worse. The guards are designed to help prevent underride accidents, or accidents in which a car slips underneath a truck. The guards are supposed to ensure that cars cannot slide under the truck and the guards are approved to help prevent injuries by the US.

Despite this, the IIHS study found that in three of six tests, truck safety guards in fact lead to decapitations and other serious injuries in an underride accident. According to the IIHS, the study shows that the trucking industry needs to make changes to prevent these accidents. In some cases, researchers found that the guards actually made the accidents much worse and effectively ensured that in an underride accident there would be no survivors.

Part of the problem, according to researchers, is that truck safety guards are attached to a truck with hardware. In some tests, this hardware appeared to fail, so that during the force of an impact, the hardware did not hold, rendering the guard ineffective. As well, the study found that the NHTSA mandates no testing of truck safety guards, which means that trucking companies can have faulty guards with no inspections and no consequences.

The IIHS researchers made a few recommendations as a result of the study. For example, they recommended that the NHTSA institute rules ensuring that truck safety guards are strengthened and new hardware or new systems for ensuring that the guards are securely attached to trucks. Some trucking industry experts are supporting the proposed changes. Currently, the NHTSA is reviewing its rules regarding truck safety guards, but the review may not be complete until next year.

Across the country, over 400 people die annually in underride accidents – the very accidents which truck safety guards are designed to prevent. Many Florida truck accident and Florida car accident fatalities are also attributed to underride accidents. Such accidents may be preventable with better truck safety guards, as even high safety-rated cars tested by the IIHS tested poorly with the problematic guards, All cars are currently vulnerable to these types of accidents.

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Signs of Possible Driver Problems Which Can Lead to a Florida Truck Accident

Published on: March 2, 2011 | By Flaxman Law Group

According to The Hartford Insurance Company, there are several signs that a driver may no longer be safe for the road. Recognizing and acting on these signs early may help prevent Florida truck accidents and Florida car accidents:

1) Signs of confusion. Stopping in traffic for no clear reason, confusing brake and gas pedals, getting lost in places that were once familiar, delayed response times, moving into the wrong lane and difficulty maintaining a position in a lane can all indicate a problem. According to the Hartford Insurance Company, these may be the signs that an elderly driver, especially, is struggling with the basics of road safety. They may indicate problems caused by dementia, stroke, and other problems that affect neurological function. Other symptoms of these problems include confusion at exits and increased agitation when driving.

2) Traffic accidents and violations. These can be a sign of vision problems, aggressive driving, fatigue, distracted driving, or other problems. However, ticketed moving violations or warnings, multiple Florida car accidents, running red lights or stop signs, and other reckless behavior is a clear sign that a driver should not be on the road. Multiple near-misses or violations, especially, are a sign of a more serious underlying problem. Luckily, this is one sign that is likely to be taken seriously by carriers because it affects truck companies’ insurance costs.

3) Not noticing important things. Parking inappropriately can mean not noticing parking signs and cues. Hitting curbs or other objects, failure to notice other cars or activities or failure to notice traffic signs can all indicate a serious problem. A lack of ability to notice important driving cues can mean vision problems. distracted driving, or fatigued driving. In any event, leaving this problem unchecked is very likely to result in a Florida truck accident.

4) Poor judgment. Difficulty in making turns, difficulty anticipating potentially dangerous situations, difficulty estimating distances, and similar signs can mean that a driver’s judgment is affected. This could be due to alcohol and drug use, distracted driving, fatigued driving, and a host of other problems. However, it is a serious problem. All drivers, and especially truck drivers, rely on their experience and judgment when operating a vehicle. With this judgment affected, accidents are very likely.

5) Aggressive driving. Speeding, lack of signally, frustration and yelling, honking at other cars, and a failure to follow rules of the road are all signs of aggressive driving. Aggressive driving can be caused by poor anger management, emotional problems, or even frustration at an underlying problem. Aggressive drivers take risks which can lead to serious accidents, however, and need to be taken off the road.

6) Low confidence in driving skills. Relying on a “copilot,” driving slowly, riding the brakes, and driver anxiety can all point to a lack of confidence. While not as serious as aggressive driving, excessive cautiousness and lack of confidence can also lead to traffic accidents. In some cases, younger drivers or under-qualified drivers may experience low confidence. Additional training can often help resolve this issue.

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Proposed Changes to Truck Driver Restart Period

Published on: February 25, 2011 | By Flaxman Law Group

Truck drivers must adhere to many rules of service regulations which are designed to ensure that drivers do not drive fatigued. One of the basic concepts of the hours of service regulations has to do with the restart period, which refers to the start of a new on-duty cycle. After a truck driver has taken 34 consecutive hours off-duty or more, he or she can restart the on-duty cycle. However, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has proposed changes to the restart cycle – and the trucking industry does not agree with the changes.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, research has shown that it would be beneficial to mandate two rest periods (each between midnight and 6 am) during the 34-hour restart rest period. The research is based on a study from Washington State University.

The study was conducted in two parts and overseen by Gregory Belenky and Hans Van Dongen of the Sleep and Performance Research Center. The first part concluded that the current 34-hour restart gives does not adequately allow nighttime drivers to rest before starting on duty again. The second part of the study found that the rest break of the restart period was more effective when nighttime sleep was mandated. This study led the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to make its proposed changes to the restart period.

However, the American Trucking Association (ATA) objects to the proposal, stating that the studies may not be accurate. Among the issues at hand, according to the ATA is that the second part of the study has not yet been reviewed. As well, the study sample of the second part included just 12 people, none of them truck drivers. Even the study’s authors, notes the ATA, believe that more study is warranted.

The FMCSA and the authors of the study have defended the findings, arguing that the study was done under carefully controlled conditions and the findings – as well as the proposal that comes from them – could help prevent truck accidents and car accidents.

However, could Florida truck accidents be prevented by this change in the restart period. It is true that driver fatigue has been linked to many Florida car accidents involving trucks. As well, truck drivers work long and irregular hours, which can help contribute to driver fatigue and unsafe driving. Further studies could help us understand more about the best ways to ensure drivers get a safe amount of rest.

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