Articles Posted in Trucking Accidents

Trucking accidents often cause a great deal of suffering, personal injury, and property damage. Due to the size of most commercial trucks, a trucking accident involving such a vehicle often leads to fatalities, serious brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, permanent disability, amputation, and other serious injuries. As well, property damage is a common occurrence in trucking accidents. In many cases, when a car accident involves a truck, the passenger vehicle in the collision may be completely destroyed. A trucking accident may also cause serious damage to roads and roadside property.

Long after an accident has taken place and injuries from the accident have been treated, however, emotional trauma can continue. When we talk of trucking accidents, we often speak of the physical damage, personal injuries, and physical effects of the accident. However, the emotional scars of the accident can last as long and can be just as devastating. There are many effects of emotional trauma:

1) Difficulty driving. Survivors who have been in a trucking accident may have a hard time getting back behind the wheel. They may feel anxious or fearful of driving again, worried that they may be in another accident. Both truck drivers and passenger car drivers may experience difficulties resuming driving and may worry about their role in an accident. Some survivors even have trouble being in any moving vehicle after a truck accident, experiencing motion sickness and panic.

A new ban enacted by the federal government immediately bans all bus drivers and all drivers or larger commercial trucks from text messaging while driving. The new ban aims to reduce the serious collisions, bus accidents, trucking accidents, and pedestrian accidents which have been attributed to texting while driving. Under the new ban, any bus drivers or truck drivers found texting while driving may face fees and penalties of up to $2,750.

The ban is the latest in a string of legislation and news items which has shone light on the problems associated with texting and driving. As of December, all drivers operating federal vehicles were banned from texting while driving. Ten states as well as the District of Columbia have made it illegal to text and drive. The senate is considering new laws which would force all states to ban texting while driving. States who do not comply would stand to lose federal funding under the new laws.

As the media has widely reported, the link between texting and truck and car accidents is a close one. According to a recent study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, texting truck drivers were 23.2 times more likely to be in a truck accident, when compared with drivers who were not distracted. The same study found that truck drivers were 5.9 times as likely to have a truck accident while talking on a cell phone and 6.7 times as likely to be in an accident while reaching for a cell phone or mobile device.

Many drivers buy light trucks for the convenience of being able to haul large items. Whether you work in an industry that requires a light truck or whether you run your own business, a light truck may seem like a good choice. Ironically, many drivers also choose to buy light trucks because they believe that these trucks are safer on the roads. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Light truck accidents cause many injuries and deaths each year. Due to the larger size and weight of a light truck (when compared with a passenger vehicle) fatalities, brain injuries, amputations, spinal cord injuries, and other harm is more of a risk with light trucks. As well, light trucks may be more prone to rollovers.

Light trucks are classified as any vehicles with a payload of less than 4000 pounds. These vehicles can include vans, pickup trucks, and SUVs (sport utility vehicles). If you own a light truck, there are many things you can do to reduce the risk of an accident:

1) Use great tires. Good quality tires are a must, because you will likely be carrying more weight on your vehicle. As well, light trucks take a longer time to stop than passenger vehicles, especially when fully loaded. Good tires will provide you with the traction you need as well as the safety you need.

Although Florida residents are lucky enough to not have to worry about snow and ice on the roads most of the time, winter weather can still be a concern for drivers. On occasion, temperatures in Florida do drop below freezing in the winter. When this happens, many people are unprepared and this can lead to car accidents and trucking accidents. As well, many truck drivers drive outside of state lines, where they can encounter winter weather. If you drive a truck (or even a passenger vehicle) you need to consider winter driving.

If you are driving outside the state in areas where snow and ice are prevalent, keep in mind that winter means more trucks on the roads. All areas experiencing winter weather hire snow plows and salt trucks to keep roads and streets clear. As well, tow trucks are more common at this time of year as more people need help getting their cars out of ice and snow.

If you are driving outside the state, keep an eye out for snow plows, tow trucks, and trucks distributing salt. Keep in mind that some of these vehicles will move erratically and may move more slowly. Snow plows, for example, may back up or drive in odd patterns as they try to move large amounts of snow. Tow trucks may have to reverse a number of times when tugging a car out of the ice. Look for the flashing lights these trucks use and be prepared to drive slowly and stop suddenly.

Truck rollovers are a common cause of trucking accidents and due to the size and weight of trucks these accidents tend to cause a lot of damage and injury. Rollovers involving large trucks can cause damage, fatalities, and personal injuries. What is especially devastating about these types of accidents is that most of them can be prevented.

Most engineers and experts agree that the major problem with rollovers is that they happen very quickly – usually before a truck driver has a chance to react. Many drivers are close to the point of rollover and do not even know it. In fact, according to some safety experts, the safety margin in these situations is quite small.

The first step to preventing rollover accidents is to identify what causes them. There are two forces working on a truck: those working to keep the truck upright and those working to push the truck over (these are called lateral acceleration). When lateral acceleration gets too great, a rollover occurs. Engineers and experts measure rollover risks in terms of something called rollover threshold (RT). The RT refers to the maximum amount of lateral acceleration that can be withstood by particular vehicle before it rolls over. For a passenger car, the RT is 1.3. For a tri axle trailer and tractor that is fully loaded, the RT can be 0.28.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 5000 people die because of large truck collisions each year. These types of large truck accidents occur about half a million times each year on our roads and in addition to the lives they claim, they also cause a slew of personal injuries. Large truck accidents tend to make the news because of the amount of devastation they cause, but not all large truck accidents are the same. In fact, there are many types of large truck accidents, each causing their own problems and damage:

1) Rollovers. Trucks tend to be tall and this creates a high center of gravity. When a truck loses control, rollovers are very common. Rollovers most often occur on a turn or when a driver drives over an object. Rollovers cause fatalities and many types of injuries. A truck can fall onto a passenger vehicle and kill everyone inside. A truck driver in a rollover accident can sustain serious brain injuries and spinal cord injuries from being tossed about in the cab.

2) Brake failure. Brake failure is a common cause of truck accidents, since truck brakes require good training to use. Many things can make a truck’s brakes fail: mechanical problems, poor weather conditions, and a properly balanced and secured load. Even overheated brakes that have not had time to cool completely can fail.

Fire trucks are designed to get equipment and fire fighters safely to a blaze so that fire fighters can help put out a fire and deal with other life-saving situations. Unfortunately, many experts say that fire truck accidents are on the rise, and this problem is causing many types of injuries and problems. Fire truck accidents injure passengers of other cars as well as pedestrians. They tap resources which need to be spent on emergencies. Worse, a fire truck that has been in an accident is slowed down, so that the persons waiting for a fire truck may suffer fatalities or serious burn injuries because a truck did not arrive in time. Each year, fire truck accidents also take many fire trucks off the roads, stretching resources thin and making it harder for fire fighters to respond to emergencies in a timely way.

In 2005 alone, there were 15,885 fire truck accidents taking place while fire trucks drove to and from emergencies. According to the National Fire Protection Association, this number appears to be rising. In part, experts say, the increase in truck accidents stems from the hiring of new personnel in fire fighting departments.

Drivers of fire trucks need plenty of experience and training, since fire trucks are long, heavy, and large. They are very hard to maneuver around city streets, especially city streets where parking is permitted. In many cases, as well, fire trucks need access to small areas – such as small driveways – and getting a large fire truck into such areas takes a great deal of experience and good training.

Fire trucks are intended to get to the scene of a fire quickly so that emergency crews can save lives and stop fires. However, fire trucks also pose a risk of traffic accidents. Fire trucks are designed to speed to the site of a fire and these vehicles can legally run red lights in order to offer life-saving services. However, many things can go wrong when a fire truck is racing to the scene of an emergency:

1) Other cars and pedestrians may not follow safety rules regarding fire trucks. Both pedestrians and cars are supposed to yield right of way to fire engines who have lights and sirens on. Cars should pull over to the side of the road to allow fire trucks and other emergency vehicles through. Pedestrians should steer clear of these trucks and allow trucks through at all times. Unfortunately, many people simply do not follow these rules. Some drivers actually race after fire trucks, hoping to run a red light, too. When pedestrians and drivers do not yield right of way, auto accidents, fire truck accidents, and pedestrian accidents can be the inevitable result.

2) Truck driver training may be inadequate. Fire truck drivers need extra training to deal with the excessive speeds required to get to an emergency and the special equipment inside a fire truck. Drivers without adequate experience and training are more likely to cause an accident.

A new group called FocusDriven has been started by Elissa Schee. Schee’s daughter was killed in 2008, when a semi tractor trailer crashed into the school bus carrying the child. Police investigators found that driver distraction caused by cell phone use as well as hours of service problems caused the trucking accident. In response, Schee decided to start FocusDriven to change laws and to reduce the problem of distracted drivers.

Schee and other members of FocusDriven recently met with U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to discuss possible bans on cell phone use while driving. All the members of FocusDriven had lost loved ones in trucking accidents, bus accidents, car accidents, and other vehicle accidents caused by a distracted driver who was using a cell phone at the time of the collision. All the members believe their loved ones would still be alive today if legislation was tougher on cell phone use among drivers.

Statistics and research seem to support their theories. Numerous studies have shown that texting or talking on a cell phone can be as deadly as drunk driving. In fact, both drunk drivers and drivers texting while driving have a four times greater chance of being in a collision than non-distracted drivers. Truck drivers and bus drivers are an especial danger when texting or talking on cell phones, since their vehicles are far more likely to kill or cause serious personal injuries in an accident.

Large commercial trucks, SUVs and some buses all have a higher risk of rollovers, due to their low center of gravity and their distribution of weight. With large commercial trucks, especially, rollover accidents are a concern because these very large trucks can cause a lot of damage when they rollover on highways. An out of control truck can cause collisions, car accidents, and property damage as well as fatalities. Many commercial trucks are used to transport flammable or dangerous materials. In the event of an accident or rollover, these materials can fuel out of control fires.

Increasing awareness about truck rollovers has placed additional pressure on manufacturers of trucks as well as trucking companies to prevent these sorts of accidents. Manufacturers have been developing rollover warning and control systems in order to help prevent some of these types of accidents. These devices might prove very popular, especially since they may be modified to fit vans and SUVs to help prevent SUV and van rollovers as well.

Research studies have suggested that commercial truck design can also play a large role in preventing rollover accidents. Currently, high cg heights and large dimensions as well as heavy loads on these trucks contribute to rollover accidents, especially with higher speeds. Incorrect distribution and securing of loads has also proven to cause accidents.