Articles Posted in Trucking Accident

A passenger of a bakery box truck was killed in an accident after the vehicle slammed into an interchange wall and was left dangling over Interstate 95. The driver has entered his plea of guilty.

According to the Sun-Sentinel, the driver was adjudicated guilty of careless driving that involved that February fatal accident. The driver was fined $1,000 in addition to court costs and must complete 250 hours of community service. His driver’s license was also suspended for 6 months.

Our Fort Lauderdale accident attorneys understand that the interchange where this incident happened is equipped with a number of signals, signs and ramps. Some of the barriers in the area are smeared with black marks, serving as unfortunate reminders of past accidents and close calls. The accident that took the passenger in the bakery box happened as the crew headed to Tampa. it happened at about 5:30 a.m. as the truck exited at State Road 84. The truck neglected to make that sharp turn onto 84, according to officers, and crashed right into the north wall of the interchange. The collision left a 10-foot hole.

During the rescue efforts, officials with the Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue had to secure cables between the box truck and it’s heavy cargo backing to keep it from falling to the ground 50 feet below.

According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV), more than 10 percent of all motor vehicle traffic fatalities reported involved large trucks, defined as vehicles weighing over 10,000 pounds. Among the people killed in these accidents, close to 75 percent of them were the occupants of other motor vehicles involved. Only about 15 percent of those killed in these accidents were those in the large trucks.

It’s not uncommon for the drivers of large trucks and passenger vehicles to have prior speeding convictions.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the state of Florida saw more than 200 large trucks involved in fatal traffic accidents in 2011. This means that close to 6 percent of all of the the fatal trucking accidents across the nation happened in the state of Florida.

Unfortunately, these are statistics that are on the rise as we continue to see more and more fatal trucking accidents nationwide. The latest increase we saw was the 2 percent increase from 2010 to 2011. While a 2 percent increase may see insignificant to you, consider it this way: There were close to 4,000 people killed in trucking accidents across the nation during that year. Any percent increase is a concern for motorists and safety advocates.

In 2011, these large trucks accounted for 8 percent of all vehicles involved in fatal crashes and 3 percent of all vehicles involved in injury and property-damage-only crashes.

It’s important that we exercising the safest of traveling habits around large commercial vehicles. One wrong move could result in a fatal accident. Our passenger vehicles stand virtually no chance against the size, weight and power of a large, commercial vehicle.
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The tractor-trailers of today do a pretty good job of keeping passenger vehicles from sliding underneath in the event of a collision. You have the underride guards to thank if you’ve ever struck the rear of a semi.

But much improvement to the devices is warranted.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), in crashes involving only a small portion of the truck’s rear, most trailers fail to prevent potentially deadly underride. And that’s when your life is at risk.

Our Lake Work car accident lawyers understand that there are current standards that make sure most semitrailers have these underride guards. These underride guards are those steel bars that hang down from the rear of the trailer to help to stop your vehicle from sliding under in the event of an accident. The standards for the strength of these guards were improved in 2011. In addition to asking for tougher standards, officials also asked if these guards could be required on other types of large vehicles, including dump trucks.

But the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) hasn’t responded to the IIHS’ petition. Canada has much stronger requirements. U.S. underride guards are stronger in part because trailer manufacturers building trailers for use in North American build them in compliance with the tougher Canadian standards. And with the spotlight on these recent underride tests, some manufacturers have stepped up and strengthened their guards.

“Our tests suggest that meeting the stronger Canadian standard is a good first step, but.. it’s possible to go much further,” says David Zuby with the IIHS.

According to the latest statistics, there were more than 2,240 passenger vehicle occupants who were killed in a traffic accident with large trucks in 2011. Of these fatalities, close to 300 of them were killed when the fronts of their vehicles slammed into the back of a truck. While still far too many lives lost, that is a significant decrease from the nearly 500 who were killed this way in 2004. But we can’t be so quick to credit stronger underride guards for this decline, because the number of total vehicle miles traveled in the U.S. declined during that time, too. With fewer miles traveled, we see fewer accidents.

In the state of Florida, there were more than 200 large trucks involved in fatal accidents in 2011. This accounted for close to 10 percent of the number of vehicles involved in fatal collisions throughout the entire year.

In 2011, fatalities in crashes involving large trucks increased by 2 percent from 2010. In close to 50 percent of the two-vehicle fatal crashes, both the large truck and the other vehicle were proceeding straight at the time of the crash. Many of them occurred when the passenger vehicle slammed into the rear of the truck.

Underride guard or not, it’s important that we’re never traveling too closely to these large trucks. It’s a move that could lead to a serious or fatal accident.
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Trucking companies are getting citation after citation for putting overloaded trucks on our roadways — but that doesn’t seem to be stopping them.

According to MyFoxAtlanta, these trucks are only getting tickets of $75 – $100 for traveling thousands of pounds over the national and state weight limit — 80,000 pounds. And many of these trucks are traveling next to you and your family on Florida roads.

Our Fort Lauderdale trucking accident lawyers understand that although these laws are in black and white, trucking companies continue to break them. A single-axle truck is allowed to weigh 20,000 pounds, a tandem-axle truck is allowed to weigh 34,500 pounds and the gross vehicle weight of a semi and trailer cannot exceed 80,000 pounds. National weight standards apply to commercial vehicle operations on the Interstate Highway System, an approximately 40,000-mile system of limited access, divided highways that spans the nation. Off the Interstate Highway System, states may set their own commercial vehicle weight standards, according to the Federal Highway Administration.

It’s not just truck weight that’s concerning safety officials. Many weight tens of thousands of pounds and they’re traveling far too fast. According to Road Safe America, the U.S. Department of Transportation is currently considering enacting a rule to require all Heavy Commercial Vehicles to use speed limiters. Officials want them to set a maximum speed limit of 65 miles per hour. Road Safe America is backing this rule, too – saying that it’s key in helping to make our roadways safer for everyone.

Officials with Road Safe America are asking you to step in and voice your concerns by contacting your local Congressmen and Senator to push the enactment of this rule. On their website, they have provided residents with a sample letter that you can print out and send off to your elected officials.

Trucking accidents might be more serious than you ever thought. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), these accidents took the lives of close to 4,000 people in the US in 2010. In addition to these fatalities, another 100,000 people were injured in these kinds of accidents. And Florida was one of the most dangerous states in the nation.

In the Sunshine State, there were close to 3,500 vehicles involved in fatal accidents in 2010. Of these vehicles, close to 200 of them were commercial trucks. We ranked in 3rd place among states for seeing the most trucks involved in fatal accidents. And many of these fatalities could have been prevented if companies and drivers had obeyed weight and speed limits.

From 2009 top 2010, the number of commercial trucks involved in fatal accidents actually increased by close to 10 percent. And you’re most at risk, too. The occupants of these large trucks are rarely the ones affected in these accidents. Motorists like us, in smaller passenger vehicles, don’t have a lot to defend against the size, weight and speed of these trucks.
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An accident with an 18-wheeler in Coral Springs has claimed the life of a man from Fort Lauderdale.

According to CBS Miami, the accident happened last week on State Road 7, north of Sample Road. The 64-year-old trucker was driving his Walmart big-rig when he said he felt like he hit a bump in the road and said he felt his load shift.

It’s wasn’t his load shifting though. He got to Walmart and saw some significant damage on the back of his truck. When he returned to the scene, he found police officers handling a fatal traffic accident. Officers say that they believe that a Lexus passenger vehicle slammed into the back of the truck, flew through some traffic signs and wound up in some trees on the side of the road. Officers also speculate that the passenger vehicle slid up under the truck because the top of it had been completely ripped off. The 29-year-old driver was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.

Our Broward trucking accident attorneysunderstand that the risks for traffic accidents, especially with tractor-trailers, increase through the holidays. We’d like to use this story as a reminder for drivers of all kinds to stay safe as we head into the holidays and the busy travel season.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were close to 3,700 people who were killed in traffic accidents that involved a large truck in 2010. Another 275,000 people were injured in these incidents, too.

We talk about the increase in these risks with the holiday season, well the risks are increasing with each passing year. The number of these accidents increased close to 10 percent from 2009 to 2010.

In 2010, there were close to 3,500 vehicles involved in fatal accidents in the state of Florida. Of these vehicles, close to 200 of them were large trucks. Only California and Texas saw more of these accidents.

“Safety on Florida’s roadways is a cooperative effort by cars and trucks alike,” said Mary Lou Rajchel with the Florida Trucking Association.

We’re asking drivers of all kinds to stay safe out there — especially when driving near large vehicles. These large trucks carry so much more weight and power than our passenger vehicles. We’re asking you to make sure you keep your distance from them. Never travel in their blind spots, follow too closely or cut in front of them. Your best bet is to just steer clear.
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A fiery trucking accident in Weston left two truckers fighting for their lives. The accident happened on U.S. 27. While the two drivers were able to escape, the dog of one of the drivers wasn’t so lucky. The pup escaped from the cab of the truck, but was then hit and killed by a passing car.

The accident happened at roughly 4:00 a.m. when the driver of one of the trucks pulled over to check his tires. While he was pulled over on the narrow highway, another truck, passing at about 65 miles per hour slammed into the left side of him. Both of the tractor-trailers burst into flames. The accident was so bad that it forced officials to shut down a part of West Broward highway for several hours while officials tried to put out the fire. The northbound lanes were reopened in the morning, but the southbound lanes remained shut until 3:00 p.m. the next day, according to The Miami Herald.

Our Weston trucking accident attorneys understand that these kinds of trucking accidents often produce much worse results. Many times, trucking accidents end up killing people. The weight and the power of these vehicles bring about some serious risks in the event of a collision. As a matter of fact, there were nearly 3,700 people killed in trucking accidents in the United States in 2010, according to the recently-released statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Throughout that entire year, there were nearly 300,000 large trucks involved in accidents.

From 2009 to 2010, the number of fatalities resulting from trucking accidents across the nation increased by nearly 10 percent. For statistical purposes, large trucks are defined as vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 10,000 pounds.

In the state of Florida, there were nearly 3,500 vehicles involved in fatal accidents in 2010. Of these vehicles, nearly 200 of them were large trucks.

During the summer, we see plenty of truckers on our state’s roadways and highways. We’re asking drivers of all kinds to be safe and cautious behind the wheel to help to avoid an accident with one of these dangerous vehicles. Review the following safety tips from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV).

Safety Tips – Share The Road:

-Avoid the no-zone. Stay out of a trucker’s blind spots. Truckers cannot see you in these areas.

-Calm down behind the wheel. Truckers operate their vehicles much differently than we do. Unfortunately, many of these maneuvers are slower. Keep your cool around trucks.

-Allow trucks with plenty of room. Never avoid an emergency braking situation for a trucker.

-Never hang out on the side of a truck. When passing, do so quickly. Never tailgate a truck, follow one too closely or cut one off in traffic.
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Healthcare professionals are going to have to be better trained, tested and certified when it comes to examining truckers nationwide. The improvement was recently announced through a new rule from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to help to reduce the risks of accidents in Fellsmere and elsewhere.

These healthcare professionals examine truckers to make sure that their health and their physical qualifications are up to par and they’re safe on our roadways. In addition, the new rule is pushing a new online database of medical examiners who have completed the certification process. We need to keep a closer eye on our truck drivers nationwide to help make our roadways safer for all. Better and healthier truck drivers can do just that and we need better trained medical examiners to help us get there.

Our Broward accident lawyers understand that truckers are required to undergo this examination once every two years in order to keep their commercial driver’s license and to operate a commercial vehicle. Reexamination of these drivers is critical in making sure they’re equipped to handle these large vehicles and stay out of potentially fatal accidents. It is important that these drivers are healthy and are not suffering from any debilitating medical conditions. Just in 2009, trucking accidents took the lives of more than 3,100 people across the U.S. Keeping a closer eye on these drivers can help us to reduce this number.

“This new rule will ensure that healthcare professionals conducting exams keep in mind all of the demands required to operate large trucks and passenger buses safely,” said USDOT Secretary Ray LaHood.

The new database, called the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners, is a tool from the FMCSA that is being used to help assist its commitment to holding medical examiners accountable when examining our truckers. Part of the safety of our roadways lies in their hands. Being more in tune with the kinds of health conditions that trucks are subjected to will help to reduce the risks of injuries and fatalities resulting from trucking accidents. The nationwide database is used as a supplement to the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) new recommendations regarding training for these examiners as well as keeping better track of driver medical certificates and examinations.

Within the next month, the FMCSA will be posting uniform testing and training standards on its website for medical examiners. When these new standards are posted then individuals will be able to look them over and even sign up for updates on the new rule.

In two years, all those who are certified in these examinations will be required to be listed on the National Registry database. Those who don’t keep up with their certifications and training will be taken off of the registry.
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These are just a few of the many accidents in Florida reported the past few weeks involving tractor trailers in Miami and elsewhere:

-The Miami Herald recently reported that a woman stepping out of her vehicle on Interstate 75 was hit by a tractor trailer. She was flown to a nearby hospital in critical condition.

–WSVN News reported a tractor trailer rollover on an Interstate 95 exit ramp.

–WSVN News also reported another incident on an Interstate 95 exit ramp involving a jack-knifed tractor trailer. The trucker reportedly applied too much pressure on the brakes, causing the truck to jack-knife.

Our Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyers know the havoc that tractor trailers create on our highways. So we are following closely a bill proposing to raise truck weights. Safety advocates not only want the weight to remain the same but are pushing to lower truckers’ driving hours.

Two bills are going head to head in Congress – SETA vs. SHIPA.

SETA – Safe and Efficient Transportation Act is a bill that wants to give states the option to raise the maximum weight for a truck from 80,000 pounds to 97,000 pounds. The added weight would require adding a 6th axle to trucks wanting the extra weight. Groups for this bill, such as the Coalition for Transportation Productivity say that adding the extra weight is not a concern because the 6th axle would preserve braking capacity and weight distribution, as well as limit road wear. The group also feels adding the 6th axle would increase fees to users, and those added fees could go toward bridge repairs. Because trucks will be able to carry more cargo, they feel fewer trucks would be on the roadways, making the roads safer.

SHIPA – Safe Highways and Infrastructure Preservation Act is the bill that wants the maximum truck weight to stay at 80,000 pounds. Safety advocates and the Teamsters are concerned that our roads and bridges can’t handle the extra weight. Their bigger concern is the ability for these maxed-out trucks to stop in a timely manner. An 80,000-pound truck going 55 mph takes 400 feet to stop when road conditions are dry. That is almost the length of 1½ football fields.

Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) held a two-day forum in Washington D.C. earlier this month focusing on bus and truck safety. Driver fatigue was a topic up for discussion with a solution of permitting truckers to drive a maximum of 10 hours a day. Currently they can drive 11 hours in a 14 hour work day.
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Two major trucking accidents forced road closures on the Florida Turnpike this past week. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue was called out to the scene of a Palm Beach truck accident at roughly 5 a.m., according to NBC 5. The Highway Patrol had to reroute traffic to avoid Mile Marker 111 near the crash scene.

Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyers know that big rigs can pose threats to all motorists on the road.

According to CBS 12, the drivers of the 2 vehicles, ages 21 and 61, were traveling on the turnpike when the semi and the dump truck collided. Both trucks burst into flame and were reportedly completely destroyed. One driver remains in critical condition. The other was reportedly still in serious condition.

In 2008, the National Highways Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that an estimated 4,200 lives were lost in accidents with large trucks and an additional 90,000 motorists were seriously injured.

Charges could be pending in the Florida Turnpike collision. Authorities are still investigating the accident.

A second accident shut down the Florida turnpike again. The accident involved three tractor trailers and one passenger vehicle, according to the Sun Sentinel.

In this collision, a UPS delivery truck suffered a broken fuel tank, a Honda Civic went flying into oncoming traffic and a third truck jackknifed. One driver had to be extricated and another taken to the St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach. There has been no release of information on the third driver, according to the Miami Herald.
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Commercial motor carrier companies are currently able to electronically access driving, inspection, and crash records of potential hires, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

The only flaw with this system is that all driving records may not be available to potential employers. Drivers are easily able to alter, even erase, records before applying for a position with another carrier.

Our Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyers know that motorists are at increased risk for an accident because of these irresponsible drivers if action is not being taken to keep the flawed records out in the open and readily available for potential employers.

The FMCSA currently allows trucking employers to access up to three years of the driver’s safety violation data and up to five years of crash information for any driver in their pre-employment screening program. Road Safe and the American Trucking Association believe this system is flawed as it does not allow access to positive drug and alcohol tests. These hidden records can cause an increased risk for a potentially fatal West Palm Beach car accident.

The two organizations are teaming up in a push for a central clearinghouse to keep track of commercial vehicle drivers who’ve previously tested positive for drug and alcohol use. The bill, The Safe Roads Act, S. 1113, was initially introduced by Senators Pryor, Snowe, Nelson and Wicker back in May of 2009, reports Road Safe.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that, in 2009, there were more than 3,000 fatalities and approximately 701,000 people injured in accidents involving these large trucks. An estimated 296,000 large trucks were involved in these crashes in 2009. Nearly 3,500 vehicles were involved in fatal accidents with a large truck in Florida alone.
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