Crashes involving commercial-sized trucks have the potential to be catastrophic. Victims can suffer permanent, severe injuries; some do not survive the crash. Considering how much damage can be done in these accidents, it is crucial to determine what happened and who is liable when they occur.
To do this, it will be critical to collect as much evidence as possible.
Truck driver fatigue is a serious issue that drivers simply can't ignore. It causes accidents. It takes lives. It puts innocent people in the hospital.
Of course, truckers do have to follow strict regulations about time off to make sure they don't push too hard and stay on the road too long, making fatigue more likely. That time is intended for sleep, but that's not always as easy as it should be.
As teen driver week (October 21 through the 28th) comes to a close safety advocate groups are urging both parents and new teen drivers to keep basic automobile safety in mind, especially as more than 40% of parents do not discuss safe driving on a regular basis, according to a recent article by the Insurance Journal.
Now, Allstate, which sponsored the survey revealing the 40% statistic, is urging teens to “flip the script” and approach their parents with a conversation about safety, the rules of the road, and general motor vehicle awareness.
If you are like most drivers in the Macon area you have probably found yourself sharing the road with a semitruck hauling everything from timber to road construction materials and even hazardous chemicals. Like the other drivers, you more than likely felt a little nervous the last time you found yourself close to a semi. The nervousness you feel around these vehicles probably causes you to pay extra attention to what is going on around you.
Staying alert and putting as much distance as possible between you and the semi are two of the best things you can do to stay safe while sharing the road with a large commercial truck. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to avoid every truck accident no matter how careful you are.
Commercial motor vehicle drivers need to be in good health. If they have a medical emergency behind the wheel, then there is a chance that they could hurt themselves or others. Every time a commercial driver gets behind the wheel, they need to know that they're in the best possible shape to perform the job.
One thing that drivers should be aware of is that certain medications can disqualify them from driving. For example, a driver would never be allowed to take a controlled substance or prescription medication without a prescription from a medical provider and continue to drive. Taking illicit drugs, while illegal, is also extremely dangerous behind the wheel of such a heavy vehicle. The FMCSA also disqualifies drivers who take anti-seizure medications, with an exception potentially being available for those who have a prescribing doctor who explains that they are safe to drive.
Truckers need to be able to make split-second decisions as they are driving. Many factors can impact their ability to do this. Fatigue is one factor, and it is fully preventable. One issue that some truckers face is that the trucking company they work for has such tight deadlines that they don't feel able to stop and rest when they need to. This can lead to them turning to other methods to try to stay awake.
There aren't any ways to battle fatigue in the long term except getting sleep. Things like drinking coffee or rolling the windows down might work temporarily, but this will be short lived. In order to help combat the issue of drowsy trucking, the federal government has instituted the Hours of Service regulations, which force truckers to stop driving after a predetermined period. It also sets minimum 10-hour off-duty requirements to ensure that they are getting the opportunity to sleep.
If you are like most drivers in Macon, you have probably found yourself sharing the road with a semitruck. And, like those other drivers, you more than likely feel at least a little nervous when in such close proximity to one of those large trucks. This feeling is not unusual and occurs for good cause: An accident with a semi can have catastrophic results.
Fortunately, there are some things you can do to reduce your stress when driving near semis and the chance of an accident. Here are a few things you should know when sharing the road with a semitruck.
Have you ever driven behind a commercial truck and noticed the boxy, u-shaped piece of metal hanging down from the back of the trailer? You may have thought that the bar looked dangerous and like something you wouldn't want to run into in the case of an accident. Believe it or not, that bar is actually there to prevent the worst kind of semitruck accidents.
Underride collisions involve a smaller passenger vehicle slipping under a larger commercial vehicle. They are almost always fatal because of the catastrophic damage that the smaller vehicle suffers. The metal dangling from the back of a semitrailer is an underride guard intended to keep vehicles from getting crushed underneath the rear wheels.
There are many types of semitruck accidents, but other than fatal crashes, perhaps none that can shut down an interstate or highway longer than those involving trucks that lose their cargo.
In recent months, there has been an uptick of incidents involving trucks losing their loads after tipping over onto the highway. Let's look at a few recent trucking mishaps that made the news.
Semitrucks -- also known as 18-wheelers, tractor-trailers and big rigs – are a frequent sight on America’s highways. These behemoths, weighing as much as 80,000 pounds, are essential to our economy. Semitrucks deliver roughly 68 percent of all U.S. goods.
Even though these trucks are so vital, they do pose a safety risk on the roadways. More than 4,300 people were killed 450,000 in crashes with large trucks in 2016. Outdated equipment and overworked trucker drivers contributed to some of these accidents, but so, too, did drivers of passenger vehicles how did not know how to interact with semis on the road.
To set up a free consultation to discuss your situation with us, call 478-238-1150 or fill out our online contact form below. We are ready to get the compensation you deserve.
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GA
31210
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