Truck Accident Lawyer Blog

A gasoline tanker merging onto westbound I-440 from Interstate 40 overturned and exploded just before 1 a.m. on August 26, 2008 in Raleigh, North Carolina. A witness reported that the tanker was clearly speeding when the trucker lost control of his rig. The tanker truck then reportedly overturned, skidded across the highway, and righted itself just before exploding into flames. The wreck ejected the trucker, who sustained severe injuries. Authorities closed I-440 for several hours. The enormous fire was so intense it scorched trees along the highway.

As I have noted several times on this blog, highway interchanges are frequently the location for big trucks overturning. I make it a practice to give all vehicles, particularly trucks, extra room on interchanges to give myself more time to react to speed changes and unusual behavior. Very often, however, other drivers just don't have time to react to poor driving by truck drivers, and severe injuries can result.

Be careful out there!

Continue reading "Raleigh, North Carolina Gas Tanker Fire Injures Driver" »

A trucker was cited for following too close after a 4 vehicle wreck in Effingham County, Georgia on September 14, 2008. The truck driver was following a Ford F-250 on Georgia Highway 17, when the Ford slowed to make a turn. The big rig struck the rear of the Ford, and then swerved into the oncoming lane, before hitting a mail truck head-on. The tractor-trailer then overturned on the highway.

A Ford Expedition following the rig swerved to avoid the wreck and ended up in the ditch, leaving its driver uninjured. Emergency medical services transported the driver of the Postal Service truck to a Savannah hospital. The trucker reportedly also was injured, but refused medical treatment at the scene.

Continue reading "Four Vehicle Tractor-Trailer Wreck Injures Two Near Savannah, Georgia" »

Three of ten passengers lost their lives on July 29, 2008 when their Toyota van collided with a logging truck on Interstate 95. The collision occurred at about 11:45 p.m. near the mile marker 170 rest area. The Florence County Coroner identified the victims as Abdurahman Abdurahman, age 20, Sofonias Debebe, also age 20, and Deraa Hago, age 8. The victims were reportedly residents of Arizona, Florida, and London, England, respectively. A fourth victim was airlifted to a North Carolina Hospital. The South Carolina Highway Patrol’s Major Accident Investigation Team (MAIT) is investigating the collision. The logging truck was not carrying a load at the time of the collision.

While this collision does not appear to involve a projecting load, any logging truck wreck brings to mind the importance of properly flagging so-called extending loads on trucks or trailers. You've probably seen the red or neon orange flags tied to the end of a projecting log on the back of a logging truck. Have you ever wondered why? It's simple, really. You see, it is very easy for drivers to misjudge distance when a load extends beyond the end of a truck they're approaching.

For example, South Carolina law generally prohibits a load from extending more than 6 feet from the end of the bed of a truck. When a load extends 4 feet or more, there should be a red flag at least 12 inches by 12 inches attached to the end of the load. The entire surface of the flag must be visible, too. During times when vehicle lights must be displayed, a lantern may be substituted for the flag.

Our roads are becoming more crowded than ever, which increases the importance of warning other drivers. We all have a lot to watch out for on the roads these days and a little cooperation can save lives.

Thanks to SCnow.com and The State newspaper for reporting.

Continue reading "Three Perish in Florence County, South Carolina Collision with Logging Truck" »

A tanker truck crashed into a concrete median on Interstate 26 in Polk County, North Carolina last month, which shut down the interstate.

The tanker truck crashed into the barrier wall and then flipped onto its side. Chunks of concrete from the wall were thrown all over the interstate.

Thankfully, there were no injuries reported in the crash.

Continue reading "Columbus, North Carolina Tanker Truck Crash" »

I’ve reported previously on the Bush Administration’s continued efforts to cram down the nation’s throat a program allowing Mexican trucks full access to the interior of the U.S. Because the trucks and the drivers’ licensing aren’t close to U.S. standards, I have opposed this program. The full U.S. Congress approved a measure prohibiting a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) pilot program last year. But the FMCSA didn’t read the plain language of that law. Instead, FMCSA decided to bend over backwards to interpret it to authorize a one-year pilot program, and went right ahead with the very program Congress prohibited.

On July 31, 2008, the House Transportation Committee gave approval to a bill that would again prohibit funding for the program or allowing trucks into the interior pursuant to this program and would hold the pilot program to one year.

On August 4, 2008, the FMCSA announced that despite the prohibition, it will continue the program for two more years. In a brazen political move, FMCSA waited until the first day of Congress’s summer recess to announce the program. House Transportation Chair Jim Oberstar has vowed to kill the program this time.

Two single-car incidents last month on I-20 in Warren County, Georgia ended vastly different for their victims. In both cases, seat belt use could have made a difference. The first wreck was witnessed by Georgia State Trooper First Class Powell Allen, who was driving along rain-soaked Interstate 20 on the way to a separate wreck scene. Trooper Allen saw a SUV hydroplane and spin, then saw a teenager fly out of the vehicle. Amazingly, the teenager was not seriously injured and is expected to make a complete recovery. The second wreck involved a tractor-trailer driver whose vehicle left the roadway in the early morning on July 30, 2008, and crashed into the woods beside the road. Investigators found the body of the driver some 20 yards in front of the wreckage of the cab.

That teen was a very lucky young man. Some people point to stories like his to try to show that people can escape injury by not buckling up. But there was more to that story: none of the three other passengers in that SUV were injured in that incident. They all missed a ride to the hospital and the resulting bills and I suspect that the teen could have skipped the ambulance ride if he had buckled up.

Thanks to the McDuffie Mirror for reporting.

The collision between a fuel oil tanker truck and a Saturn Vue in the evening of August 20, 2008, ended with the deaths of the two occupants of the car and injuries to the truck driver. The wreck happened around 9:00 p.m. near the Florence county line, at the intersection of Highway 53 and Highway 341, at Hobbs Crossroads. Witnesses report the Saturn turned into the path of the truck, which then struck the Saturn’s passenger side. The truck overturned, puncturing the tank and spilling about 4,000 of the 7,000 gallons it carried. The truck driver was airlifted to Richland Memorial Hospital in Columbia. Both occupants of the car, Travis Lee Wyatt of Florence, SC and Mac Elwood Floyd Jr. of Effingham, SC, died at the scene. The truck, based in Lake City, was returning from Charlotte. SC DHEC crews expected to complete their environmental cleanup by August 22.

Thanks to The State and WIS television for reporting.

A recent report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that about 563,000 drivers in the DOT commercial drivers database also were rated as 100% disabled by other U.S. agencies. A House Transportation subcommittee had asked for a study of the scope of the problem of medically unfit commercial drivers on the road. The GAO’s report acknowledged it cannot give a precise answer, but their initial study raises concerns. A look at the data show that about 85% of these drivers appear to have active CDLs.

The report highlights a few egregious examples:
A Virginia truck driver, on disability since 1995 for multiple medical problems, including an amputated leg. The driver stated that the doctor tested his ability to use the prosthesis by pushing the doctor around the office in a rolling desk chair. The doctor has since had his medical license revoked. This driver had both Tanker and Hazmat endorsements since the disability. The driver’s truck rolled over in a 2006 incident when his load shifted. Virginia renewed his CDL with a Tanker endorsement in 2007.
A Maryland truck driver, on disability since 2001 due to severe lung problems, whose CDL was last renewed in 2007. The driver submitted a medical certificate from a doctor, but the medical examiner indicated it was forged.
A Virginia school bus driver on disability since 1998 for multiple schlerosis. This driver had never undergone a CDL medical examination. Virginia last renewed the driver’s CDL in 2006. This driver was cited as the cause of a three-vehicle collision that injured 16 people in 2006.
A Florida bus driver on disability since 1994 for lung problems. The driver admitted to investigators that he occasionally blacks out. The driver continues to serve as a substitute driver.

This study appears to only show the tip of the iceberg when it comes to medically unfit truckers. The study only identified the number of drivers that had applied for a U.S. government disability rating. The study could not identify drivers that had not applied for benefits, but were medically unfit, what I would call the “walking wounded.”

Given the inability to weed out the drivers that are in current databases as 100% disabled, I don’t have great confidence in the current system, which allows drivers to pick the doctor they want to examine them.