Federal highway regulations require emergency trucking equipment, which includes hazard warning devices like triangle reflectors. Emergency triangles and other roadside safety measures can significantly reduce the risk of collisions, injuries, and loss of life.
Although trucking companies must adhere to strict federal hiring practices, they often disregard the rules, resulting in devastating truck crashes caused by drivers unfit for duty. In such a situation, the employer of a negligent truck driver could be liable for injuries and other crash-related losses.
While many of these factors may be out of your control, following these five tips on how to prevent truck accidents can keep you safe when driving near large commercial vehicles.
One of the more frustrating things about this case was that the police did not charge the driver of the semi for distracted or reckless driving. Nor did the semi-driver even get ticketed for using his cell phone at the time of the wreck.
Learn more about the six important safety tips semi-truck drivers should follow.
Operating a commercial truck and using a cell phone can be even deadlier. That’s why state and federal laws govern how and when truck drivers can make calls and send text messages.
Glad to be here and I’m glad to be able to be on this show and help give my perspective on what is going on currently in regard to the safety of the traveling public as it deals with commercial truck drivers.
There are three parties that may be held responsible for an accident caused by cargo that has fallen from a truck - learn more here...
Commercial truck drivers are involved in a disproportionate share of fatal crashes. Most of those killed in semi-truck accidents are occupants of smaller vehicles.
The FMCSA says it is moving forward with the speed-limiters mandate because of the number of crashes and fatalities among commercial trucks and buses traveling at high speeds. Learn more here...
Because commercial trucks are so much larger than passenger vehicles, truck accident injuries tend to be severe.
As managing partner Craig, Kelley & Faultless, I decided to take the wrongful death case and represent the family of the lady who was killed. I believed the semi-driver was more than 50% at fault for the wreck because he failed to use extreme caution as required by the FMCSR. Learn more about this case here...
There are rules about where and how this tape should be placed on a trailer. In order to determine if the semi driver and the trucking company were negligent, you would examine the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, the Indiana Commercial Driver’s Manual, Indiana state laws, and industry standards.
If you were involved in a delivery van accident or other truck or car crash in Chicago, you should take immediate steps to protect yourself and your potential injury claim. Learn more here...
They know the injured victim is going to demand compensation – likely significant compensation from them – in damages. Their insurance company is likely going to tell them that they’re going to have to pay much higher premiums as a result.
At a high level, they found 87% of the accidents were caused by the driver. Just 10% happened as a result of something wrong with the vehicle. Only 3% happened because of “environmental” factors.
Trucking companies certainly don’t want to see money disappear from their bottom line. The natural response – obviously – is to figure out how to delay, deny or outright shift liability for the loss.
Though semi tractor trailers are designed to carry heavy loads, they can be overloaded. When a truck carries more than it is supposed to, major, catastrophic wrecks can occur. These wrecks, as they tend to happen on interstate highways at high speeds, can happen on any road. It’s a sad fact that many trucks are overloaded typically, on any given day. Truckers and their companies are under pressure to maximize each trip, and sometimes this means trucks are loaded too heavy, or too quickly so they are not properly balanced. If you or a loved one were hit by a commercial truck, it would be hard to tell if overweight or improper loading contributed to the wreck, or increased its severity unless you know what to look for. If this is a factor in your accident, then someone you love, or yourself, was hurt from negligent behavior. Were you hit by an overloaded truck? Learn more.
Truck accidents that involve negligence can cost commercial trucking companies millions of dollars in liability, and they know it. These kinds of accidents can be complex, and the companies have resources to put on these cases, and fight them tooth and nail. If you’ve been involved in an accident with a semi-truck trailer, you have options for how to best approach what happens next. The trucking company, rest assured, will have a team of lawyers backing them. What about you?
