Florida
Trucking Accident Lawyer Blog

In a trucking accident involving a car or another truck, passengers are often thrown about inside their vehicles. Even when seat belts are worn, the trauma caused by this rapid motion in a collision can cause serious spinal cord injuries and head injuries. Head injuries can be especially devastating for a number of reasons:

1) Head injuries may be hard to diagnose. In some cases, patients have few or no symptoms after an accident and symptoms only gradually develop. This can be fatal, unfortunately. Some patients do not seek medical help because they do not have any symptoms after a truck or car accident. It is only a few hours later that symptoms start to manifest themselves, and by this time it may be too late to get medical help, as swelling inside the brain expands rapidly.

2) Head injuries may change a lifestyle substantially. Head injuries may cause problems with concentration as well as severe memory loss and sensory problems. This can make it difficult for a patient to stay employed or enjoy everyday activities. A patient may not even be able to drive after a trucking accident. In many cases, a patient’s life is severely or even permanently altered by a head injury.

3) Head injuries usually require long rehabilitation times. Patients who have sustained a serious head injury may need therapy to deal with the emotional upheaval caused by their injury. They may also need extensive rehabilitation to learn how to perform everyday tasks again.

4) Head injuries usually result in emotional and social challenges. It is often difficult for patients to maintain their everyday social lives after an accident. Difficult concentration, emotional upsets, mood swings, and memory loss are all common symptoms which can result from a brain injury. For many family members and loved ones, coping with these symptoms in a patient can be very challenging and this can cause a patient to become isolated. In some cases, patients need to pay for family or group therapy as well as rehabilitation costs in order to continue to have good relationships.

5) Head injuries lead to many hard-to quantify losses. Head injuries are often hard to evaluate in terms of damages because there are so many intangible costs. Someone with a brain injury may experience loss of income because they are unable to return to work. However, they may also need to alter their home to cope with their injury. For example, a patient with severe brain injuries may need a full-time nurse or may need to install safety timers in their home to ensure that memory loss does not lead them to leave stove top elements on.

After a truck accident, one of the most important members of your support team is often a good Florida personal injury attorney. A good lawyer can negotiate with insurance providers on your behalf to ensure that you receive fair compensation. An attorney can launch an investigation into your accident and can protect your legal rights. In some cases, attorneys even can help patients find resources and medical help. To make the most of your attorney’s help, you need to maintain good communication with your attorney. There are many ways that you can do this:

1) Be upfront with your attorney. Fully share all information your attorney asks for, even if the information is embarrassing or difficult to share. Keeping previous convictions or driving problems from your attorney is not only futile, but makes a good relationship with your attorney very difficult.

2) Contact your attorney as quickly as possible after your accident. Most states have a statute of limitations regarding how long a victim has to bring a suit. As well, the longer you wait to contact your attorney, the more evidence about your accident will likely be lost. The sooner you contact an attorney, the more fully your Florida personal injury attorney can help you. Keep in mind that many attorneys are willing to visit you in your hospital room, at home, or at your office, so you do not have to be well enough to travel to see an attorney.

3) Avoid signing anything. Signing any agreement with an insurance provider can make it harder for an attorney to assist you. However, some insurance providers are very insistent on having you sign agreements, often while you are still in the hospital. Always insist on having an attorney review any document you sign.

4) Start documentation early. Start keeping track of your injuries and the accident as soon as you can. Having a list of symptoms and how they affect your life on a day to day basis can help your personal injury attorney evaluate the likely costs of your injury. Knowing the names of officers and emergency personnel at the accident scene can help your attorney investigate the accident. Do not worry if you are too injured to start documentation at once. Get copies of what medical records you can and share them with your attorney and start your documentation as soon as you are physically able.

5) Consider what you say about your accident and injuries. Keep in mind that speaking about your injury or posting injury-related photos on social networking sites can affect your case. Talk to your Florida personal injury attorney about how to discuss your injury with others. Your attorney may even recommend that you avoid social networking sites until your case is settled. Be sure to follow your attorney’s directions carefully.

After trucking accidents, some types of injuries are very easy to spot. Burn injuries, spinal cord injuries, and other types of serious injuries often leave clear symptoms that make diagnosis simple. However, there are also many additional types of injuries which are often more challenging to diagnose and more difficult to quantify. All too often, truck accident victims have a difficult time getting support and compensation for these less-obvious injuries.

For example, many trucking accident victims experience emotional trauma after an accident. They may feel depressed or may experience anxiety or loss of concentration. For some of these patients, returning to work duties and a normal life may be difficult, and this often leads to considerable expenses for the patient. As a result of the emotional trauma, patients may lose income or may need to pay for therapy. Some patients have a hard time feeling comfortable behind the wheel again and may need to pay for transportation services as well. Unfortunately, without a qualified Florida personal injury attorney, many patients have a hard time getting recompensed for these losses and may end up paying these sometimes substantial costs out of pocket.

Another frequently-overlooked loss sustained through trucking injuries involves long-term rehabilitation. Many types of serious injuries sustained through trucking accidents require immediate care but also a long-term recovery time. Burn injuries, head injuries, and spinal cord injuries may all require months or even years of rehabilitation, all of which requires transportation to rehabilitation facilities, rehabilitation costs, and lost income. However, many patients find that insurance companies and providers for trucking companies sometimes underestimate the total costs and duration of rehabilitation, leaving the patient to bear the financial burden of the long-term recovery time.

Another type of loss that is frequently associated with trucking accidents is the loss associated with a change of lifestyle. Many serious trucking accident injuries – such as brain injuries and spinal cord injuries – prove to be permanent and require the patient to change their lifestyle. Unfortunately, calculating the cost of permanent lifestyle changes can be challenging and sometimes leads to under-estimation of total costs. A patient may need to have their home and car made accessible, but the patient may also require additional renovations after a few years to accommodate changing ability levels. This long-term cost is not always considered, leaving the patient to absorb the cost.

Head injuries are also often undervalued when it comes to trucking accidents. Some head injuries do not produce obvious external trauma and do not even manifest symptoms at once. This makes them challenging to diagnose in some cases. As well, some types of injuries to the head area – including whiplash – have a high chance of being misdiagnosed, which may mean that trucking accident victims are left to absorb the costs of the injury.

The frequency with which vehicle accident injuries are misdiagnosed, undervalued, and missed should give truck accident victims pause. Even with a generous offer from an insurance provider or trucking company attorney, it is possible for patients to be left with thousands of dollars in medical bills and associated costs that must be paid out of pocket. For this reason, a good Florida personal injury attorney is a must. A qualified personal injury lawyer can ensure that long-term costs as well as less tangible costs are considered, so that you get the fairest settlement possible.

Mobile water supply apparatus tanker trucks bring water and emergency personnel and water to emergency fire scenes. While these trucks are vital to prevent fatalities, burn injuries, and other serious injuries, these vehicles also have a high accident rate. Some industry experts believe that the very design of these tanker trucks could be contributing to the trucking accidents.

Many emergency use tanker trucks are in fact converted trucks which were once used for another purpose. Many industry experts note that there is a high cost to not creating customized tanker trucks better suited to emergency response. The Safe Operation of Fire Tankers reports that many emergency tanker truck accidents involve trucks which were converted after being used as fuel tankers. In many cases, experts note that the chassis of the trucks cannot hold the amount of water emergency tanker trucks need to carry, and this excessive pressure can contribute to accidents.

In fact, emergency tanker trucks are unusually heavy and place a great burden on any vehicle design not created exclusively for water. Gasoline weighs 5.6 pounds per gallon, while oil (fuel) weighs 7.12 pounds per gallon. In contrast, water weighs 8.33 pounds per gallon. This means that a water tanker converted from a gasoline tanker is expected to carry about 23, 324 pounds of water (for a 2,800-gallon tanker) when the truck was designed to carry 15, 680 of gasoline. In addition, emergency water tanker trucks also often carry additional life saving equipment, pumps, and emergency personnel, increasing the weight even more.

Many trucks used for consumer goods such as milk or eggs are designed to allow for easy cleaning of the tanker area. The emphasis is on making the inside of the tanker sterile, not on keeping loads steady. In contrast, an emergency water tanker does not need to clean out the inside of the tanker. What is a priority is maintaining stability at high speeds, something that food tankers are simply not designed for.

Experts think that custom designed water tankers for emergency use would reduce the number of accidents involving these tankers. If tankers were designed for emergency use, they could be designed with stronger tires (to maintain the water weight of a full tanker) and stronger chassis as well as a lower center of gravity to reduce the risk of rollovers. These trucks could have seat belt warning systems to encourage seat belt use, correct axles for the use of the truck, and specific pumps and equipment that are part of the tanker design.

Tanker trucks, which are sometimes called mobile water supply apparatus, are used to transport water and firefighters to many emergency scenes, especially to emergency scenes where water is not readily available. Unfortunately, the fatality rates of these lesser-used firefighting vehicles is much higher than the accident rate of other firefighting vehicles.

According to some industry experts, part of the problem may be laws regarding drivers.
Most state laws allow emergency vehicle drivers important exemptions. Drivers of these vehicles are allowed to speed, drive against the flow of traffic, request right of way, and to drive around traffic control items. All these exemptions permit driver to help people in an emergency, but these exemptions are not meant to permit reckless driving. Drivers of mobile water supply apparatus are still expected to be cautious of the public.

For example, while drivers are permitted to exceed the speed limit when driving mobile water supply apparatus to an emergency, drivers must also consider road conditions when deciding how fast to drive. Some fire departments have rules about how quickly drivers operating mobile water supply apparatus can drive. However, experts argue that these limits do not go far enough and drivers should never drive more than 10 mph over the posted speed limit, even in ideal conditions. As well, sharp turns, residential areas, pedestrians, and school zones need to be considered when deciding on an appropriate speed.

It is expected that when the driver of a mobile water supply apparatus approaches traffic, he or she will leave enough room to respond safely to the actions of other drivers. The amount of space that needs to be left will depend on the speed of traffic and the speed of the mobile water supply apparatus tanker truck. Driving too close to other vehicles often leads car accidents causing fatalities and serious personal injuries. If a passenger car driver panics and brakes or slows suddenly, the tanker often cannot stop in time and may cause a rear end collision.

Driving against the flow of traffic is something that most drivers of mobile water supply apparatus tanker trucks must do on occasion to get to an emergency site quickly. However, it is important for drivers not to force right of way. Drivers must make sure that oncoming lanes are clear and that drivers see the emergency vehicle. Trying to force right of way usually results in head on collisions. When driving against the flow of traffic emergency truck operators must drive more slowly and must be prepared for unexpected obstacles.

When driving through intersections and around traffic control devices, drivers of mobile water supply apparatus tanker trucks must ask right of way. They must stop at red lights and ascertain that drivers are willing to offer right of way. They must also ensure that all drivers see the emergency vehicle and respond. Many accidents occur in multiple lanes, where one passenger vehicle driver does not see the emergency truck but the truck driver assumes that it is safe to proceed.

Tanker trucks, also known as mobile water supply apparatus, are an important part of most firefighting efforts. These tanker trucks transport water to fire scenes, allowing firefighters the water that helps them extinguish flames. Tankers arriving at a fire scene can help save homes as well as lives. They can also help prevent burn injuries by helping get flames under control.

Unfortunately, tanker trucks also have a high rate of accidents. Tanker trucks involved in firefighting efforts cause more fatalities than all other pieces of firefighting equipment combined. This is in spite of the fact that there are fewer mobile water supply apparatus tankers than most other types of firefighting equipment and in spite of the fact that these tankers respond to fewer calls.

According to experts, there are many reasons why mobile water supply apparatus tanker trucks have such a high rate of accidents. Many claim that these trucks can be easily overloaded as the prime concern when filling these trucks is to get enough water to the fire scene. As well, tanker trucks are encouraged to speed, even on dangerous road conditions, because they are responding to an emergency. As well, many mobile water supply apparatus tanker trucks are in fact converted from other trucks (often trucks designed to transport propane, for example).

While there are many contributing factors in these accidents, including tire blowouts or brake malfunction, in many cases driver error at least contributes to the accident. In some cases, drivers are too inexperienced driving the type of tanker being operated. Often, the emergency flashing lights and the signal siren of the tanker can be especially distracting to the inexperienced driver. In some cases, drivers do not have adequate training in hauling large loads of liquid. Excessive speed and driver distraction is also a cause in many accidents. When a collision does seem unavoidable, studies show that many drivers overcorrect their steering, which actually increases the risk of a rollover.

In many firefighter tanker truck fatalities, the U.S. Fire Administration reports that seat belt use was an issue. In about 75% of cases where firefighters are killed in tanker rollovers, the victims were not wearing seatbelts. Many firefighters do not wear seatbelts while in trucks on the way to or from an emergency, often because they are rushed to get to the scene of the emergency. However, lack of seatbelt use greatly increases the risk of fatalities, serious spinal cord injuries, broken bones, head injuries, and other serious injuries in the event of an accident. Since 1999, many firefighting trucks have been equipped with very visible seatbelts which are in bright shades. These seatbelts are designed to help remind firefighters of the importance of seat belt use. Unfortunately, many firefighters still choose not to wear seatbelts.

Tanker truck rollovers are a common type of trucking accident, and one that can have serious consequences. Many tanker rollovers result in serious injury to the driver, including head injuries and spinal cord injuries. When a tanker rollover occurs, the materials inside the tanker can catch on fire and can cause extensive property damage as well as burn injuries. When tankers rollover, they also typically crash into other vehicles, causing fatalities and serious damage.

Although many factors can contribute to these types of accidents, a report from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) in conjunction with the Battelle Memorial Institute suggests that almost one in four such accidents (75%) can be attributed to driver error. Another 25% of such accidents are caused by factors such as weather conditions, the actions of other drivers, and road conditions as well as other factors.

Many people assume that many trucking accidents occur on sharp curves or exit ramps, where trucks must merge with traffic. However, the FMCSA research study surprisingly found that in 90% of tanker rollover cases, accidents occurred on straight roads or when a truck collided with another vehicle. In only about 10% of cases did collisions occur on curves or ramps. This result surprised even FMCSA members and researchers, who were expecting higher accident rates on curves and ramps.

Part of the reason why driver error is such a concern in tanker rollover accidents, according to the FMCSA study, is that when the driver of a truck begins to lose control of the truck, the driver will often instinctually overcorrect the steering. This maneuver increases the risk of rollovers significantly. According to the FMCSA study, this overcorrected steering is one of the most common mistakes in tanker rollover accidents.

The FMCSA report, according to industry insiders, suggests that improved driver training and electronic stability controls could significantly affect rollover accident rates. Some researchers discussed new truck designs which would lower the center of gravity in trucks and tankers, making rollovers less likely. However, many industry insiders note that such designs are not practical and would increase costs too much. Many believe that increased stability controls and better driver training would help correct many of the problems associated with driver error.

All trucking accidents have the potential to cause serious personal injury as well as fatalities. Due to the force and size of trucks, any truck accident can cause burn injuries, amputations, spinal cord injuries, and other serious harm. Collisions between passenger vehicles and trucks tend to be especially deadly. While all truck accidents can be deadly, however, there are important differences in the characteristics of every type of collision:

1) Underride and override accidents. Underride truck accidents occur when a truck is forced to brake suddenly, and this causes the car following the truck to slide under the truck. Often, part of the car is sheared off and death as well as serious head injuries are the frequent result. Override accidents are caused when a car or vehicle in front of a truck stops or slows down suddenly, not giving the truck enough time to slow down and stop. When this happens, the truck often rolls over the vehicle, often crushing the vehicle and killing the passengers.

2) Air brake malfunction. Most trucks have air brakes, which allow trucks to stop within 100 feet when traveling at 35-40 mph. Air brake defects as well as excessive loads and the pressure generated by going downhill can cause truck air brakes to fail, which can cause trucks to rear-end vehicles in front of them.

3) Head on crashes. In these accidents, the front of a truck collides with the front of an oncoming vehicle. In many cases, these occur when one vehicle is in the wrong lane. In many cases, head on collisions involving trucks result in fatalities or in serious brain injury or spinal cord injury. Where high speeds are involved, most head on crashes are fatal, due to the extreme force of the collision.

4) Jackknife accidents. These accidents occur when a truck hits the side of a vehicle. Often, these occur when a truck loses control or when there is a brake problem during a curve or turn.

5) Rear end accidents. These accidents occur when a truck collides with the vehicle in front of the truck. Sometimes, these accidents are caused when a truck follows another vehicle too closely. They also often occur when the driver of a passenger vehicle cuts off a truck or brakes or slows down suddenly in front of a truck. Trucks take longer to brake, so such driving is dangerous and often leads to a rear end accident. In some cases, truck brake failure can also lead to these accidents. Rear end accidents often result in head injury, back injury, or whiplash.

6) Rollovers. Rollovers often occur because trucks tend to be top heavy, making them more likely to rollover in an accident. Excessive loads, incorrect loading, and speed are often contributors to rollover accidents. In many cases, these accidents occur on turns or curves.

Monster truck shows or rallies are entertainment events at which large trucks perform stunts for the amusement of an audience. The drivers of these trucks are highly trained stunt drivers. In most cases, rallies are simply fun events at which families have a fun time. However, in some cases monster truck rallies turn deadly and claim the life of drivers or audience members when trucks collide.

Although monster truck accidents are not as common as other kinds of trucking accidents, they do occur. In June 2009, a six-year-old Tacoma boy was killed after being struck by debris at a Monster Truck show. In 2007, nine people sustained personal injury at an Illinois. monster truck show when two trucks collided. In 1999, two separate monster truck accidents claimed the life of one man and injured three others, including two children.

Monster truck accidents are often tragic because they often involve children and teenagers and lead to injuries to children and minors. In many cases, injuries and fatalities at monster truck rallies take place when monster trucks lose control and crash. When this occurs, flying debris can sometimes fly from the performance area and into the stands, injuring or killing audience members.

When this occurs, eye injuries, broken bones, and head injuries are often the result. Children are especially vulnerable because of their smaller size. Some of the flying debris from a monster truck show can be quite large and flies with enough force to seriously injure audience members. In some cases, debris may be on fire and may cause burn injuries. As well, the drivers of trucks in such shows may be injured and may sustain broken bones, spinal cord injuries, and other serious injuries as a result of a monster truck accident.

Monster truck shows first became popular in the 1970s, when drivers and promoters would modify pickup trucks, adding high wheels and other custom features to create large trucks. These early trucks were powerful but often unstable, and frequently resulted in rollover accidents and audience accidents as well. Since then, monster truck events have become a major industry and some safety protocols have been added to make these events safer.

Today, monster truck chassis are custom designed to offer the trucks more stability and to create safer trucks. As well, monster tricks today feature special axles (usually from heavy duty trucks), four-link suspensions, custom-designed transmissions, and hydraulic steering, all of which improve stability, response times, and the driver’s control of the truck. If a monster truck driver loses control of a vehicle, the truck has three kill switches. Trucks today are also equipped with a Remote Ignition Interrupter and switches which help the truck shut off in the event of an accident or rollover. Many parts are strapped to the truck to prevent flying debris in the event of a collision and drivers are protected with a Lexan-plated cab. Regulations at most truck shows require drivers to wear head restraints, fire suits, helmets, neck restrains, and special harnesses. These protect against burn injuries, neck and back injuries, and head injuries in the event of a crash. Opponents point out that in spite of these safety features both drivers and audience members continue to experience personal injuries at monster truck rallies and shows.

Garbage truck accidents are not as common as other types of truck accidents and rarely make the news, but these accidents can be just as devastating as other types of vehicle accidents. Each year, people are killed and seriously injured by garbage trucks. Very often, accidents involving garbage trucks involve pedestrian accidents and bicycle accidents. These accidents are often caused by a number of factors:

1) Poor visibility. Garbage trucks are large and have poor lines of sight. Like larger commercial trucks, they have many blind spots. As well, as the day progresses, garbage trucks often get dirty. This can obscure reflectors and lights. It can also cause mirrors to become smudged or dirty and therefore less useful.

2) Tired drivers. Garbage trucks are usually making the rounds very early. Garbage truck drivers wake very early and often work long shifts, which can contribute to fatigue. When this is combined with driver distraction (caused by cell phones or texting) the risk of an accident is even higher.

3) Backing up. Garbage trucks must back up frequently and suddenly to pick up garbage. This can lead to pedestrian accidents if garbage trucks run over a person or child on the sidewalk.

4) Unusual driving patterns. Garbage trucks must often drive in unusual patterns in order to pick up garbage. They may need to drive down alleys or drive the wrong way down some streets. In many cases, garbage trucks drive where no trucks usually drive, so that other drivers (as well as pedestrians and bicyclists) may simply not be looking for a truck or anticipating such as driving obstruction.

5) Negligence. Drivers of garbage trucks are expected to use caution when driving their vehicles. Municipalities are responsible for maintaining garbage trucks in good repair and for carefully hiring and training qualified drivers when negligence causes an accident, a good Florida personal attorney can often ensure that victims are given the full protection of the law. As well, good attorneys can work to ensure that others are not victimized by negligence.

Truck drivers are often very highly trained professionals. To qualify for their licenses, they must pass strict testing, training, and licensing requirements. They also clock many miles on the roads, making them highly trained drivers. In many car accidents involving a truck, however, truck drivers are singled out for blame.

In some cases, bias may contribute to the problem. When a truck collides with a car, the passengers of the car are often seriously injured or killed. Fatalities in these types of accidents are frequent and where passengers do survive, they often face spinal cord injuries, whiplash, amputations, burn injuries, brain injuries, and other serious and potentially long-term injuries. They are often rushed to the hospital from the scene of the accident.

In many cases, injured passengers of cars are not extensively questioned at the scene of an accident because they are seriously injured. Since the truck driver is largely protected by the height of his or her cab and the size of his or her truck, the truck driver is often questioned at the scene and may not be seriously injured. Since the passengers of the smaller car are seriously injured, this can tip sympathy towards them and may obscure the mistakes made by a passenger car in an accident.

However, just because passengers are injured this does not mean that they are blameless of liability. In some cases, collisions between trucks and cars occur because the driver of a passenger vehicle was driving drunk, was texting while driving, was negligent, or was making significant mistakes. Many passenger vehicle drivers do not allow truck drivers the additional space that trucks require to stop and do not take care to avoid truck blind spots.

Although truck drivers are often protected from some personal injuries because of the size and height of their truck, they can and do sustain injuries due to accidents. Most truck drivers who have been in a trucking accident suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). While the accident is being investigated, drivers may lose income and may not be able to drive a truck until the investigation is concluded. The force of stopping the truck suddenly in a collision can throw truck drivers forward, which can lead to back injuries, whiplash and head injuries as well. In serious rollover accidents, truck drivers may be seriously injured or killed.

If a passenger vehicle driver has been driving negligently and has caused a trucking accident, both the truck driver and the trucking company can seek legal assistance in recovering damages from the accident. A good Florida personal injury attorney can help investigate the causes of an accident and can help the injured party get the resources they need to recover from the accident.

In the US, truck drivers driving commercials trucks and bus drivers will no longer be able to text and drive. There is already a text ban in place by many larger transportation and trucking companies (including United Parcel Service and FedEx), but the federal ban makes the ban industry-wide and comes with tough penalties. Many in the industry are applauding the decision, which they say will help reduce bus accidents and trucking accidents.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has made banning distracted driving a top priority and this first step may pave the way for more extensive texting bans for all drivers. LaHood cannot ban passenger car drivers from texting and driving (even though driver texting has been extensively linked to car accidents) but rules regarding the trucking industry give him the authority to ban texting among truck drivers on the roads. Truck drivers who text while driving will now face fines of up to $2,750.

However, some experts are concerned about the enforcement of the new policy. Experts at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, for example, note that LaHood’s new regulation may be largely symbolic and may not have an immediate effect on road safety, as texting is hard to spot. Police authorities agree that enforcing texting laws is difficult, since drivers hold their mobile devices below the window level. In most cases, truck drivers are caught texting and driving only after an accident, when police look at phone records and records on mobile devices to show that a driver was texting at the time of a crash. Some police note that lane departures and drivers who glance down frequently may be red flag signs that someone is texting while driving, but again this is hard to spot.

There are plenty of studies and lots of research that supports the idea of a texting ban. A study conducted by Virginia Tech's Transportation Institute found that text drivers who text are 23 times more likely than non-texting drivers to be involved in a near-collision or a traffic accident. The National Safety Council reports that 28% of road accidents occur when drivers are distracted by cell phones or texting. Cell phone conversations accounted for 1.4 million accidents last year while texting was linked to 200, 000 collisions.

Part of the problem is the cultural perception of cell phones and texting. Many drivers do not believe that their texting affects their driving because it is a quick activity. Many drivers also rely heavily on texting. According to federal statistics, at any given moment on America’s roads, about 812,000 drivers are distracted by cell phones. However, despite driver perceptions, studies do show that texting affects driving. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, drivers texting while driving have their eyes off the road about 4.6 seconds out of every 6 seconds they drive, meaning that drivers who text are driving most of the time with there eyes off the road. A driver who is texting and driving at 55 mph is traveling the length of an entire football field without seeing the road.

Trucking accidents cause 35, 000 deaths each year as well as serious injuries such as burns, brain injuries, amputations, spinal cord injuries, and other serious injuries. When a serious accident involving a truck takes place, there is often a great deal of focus on the driver. However, in many cases the drivers of passenger vehicles are also at leas partly responsible for a trucking accident. In fact, a study out of Los Angeles suggests that up to 75% of trucking accidents are caused by motorists operating passenger vehicles. Drivers of passenger vehicles often have less expensive training than truck drivers. As well, many drivers do not treat trucks differently than other vehicles on the road, and this can cause many common mistakes which can lead to an accident:

1) Changing lanes without signaling. Trucks take a longer time to respond, so trucks need plenty of warning when motorists change lanes. Zipping out in front of a truck when switching lanes is especially dangerous, as the truck may not be able to stop in time to avoid a collision.

2) Taking a turn left in front of a truck.

3) Miscalculating the speed at which a truck is going. Trucks change speeds often, often picking up speed dangerously on downhill grades (especially when fully loaded) and slowing down when going up hill. Since trucks cannot stop as quickly as passenger cars, it can be very dangerous not to take truck speed into account.

4) Slowing down suddenly in front of a truck. A fully loaded truck takes much longer to stop and often cannot stop as suddenly as a passenger vehicle. Stopping suddenly or slowing down rapidly in front of a truck often causes the truck to plow into the passenger vehicle. In general, drivers need to avoid any sudden or rapid movements around trucks, since trucks are bulkier and slower.

5) Driving in the truck driver’s blind spot. Trucks have many more blind spots than cars. In general, if you cannot see the driver in the truck’s mirrors, he or she cannot see you. Driving in the blind spots of a truck can get your car crushed if the truck must suddenly swerve or turn.

6) Driving between two large commercial rigs. This reduces your visibility a great deal, making it hard for you to anticipate possible problems ahead and react in time. As well, being between two trucks increases the probability that you will end up in the truck’s blind spots and potentially get crushed.

Statistics from the Fatal Analysis Reporting System show that about 35, 000 fatal trucking accidents take place across the country. About 8% of these accidents involve large commercial trucks, such as rigs. In addition to the large death toll, there are also many trucking accidents that lead to serious injuries, including brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations, burns, and other serious injuries. Although car accidents are more common than trucking accidents, statistics show from the Fatal Analysis Reporting System show that truck collisions are involved in about 46% of traffic-related fatalities.

Obviously, it is important to do everything possible to prevent these tragic accidents. One common cause of trucking accidents which is quite preventable is driver fatigue. Tired truck drivers have slower response times and some even doze off at the wheel, causing trucking accidents. Studies have proven that driving while tired is as dangerous as driving under the influence. The tragic thing about driver fatigue is that it is quite preventable.

Truck collisions involving driver fatigue have not declined, even though the overall rate of trucking accidents has been slowly decreasing. There have been a number of laws instituted which aim to reduce tired driving. For example, federal statues limit the length of time drivers can driver commercial trucks and vans before resting. As well, all drivers must keep a log to show that they are taking adequate rest breaks.

Despite this, truck accidents caused by driver fatigue continue to occur. Many of these accidents occur in the early hours of the morning – between midnight and three in the morning. This may suggest that in addition to getting rest, drivers may also need to respect their body’s natural rhythms and not try to drive when they are usually sleeping.

The federal government has created Hours-of-Service (HOS) laws which set limits on the time commercial truck drivers can drive before taking breaks. HOS was instituted and designed after extensive surveys and scientific studies were conducted to determine safe driving procedures. Currently, HOS rules apply to commercial trucks weighing at least 10,001 lbs. or higher. Only trucks that cross state lines, transport dangerous materials, or transport at least 16 passengers are included under the legislation.

Under these rules, drivers driving products or materials must have a rest period of 10 consecutive hours before driving. Drivers can drive a maximum of 11 hours between rest periods. Drivers must receive eight hours of sleep and an additional two hour break under HOS regulations. HOS regulations for passenger-carrying trucks are different. Drivers of these trucks can drive for a maximum of 10 hours before taking a rest break of eight consecutive hours. These drivers must also sleep at least eight hours.