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The
motor carrier and the truck driver have a great responsibility to
the other users of the roadways. Vehicle crashes are the fourth leading
cause of death in the United States, after heart disease, cancer and strokes.
Sixty percent of motor vehicle accidents causing injuries or deaths
involved trucks. Historically, ninety-eight percent of the people
killed in two vehicle collisions involving a passenger vehicle and
a large truck, were the occupants of the passenger vehicle.
 Causes
of Accidents
Causes of accidents are numerous and may be attributable to driver,
machine, or environment, either alone or combined with excessive speed,
poor driving judgment or operation, improperly loaded cargo, defects
in equipment, roadway conditions and driver fatigue.
Three of the main causes for trucking accidents are lack of vehicle
maintenance, the abuse of alcohol or other drugs by the driver, and
over-hours driving. Each can be documented through careful examination
of mandatory records.
Noncompliance with Hours-Of-Service Regulations · Trucker Fatigue
According to National Transportation Safety Board estimates, fatigue
among drivers of large trucks is a factor in at least thirty percent
of fatal crashes involving those vehicles. Truck accident cases differ
from those involving only passenger cars.
Truck accidents provide the investigator and attorney with information
and evidence that is not routinely available in the ordinary collision
case. This information may facilitate proof of liability and enhance
the value of the claim, but understanding and applying this information
requires the special knowledge of an attorney who is skilled and experienced
in handling truck collision cases.
Special knowledge acquired by the attorney includes an understanding
of extensive and detailed State and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.
A motor carrier‚s independent liability most often results from
requiring, encouraging, permitting, or failing to discover the driver‚s
noncompliance with the hours-of-service regulations. With limited
exceptions, these regulations forbid a trucker to drive more than
10 hours following 8 consecutive hours off duty and prohibit any driving
once a driver has been on duty 70 hours in any 8 consecutive days.
Because truck drivers are paid by the mile or the load they carry
in a given amount of time, many ignore this law and don't log
all of their driving time. Although it is illegal for the driver to
submit false logs to the carrier and for the carrier to accept them,
it is a rare driver who violates the regulation on maximum hours of
service and then documents the violation.
In a study where 63 percent of drivers admitted to regularly driving
in excess of the maximum hours of service permitted by law, 36 percent
acknowledged that they sometimes used illegal drugs, presumably to
keep themselves awake.
Evaluating the Logs
Federal law requires all interstate truck drivers to keep daily logs
that track their activities for every 24-hour period that they are
actively employed as a truck driver. Trucking companies must keep
copies of the logs for six months.
In evaluating the logs, the attorney must: determine whether the logs
reflect violations of federal hours-of-service regulations, other
conduct indicating intentional impropriety, or negligent conduct by
the driver or trucking company; compare the logs with other available
information to determine whether they have been falsified; analyze
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) reviews and investigations
of the company to determine whether the company has promoted or acquiesced
to hours-of-service violations.
Truck Underride Tragedies
Every year, hundreds are killed and thousands are severely injured
in rear underride accidents. A rear underride crash occurs when an
automobile collides with and slides under the rear of a truck. The
rear end of the truck is high off the ground, or the truck‚s
structure is so weak that it does not adequately resist the impacting
vehicle.
Frequently, the rear end of the truck penetrates the occupant compartment
of the automobile, resulting in death or serious injury to the occupants.
Rear underride crashes may involve any truck, such as a tractor-trailer,
straight truck or even a smaller cargo vehicle, whose rear end or
rear corners are sufficiently high off the ground and unprotected
to permit a car to get underneath. Some trucks provide little or no
protection against underride, some are equipped with underride guards
or other structures that may be inadequate to restrain impacting cars,
and others are designed in such a way that they may discourage impacting
cars from underriding.
Usually the main cause of these accidents is the lack of visibility
and underride protection at the rear of trucks and trailers. The rear-end
guard on large trucks is a flimsy U-shaped device, usually made from
three pieces of steel angle-iron, welded together and bolted to the
trailer‚s chassis. These guards comply with the ineffective 1953
regulation, but when a vehicle crashes into them, they are easily
bent away or knockedoff.
Conclusion
Motor carriers‚ conscious disregard for the dangerous conduct
of their drivers or for the dangerous condition of their equipment
must be stopped. A favorable outcome for a tractor-trailer accident
victim is likely if the attorney prepares the case recognizing differences
between collisions involving ordinary vehicles and those involving
tractor-trailers.
It is the attorney‚s job to determine whether the truck involved
in the collision met government safety regulations or whether the
driver was tired. All of the information on a driver or company must
also be critically analyzed for discrepancies.
Gervelis is experienced in successfully handling truck accident
cases that result in disabling injuries. Because time is critical
in preparing your case, it is important to contact Gervelis Law Firm
or another law firm as soon as possible after an accident.
For information on Parents Against Tired Truckers, contact P.A.T.T.
at (207) 353-4572;
P.O. Box 209, Lisbon Falls, ME 04252-0209
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