Truck Accidents
What Three Unrelated Truck Wrecks Can Teach Us about Traveling during a Pandemic
Tractor-trailers and commercial vehicles are constant companions when you travel in Georgia, and Atlanta sees its fair share of truck wrecks and multi-vehicle crashes. On April 1st, there were three completely unrelated tractor-trailer wrecks, all of which occurred before lunch time: One crash on I-85 northbound, which blocked traffic at exit 66 One on I-675…
Read MoreWill New Trucking Technology Help Save Lives by Addressing Fatigue?
There are many dangers associated with driving eighteen wheelers. It seems like we hear about a major trucking accident almost every day. Either a semi has jack-knifed, lost control because of shifting loads or faulty equipment, or because the truck driver has fallen asleep from exhaustion. Driver fatigue is a very real issue in the…
Read MoreWhen Semi Trucks Cause Hit and Run Accidents
With so many vehicles on the roadways, collisions have just become an inconvenient part of life. Sometimes you’re fortunate to get away without a scratch except for your paint job. Others are not so simple, causing tragic injuries and death. Collisions are hard enough to deal with when you know who the at-fault driver is,…
Read MoreCommon Causes of Semi-truck Accidents
Thousands of individuals die each year in accidents involving semi-trucks. In 2017, nearly 4,700 large trucks were involved in roadway crashes that included the loss of human life, according to data compiled by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Overall, in the same year 56,422 large trucks were involved in crashes that resulted in physical…
Read MoreIs Tesla’s Semi a Safer Alternative to Other Trucks?
News that Tesla was going to begin producing versions of a semi-truck was released in 2017. Production dates have been pushed back a couple of times, but if they can pull it off, will it make the roadways safer? Production of the electric truck has now been slated for late 2020, but if it hits…
Read MoreBroker and Shipper Liability in Truck Accidents
A broker, or third-party logistics provider (3PL), is a company that offers logistics services around shipping operations. A 3PL may provide a single service or an entire bundle of services involving supply chain management. This means the 3PL company may not actually haul loads of cargo itself, but instead contract with motor carriers to have…
Read MoreWho Is Liable in a Moving Truck Accident?
If you have ever rented a U-Haul to move, you know how stressful it can be. The truck is bigger and boxier than your car, and the sightlines and blind spots are different. Other drivers may try to speed up to pass you, or you can find yourself stuck on a narrow road, hoping you…
Read MoreThe Vital Importance of Rear Underride Guards for Reducing Accident Injury Risks
Every day in the U.S., millions of passenger cars, SUVs, motorcycles, and semi-trucks occupy the highways and roadways, often without incident. However, accidents occur, and sometimes these accidents have tragic results. The disparity in size and weight between different vehicles – for instance, semi-trucks and passenger cars – can lead to some serious outcomes and…
Read More28 Semis and Cars Involved in Fiery Collision Outside Denver
On Friday, April 26, four tractor-trailers and 24 passenger cars were involved in a collision on I-70 in Lakewood, Colorado. The multi-vehicle collision left six injured, including a fire fighter, four people dead, and caused damage to the road and to the Denver West Parkway bridge. At this time, the crash is still being investigated,…
Read MoreQuikTrip Tractor-Trailer Crash on I-675 South Led to Massive Fuel Spill
A QuikTrip tanker truck filled with gasoline hit at least one other vehicle around 2:00 am on Tuesday morning. The tanker was traveling down I-675 South near Anvil Block Road when the collision occurred. The impact of the crash was enough to flip the tanker, causing fuel to spill all over I-675. The road was…
Read MoreThree Dead after Fiery Crash at the GA-49 Bypass in Central Georgia
A horrific collision at the intersection of the GA-49 Bypass and Woolfolk Road in Fort Valley, Georgia has left three families in mourning, and a community reeling from the loss. On Saturday, March 30, Fort Valley State University students Precious Waters, 19, and Kearsten Robinson, 19, were traveling on Woolfolk Road at around 10:00 p.m.…
Read MoreDefective Brakes in Commercial Trucks and Assigning Liability
A common reason for commercial truck crashes is equipment failure, with brake failure standing apart as the leading cause of mechanically related truck accidents. The Large Truck Causation Study (LTCCS), issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), included data collected on fatal commercial motor vehicle (CMV) crashes over a period of several years.…
Read MoreFour Tractor-Trailers Have Crashed on I-285 in DeKalb County
At least eight vehicles – four of them tractor-trailers – are involved in a DeKalb County crash that has shut down all lanes of I-285 North. AJC.com reports “the [WSB-TV 2] Traffic Center helicopter saw someone being extricated from a vehicle and put onto a stretcher.” According to WSB’s latest update, “NewsChopper 2 over the…
Read MoreThe Future of Autonomous Vehicles? Trucking and Freight.
The race to get autonomous vehicles on the road has been heating up over the past several years. Of particular interest is how autonomous vehicles may shape the future of the trucking and freight industry. Truck fleet owners, drivers and industry experts are keeping a close eye on the latest self-driving technologies and are amazed…
Read MoreNegligence on the Part of Truck Drivers and Trucking Companies
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reports that a typical big rig truck has a weight 20 to 30 times greater than the typical passenger vehicle. A truck of this size and weight, fully loaded, and traveling at a typical, safe highway speed in normal weather conditions requires nearly two football fields to come…
Read MoreImproving Trucking Safety Using Virtual Reality
Trucking companies are responsible for using various types of safety training to prepare new drivers for the dangers they might experience on the road, as well as update veteran drivers on safety procedures. Training can come in any format—like classroom or computer-based—but some companies like UPS and Linde North America are starting to use virtual…
Read MoreThe Dangers of Drowsy Driving Revealed in Study
According to a study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, federal agencies are underreporting the number of car accidents resulting from fatigued drivers. Only 1 to 2 percent of vehicle collisions are reported by the government as resulting from drowsy driving. However, AAA estimates that number may be 8 to 9 times higher –…
Read MoreWhy Do I Need to Hire a Lawyer Quickly in a Trucking/Tractor-Trailer Case?
The reason why it’s important to hire a lawyer quickly in a trucking or tractor trailer case is because most trucking companies have quick response teams. They are ready to go 24 hours a day. If there’s a collision with a tractor trailer in the middle of the night, the first call they make before…
Read MoreGeorgia Wants to Build a Truck-Only Highway
Atlanta is one of the most congested freight bottlenecks in the nation. However, if the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) gets their way, the city may see some of that traffic lighten up in the next decade. GDOT plans to build a nearly 40-mile long truck-only highway from near Macon to the McDonough area, with…
Read MoreMandatory Opioid Drug Testing for Truck Drivers to Prevent Drugged Driving
The nationwide opioid epidemic has taken a significant toll in the lives of Americans, and that includes truck drivers. Truck accidents caused by drivers impaired by drugs devastate the lives of everyone involved. Last year, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced a rule that would revise the current drug and alcohol testing regulations to…
Read MoreWhy Are Tractor-Trailer Trucks More Dangerous than Other Vehicles?
The reason why trucks and tractor-trailers are more dangerous than most other vehicles on the road is: one, is obvious that they are much larger. They sometimes weigh 60 to 80,000 pounds, but the average car weighs somewhere around 3 to 4,000 pounds. When a tractor-trailer is out of control or crashes into something, it’s…
Read MoreA Tractor-Trailer Crash on I-285 Has Led to the Death of a 4-Year-Old
A truck crash in Fulton County has led to the tragic death of a four-year-old child. The crash took place on Thursday, April 19, around 4:30 p.m. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that “a Hyundai Santa Fe and a tractor-trailer were stopped in the southbound lanes due to traffic” on I-285, near Washington Road. A second…
Read MoreAtlanta Truck Crash Lawyers Discuss Negligent Hiring of Truck Drivers
Georgia laws and federal regulations govern the safe operation of commercial vehicles that share the highway with passenger vehicles. Trucking companies are required to make sure that drivers are properly licensed, pass medical certifications and have the appropriate training to drive a commercial truck. When trucking companies do not uphold their responsibility to hire safe…
Read MoreThe Potential Perils of Sharing the Road with Big Rigs
Driving up next to an 18-wheeler on a busy stretch of highway is not necessarily for the faint of heart. Big rigs have a tendency to move suddenly between lanes, and tractor-trailer drivers have a more limited field of vision than you do in your sedan, SUV, or minivan. However, sharing the road with these…
Read MoreNew Push in Congress for Sideguard Installations on Tractor-Trailers
One of the most devastating types of crashes on the roadways occurs when a car collides into the side of a tractor-trailer. Many times, following impact, the top of the car itself will be sheared off as the car slides underneath the trailer. Often, the occupants suffer extremely serious injuries, including decapitation. In 2014, the…
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