Truck Accident Law by Michael Leizerman

FMCSA Eyes Changes in Assessing Truck Crash Accountability

Michael Leizerman — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:13:16 +0000

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, in an effort to better assess the circumstances that lead to truck accidents, announced that new processes are being studied that will consider more than police accident reports. Transport Topics reported that FMCSA administrator Anne Ferro met recently with trucking industry officials to discuss the reliability of police accident reports, which often are the sole source in determining whether a truck driver could have prevented an accident.

FMCSA hopes that improving the ways in which information is collected will also improve truck crash predictability. We look forward to hearing the results of the FMCSA study, which are due out later this year. While police accident reports should always be part of a fact-finding investigation, we welcome any new processes that can help uncover details about a truck accident.

TRUCK ACCIDENT FAST FACT: According to TruckInjuries.com, a recent survey shows that a majority of fatal crashes involving tractor-trailer trucks include a truck pulling one trailer. The survey shows that trucks in 64% of fatal accidents were pulling one trailer. The survey also found that 32% of trucks involved in fatal truck accidents were single-unit trucks, and fewer than 4% were multi-trailer trucks.

(Photo credit: MySanAntonio.com)

NHTSA Pushing Truck Stability Control Proposal

Michael Leizerman — Tue, 08 May 2012 13:53:40 +0000

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is nearing completion of a proposal that would require heavy-duty tractors to be outfitted with a stability control system. The proposal could ultimately lead to a mandate, which will no doubt spark another debate that centers on trucking safety and the cost to improve it.

TruckingInfo.com reported earlier this week that the NHTSA’s proposal has been cleared by the White House Office of Management and Budget. Trucking carriers, some of whom have already begun using stability control systems that help prevent rollovers and loss-of-control accidents, reportedly support the proposal as currently written.

As one of the top attorneys in the country in handling truck accident cases, I’ve seen first-hand the damage that rollover accidents and loss-of-control accidents can do. It is my hope that the NHTSA proposal is adopted to ensure safer travel on our nation’s highways, for both truck drivers and fellow motorists.

TRUCK ACCIDENT FAST FACT: According to TruckAccidents.org, truck accidents cause 2.3 deaths and 60.5 injuries for every 100 million miles that trucks drive on U.S. road ways.

Truck Overturns While Dodging Debris in Parleys Canyon, UT

Michael Leizerman — Fri, 04 May 2012 02:51:05 +0000

The Utah Highway Patrol is investigating a crash that resulted after a truck lost pieces of wood on Interstate 80 in Parleys Canyon, Utah, on Wednesday, May 2. According to The Salt Lake Tribune, a tractor trailer was traveling east on I-80 and swerved to avoid wood that had fallen from another truck. The second truck rolled over, and the driver and a passenger were seriously injured. Both were hospitalized for injuries that were believed to be non-life-threatening. A few miles away on I-80, the truck that had lost the wood that caused the accident was stopped by authorities.

TRUCK ACCIDENT FAST FACT: According to TruckAccidents.org, truck accidents cause 2.3 deaths and 60.5 injuries for every 100 million miles that trucks drive on U.S. road ways.

SUV Crashes into Parked Tractor Trailer in Edinburg, OH

Michael Leizerman — Thu, 03 May 2012 19:19:34 +0000

Five people including a pregnant woman were injured when their SUV slammed into a parked tractor trailer at a rest area on Interstate 76 in Edinburg, OH, on Wednesday, May 2. According to RecordPub.com, the SUV failed to slow as it exited the freeway. The driver reported to police that he fell asleep while driving. The woman, a 29-year-old resident of Indiana, was airlifted to a hospital in Akron, and she and her fetus were treated for injuries described as non-life-threatening. The driver of the SUV and three children in the car were also hospitalized for minor injuries. The driver of the tractor trailer, who was in his vehicle at the time of the accident, suffered minor injuries that did not require hospitalization.

TRUCK ACCIDENT FAST FACT: According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Long Combination Vehicles (LCVs) are likely to be involved in a fatal truck accident at rates at least 11% higher than single tractor trailers.

FMCSA Toughens Rules on Sanctioned Carriers, Brokers

Michael Leizerman — Thu, 03 May 2012 03:56:15 +0000

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration recently toughened its stance on carriers who know their way around the rules, as well as on those with deep enough pockets that paying fines for repeated offenses isn’t enough to make them change their ways.

TruckingInfo.com reported last week on the new rule from FMCSA that takes aim at carriers that have been sanctioned, only to reincarnate under a new identity. Under the new rule, the agency will review out-of-service orders before allowing reincarnated companies that have a checkered past. Records for new companies will be consolidated with those of a company’s predecessor.

The FMCSA rule, which will impact carriers, intermodal equipment providers and brokers, also will change the treatment given to wealthy carriers who can afford to pay fines for repeat offenses without having to correct the practice being flagged.

Lastly, the new rule impacts how the industry views companies that reach a settlement in a civil case. According to FMCSA, a trucking company that agrees to pay a full civil penalty in an enforcement proceeding is not absolved of an admission of liability.

All of these points touch on a case we recently argued and won in an Oregon federal court. The case involved a broker’s negligent hiring of a carrier whose owners had a less-than-stellar business past. Click here to read more about that case.

Tractor Trailer Crash Kills Two in near Wytheville, VA

Michael Leizerman — Thu, 03 May 2012 03:12:40 +0000

Virginia State Police are reconstructing an accident involving a tractor trailer on Interstate 81 that left two people dead on Friday, April 27. According to SWVA Today, the tractor trailer was traveling south on I-81 when its driver lost control of the vehicle and plowed through the median wall. The truck went into the highway’s northbound lanes and collided with a pickup truck and a minivan, killing the driver of both vehicles. The tractor trailer driver was ticketed for reckless driving and failure to maintain control.

TRUCK ACCIDENT FAST FACT: According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, in truck accidents involving large trucks and other vehicles, 98% of the fatalities occur to the people in the passenger vehicles.

Driver Injured in Train-Truck Collision in Boyd County, KY

Michael Leizerman — Thu, 03 May 2012 02:41:32 +0000

A tractor trailer that was reportedly sitting too close to a railroad crossing was clipped by a passing train in Boyd County, Kent., on Wednesday, May 2. According to WSAZ.com, the crash occurred on U.S. 23 near the entrance to the Calgon Carbon Plant. The collision left the truck driver trapped in his vehicle until emergency crews freed him. He was airlifted to a nearby medical facility for treatment of unspecified injuries.

TRUCK ACCIDENT FAST FACT: According to TruckAccidents.org, truck accidents cause 2.3 deaths and 60.5 injuries for every 100 million miles that trucks drive on U.S. road ways.

(Photo credit: WSAZ.com)

Tractor Trailer Crash Leaves One Dead in near Hammond, WI

Michael Leizerman — Thu, 03 May 2012 00:48:11 +0000

A 22-year-old woman was killed when her car collided with a tractor trailer on Interstate 94 near Hammond, Wisc., on Tuesday, May 1. According to The Chippewa Herald, both vehicles were traveling west on I-94 when the collision occurred. The impact of the crash sent the woman’s car off the highway, where it overturned multiple times, ejecting the woman from the vehicle. The Wisconsin State Police are investigating the cause of the accident.

Oklahoma to Launch Nine New Ports of Entry Stations

Michael Leizerman — Wed, 02 May 2012 03:14:42 +0000

The Oklahoma House passed legislation recently to fund nine Port of Entry weigh and inspection stations on state highways. TruckingInfo.com reported that the first station, located on Interstate 35 near the state border with Kansas, opened in late April, and a second station is slated to open later this year on Interstate 40 in Beckham County near the state border with Texas.

The recently passed legislation creates a fund that will be managed by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, using money redirected from the Higher Education Facilities Fund’s fuel tax revenue. According to the report, $500,000 will be directed to the newly created fund every month for more than eight years, generating a total of $51 million.

The recently opened station in Kay County cost nearly $11 million. It includes weigh-in-motion technology capable of checking a vehicle’s weight, size and permit status using road sensors.

TRUCK ACCIDENT FAST FACT: According to TruckInfo.net, nearly 5,000 people are killed in truck accidents in the United States every year.

Man Killed in Tractor Trailer Crash in Coralville, IA

Michael Leizerman — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 21:39:33 +0000

A tractor trailed collided with a passenger vehicle at the Interstate 80 and Interstate 380 junction on Sunday, April 29, killing the woman driving the car. According to WCFCourier.com, the woman was exiting I-380, lost control of her vehicle and slid in front of a tractor trailer traveling eastbound I-80. The truck smashed into the car and pushed it into a roadside ditch, then careened into a median wall. The woman was transported to a hospital in Iowa City but later died from her injuries.