Rain, fog, sleet or snow can make driving dangerous. And for drivers who share the road with tractor-trailers, bad weather conditions can be downright deadly.

According to a 2007 analysis of the Large Truck Crash Causation Study released by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, truckers who were driving too fast for the road conditions was an associated factor in 23 percent of crashes.

However, FMCSA regulations (49 C.F.R. § 392.14) require drivers to use “extreme caution” in hazardous conditions. In addition, many state commercial driver's licenses require truck driver to slow down by as much as a third during rain or other poor weather conditions.

There’s a good reason for mandating that semi drivers slow down in bad weather: It takes much longer to stop an 18-wheeler. Cars weigh an average of 3,500 pounds, while large commercial trucks (known as semis, eighteen wheelers, and tractor-trailers) can weigh up to 80,000 pounds with their loads. Drivers and passengers in cars suffer the majority of injuries when they collide with large trucks because of the weight difference between the two types of vehicles. In car-truck collisions, 98 percent of the fatalities were persons in the cars.

If you or a loved one has been injured or a family member has been killed in a collision with a large truck, we urge you to contact The Lowe Law Firm. Our trucking-accident attorneys will find out whether the truck driver, trucking company, or trailer owner is responsible for the accident. If so, we will then seek compensation for future and other related medical expenses, future and other affected wages, pain and suffering, disability and/or other related damages.

Federal regulations known as hours of service rules dictate the length of time a truck driver can work without taking a break.

The hours of service regulations are issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The rules limit the number of daily and weekly hours truck and bus drivers spend driving and working. The rules also outline the minimum time allowed for breaks between shifts.

Under the current rules, a truck driver must be allowed ten hours off duty if he or she has been behind the wheel for more than 11 hours or has been on-duty for 14 hours. The 14-hour limit allows truckers to take care of non-driving duties such as unloading and loading, fueling up and waiting for vehicle inspections.

In addition to the daily limit, the rules also ban driving if the trucker has been on-duty for 60 hours for seven consecutive days or 70 hours for 8 consecutive days.

The hours of service rules are aimed at reducing driver fatigue. Too many hours behind the wheel disrupts the driver’s circadian rhythm, the internal 24-hour biological clock that regulates sleep and wakefulness. Lengthy drive times also contribute to sleep deprivation. When a driver spends an inordinate amount of time focusing on one task, performance fatigue also sets in.

Unfortunately, fatigue continues to be a major cause of deadly crashes and efforts to help bus and truck drivers remain alert also make the roads safer.

Despite rules promulgated by the Department of Transportation, truck drivers often drive too many hours without the proper amount of sleep. To get around these regulations, some truck drivers falsify travel logs and fail to properly maintain their trucks and trailers. When such reckless behaviors result in a collision that causes injuries or deaths, the driver and the company are liable. An experienced truck accident attorney will be able to obtain the evidence to prove the truck driver and the company are at fault. GPS tracking data can prove the driver and company violated hours of service rules.

If you or a loved one has been injured or a family member has been killed in a collision with a large truck, we urge you to contact the Lowe Law Firm by calling 877-678-3400 or filling out our online contact form.

Fewer truck accidents occurred in Missouri comparing 2005 with 2007. In fact there were 23% fewer fatal accidents which means Missouri highways are safer.

The Missouri Highway Patrol reports that the number of commercial motor vehicle fatality crashes fell 23 percent between 2005 and 2007.

There is a misconception that there are a lot of dangerous truck drivers on the roads. For the most part truck drivers drive safely and follow the DOT rules as well as the rules of the road. The few rouge truck drivers who drive too fast, tailgate, and falsify their log books give the other drivers a bad name. Also anyone who drives the highways knows there are a lot of crazy drivers of cars and SUV's. They are usually more dangerous to themselves than other drivers.

Trucks pulling large trailers, however, weigh about 40 tons and can't stop on a dime. When they are involved in an accident with a much smaller vehicle, the results can be tragic. If that happens you will need an experienced truck accident lawyer.

If you or a loved one has been injured or a family member has been killed in a collision with a large truck, we urge you to contact the Lowe Law Firm by calling 877-678-3400 or filling out our online contact form.

Our trucking-accident attorneys will find out whether the truck driver, trucking company, or trailer owner is responsible for the accident. If so, we will then seek compensation for future and other related medical expenses, future and other affected wages, pain and suffering, disability and/or other related damages.

The parents of a 19-year-old college student who was killed when the car she was riding in was struck by a truck hauling sound equipment for a reality dating show have filed a wrongful death lawsuit, the Associated Press reports.

On Sept. 26, truck driver Dennis Hernandez was hauling equipment for the “Rock of Love Bus” reality series when he allegedly fell asleep at the wheel, crossed the center line and crashed into a car driven by St. Louisan Yasmin Jackson, 19. The collision killed Jackson and her passenger, Kevetta Davis, a 19-year-old from Chicago.

Both were students at Southern Illinois Univeristy Carbondale. They were headed to St. Louis for a weekend visit to Jackson’s home. The accident occurred on Interstate 57 southern Illinois.

Kevin and Brenda Davis, the parents of Kevetta, filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court against Viacom, VH1, 51 Minds Entertainment and Dennis Hernandez, the truck driver. The suit claims Davis died as a result of carelessness by Hernandez.

Anyone who is injured or has had a close relative killed in a truck accident may sue if the accident was caused by the carelessness of another. Close relatives who may bring a wrongful death suit include the spouse, parents, and the children of the victim. If the children are still minors, the suit may be filed through a guardian or parent.

If you or a loved one has been injured or a family member has been killed in a collision with a large truck, we urge you to contact the Lowe Law Firm by calling 877-678-3400 or filling out our online contact form.

Our trucking-accident attorneys will find out whether the truck driver, trucking company, or trailer owner is responsible for the accident. If so, we will then seek compensation for future and other related medical expenses, future and other affected wages, pain and suffering, disability and/or other related damages.

A jury in Alabama has awarded $1 million to the son of a man killed in a tractor-trailer crash, the Dothan Eagle reports.

Kenneth Watkins filed the wrongful death suit after his 79-year-old father, Joseph Watkins, was killed at the intersection of U.S. 84 and Conecuh County Road 15 just north of Mobile. Watkins claimed that the truck driver barreled through the intersection traveling 75 miles per hour. The posted recommended speed was 45 miles per hour.

The suit was filed against Rowell Trucking, driver Thomas Wayne Rowell and Greatwide Dedicated Transport.

The defendants alleged that Watkins failed to yield the right of way. But the Conecuh County jury disagreed. After four hours, it handed down the $1 million verdict against the three defendants.

It appears that one of the key pieces of information in the case was the truck’s excessive speed at the time of the accident. The speed of the truck was established by an expert testifying on behalf of the plaintiff.

Frequently expert witnesses are needed to prove fault. The experts chosen to investigate the accident should have special expertise in the design, manufacture and operation of trucks and the rules of the trucking industry.

Experts may not be needed in cases involving clear-cut liability or those in which law-enforcement personnel conducted the accident investigation.

If you or a loved one has been injured or a family member has been killed in a collision with a large truck, we urge you to contact the Lowe Law Firm by calling 877-678-3400 or filling out our online contact form.

Our trucking-accident attorneys will find out whether the truck driver, trucking company, or trailer owner is responsible for the accident. If so, we will then seek compensation for future and other related medical expenses, future and other affected wages, pain and suffering, disability and/or other related damages.

When trucks are involved in accidents rarely to the accidents involve minor injuries. The fact that truck accidents involve serious injuries is demonstrated by the size of some of the recent jury verdicts in truck accident cases.

Here’s a round-up of recent verdicts involving tractor-trailer crashes that have been handed down across the country:

$87 million – A Texas man who was partially paralyzed after a 6-ton U-Haul truck rolled over him was awarded the amount by a Dallas County jury. The man was helping his daughter move when the accident occurred. It was alleged that U-Haul rented a truck with a faulty emergency brake and worn gears.

$36.3 million – A father of eight in Arizona was killed when a Swift Transportation semi ran a stop sign and plowed into the Suburban he was driving. Just before the crash, the tractor-trailer was going 65 miles per hour and didn’t slow down even after crossing three sets of rumble strips that warn of the impending stop sign. All of the driver’s logs, which federal law requires trucking companies to keep, were “lost.” A Maricopa County jury awarded the man’s family $23.1 million in compensatory damages and $13.5 million in punitive damages.

$29.4 million – A big rig smashed into a highway overpass. A family in an SUV swerved to avoid the wreckage of the exploding trailer and was broadsided by another tractor-trailer. The father died as a result of the injuries he suffered and his daughter was injured. The family claimed that driving an over-height trailer was negligent and sued the truck driver, Transport Expressway Inc., which owned the truck, and Finloc, a leasing company with insurance on the trailer. A jury in Orange County, New York made the award.

$20.1 million – A 62-year-old teacher was rear-ended by an electrical supply truck while his vehicle was stopped at a light. The teacher’s ribs were broken in the crash but while he was hospitalized, he developed medical complications and died. A jury in Clayton County, Georgia handed down the wrongful death award.

If you or a loved one has been injured or a family member has been killed in a collision with a large truck, we urge you to contact the Lowe Law Firm by calling 877-678-3400 or filling out our online contact form.

Our trucking-accident attorneys will find out whether the truck driver, trucking company, or trailer owner is responsible for the accident. If so, we will then seek compensation for future and other related medical expenses, future and other affected wages, pain and suffering, disability and/or other related damages.

Last week, a Texas jury awarded $1.5 million to two men who were hurt when a semi crashed into their car, the Associated Press reports.

In 2006, Ronny Martinez, 37, and Kenneth O’Neal, were driving down a highway in Texas when a tractor-trailer struck their car.

The two men filed a personal injury suit against the truck driver and the trucking company, Indiana-based Celadon Trucking Services. A jury concluded that Celadon negligently hired the truck driver and that its driver caused the crash. The jury also concluded that Martinez, who was driving at the time of the collision, also partially caused the accident.

The jury awarded $750,000 for medical bills and another $750,000 for pain and suffering and personal injuries.

The Associated Press also notes that in 2005, the same trucking company paid $1.25 million to the family of a soldier who was killed when his car rear-ended a stalled semi stopped on a Texas highway because a brake hose had failed. The husband-wife driving team had tried to repair the hose with a toothpick wrapped with tape.

Fault in a truck accident may involve driver error, driver negligence, negligence on the part of the company that hired the driver, negligence on the part of the company that owns the trailer, or all three.

According to the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, more than one-fourth of the truck drivers who are involved in fatal crashes in 2004 had at least one prior speeding conviction. Seven percent of truck drivers had a previous license suspension or revocation and some had prior felony convictions. Many trucking companies negligently hire drivers with bad driving records because they want to move cargo at the cheapest possible price.

Drivers and passengers in cars suffer the majority of injuries when they collide with large trucks because of the weight difference between the two types of vehicles. Cars weigh an average of 3,500 pounds, while large commercial trucks (known as semis, eighteen wheelers, and tractor-trailers) can weigh up to 80,000 pounds with their loads. In car-truck collisions, 98 percent of the fatalities were persons in the cars.

If you or a loved one has been injured or a family member has been killed in a collision with a large truck, we urge you to contact the Lowe Law Firm by calling 877-678-3400 or filling out our online contact form.

Our trucking-accident attorneys will find out whether the truck driver, trucking company, or trailer owner is responsible for the accident. If so, we will then seek compensation for future and other related medical expenses, future and other affected wages, pain and suffering, disability and/or other related damages.

A college student who was driving home to visit her family for the weekend was killed by a truck driver who fell asleep behind the wheel, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Yasmin S. Jackson, a 19-year-old sophomore at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, was headed north on Interstate 57 in Southern Illinois at about 5 p.m. last Friday. She was on her way to her suburban St. Louis home. Riding in the car with her was friend and classmate, Kevetta C. Davis, 19.

Dennis D. Hernandez, 38, was hauling sound equipment for Bret Michaels, a VH1 eality star and former lead singer of the band Poison. The truck was on its way to Texas for filming of his show, “Rock of Love Bus with Bret Michaels.”

Hernandez fell asleep, crossed over the interstate and crashed into Jackson’s sport utility vehicle. The truck also slammed into a pickup, seriously injuring William B. Wiley, 63 a, and Colleen N. Wiley, 59.

According to the Post-Dispatch, Hernandez was driving on a suspended license at the time of the accident. He only suffered minor injuries in the crash.

The average car weighs approximately 3,500 pounds, whereas a large commercial truck can weigh as much as 80,000 pounds when loaded. According to the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, truck drivers account for only about two of every 10 injuries or deaths stemming from crashes in which a truck comes into contact with a car or motorcycle. Bystanders, bicyclists and individuals riding in other vehicles make up the remaining eight of every 10 crash victims. In 2006, accidents involving large trucks claimed 130 lives in Missouri and 157 in Illinois.

If you or a loved one has been injured or a family member has been killed in a collision with a large truck, we urge you to contact the Lowe Law Firm by calling 877-678-3400 or filling out our online contact form.

Our trucking-accident attorneys will find out whether the truck driver, trucking company, or trailer owner is responsible for the accident. If so, we will then seek compensation for future and other related medical expenses, future and other affected wages, pain and suffering, disability and/or other related damages.

The National Transportation Safety Board revealed this week that a trucker who failed to use his off-duty time to rest and then fell asleep behind the wheel was the cause of a crash that killed five people.

The deadly collision occurred on Oct. 16, 2005 just before 2 a.m. The tractor-trailer was traveling westbound on Interstate 94 in western Wisconsin when the driver fell asleep. The truck ran off the road, re-entered the highway and then overturned.

In the nighttime, low-light conditions, the driver of a 55-passenger bus carrying members of the Chippewa Falls High School marching band, teachers and chaperones failed to see the overturned truck and slammed into the semi.

The bus driver and four passengers were killed. Thirty-five passengers on the bus suffered minor to serious injuries. The truck driver suffered only minor injuries.

The NTSB stated that if the truck had been equipped with fatigue-detecting technology, the accident might have been avoided.

What is also clear is that if the truck driver had been responsible and used his down time to sleep, five people would be alive today.

If you or a loved one has been injured or a family member has been killed in a collision with a large truck, we urge you to contact the Lowe Law Firm by calling 877-678-3400 or filling out our online contact form.

Our trucking-accident attorneys will find out whether the truck driver, trucking company, or trailer owner is responsible for the accident. If so, we will then seek compensation for future and other related medical expenses, future and other affected wages, pain and suffering, disability and/or other related damages.

Despite the warnings against driving while drowsy, fatigue continues to be a problem for truck drivers.

Recently, a 55-year-old truck driver who was traveling eastbound on I-70 fell asleep at the wheel. The truck went off the highway and back on then overturned on its side. The truck ended up blocking both lanes of the highway.

The accident occurred just before 5 a.m. The driver only suffered minor injuries and no one else was involved in the accident, The Marshall News Reports.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Large Truck Crash Causation Study, fatigue was listed as an associated factor in 9 percent of the fatal accidents involving trucks.

An 18-wheeler can weigh up to 80,000 pounds. If a truck driver falls asleep behind the wheel, the outcome can be disastrous. When a semi crashes into an automobile, it is most often a person in the car who is injured or killed. In a fatal truck-car collision, 98 percent of the time it is a person riding in the car who is killed.

If you or a loved one has been injured or a family member has been killed in a collision with a large truck, we urge you to contact the Lowe Law Firm by calling 877-678-3400 or filling out our online contact form.

As an accident last week in Texas demonstrates, hauling unstable cargo can have disastrous consequences.

On Sept. 3, a Ford F-150 pickup truck was hauling a dump truck attached to a trailer. According to the McKinney Courier-Gazette, the dump truck was unstable and caused the pickup driver to lose control. He swerved and ended up across both lines of southbound U.S. 75 – and into the path of an oncoming semi.

The driver of the 18-wheeler braked suddenly to avoid a crash. However, the abrupt braking caused the semi to swerve, sideswipe two other cars and overturn. It ended up perpendicular across the highway, creating a barrier for oncoming traffic.

Approximately 70 to 80 gallons of diesel fuel were spilled out onto the highway and firefighters had to clamp a punctured fuel line on the tractor-trailer. In addition, the semi was hauling a large cargo of free-standing fireplaces which had to be removed before the highway could re-open.

Fortunately, there were no serious injuries.

The news report did not indicate whether the fireplaces were secured properly. However, federal regulations require commercial drivers to “firmly immobilize” cargo so that it cannot shift while in transit.

If you or a loved one has been injured or a family member has been killed in a collision with a large truck, we urge you to contact the Lowe Law Firm by calling 877-678-3400 or filling out our online contact form.

Our trucking-accident attorneys will find out whether the truck driver, trucking company, or trailer owner is responsible for the accident. If so, we will then seek compensation for future and other related medical expenses, future and other affected wages, pain and suffering, disability and/or other related damages.

A man who was struck by a cement-mixer truck while working on his disabled vehicle has been awarded $1.95 million from a Maryland jury, the Baltimore Sun reports.

In 2005, Robert L. Howard, a truck driver with Goodwill Industries, was standing outside his disabled vehicle with his assistant, Errol Johnson. A cement mixer owned by Lafarge Mid-Atlantic and driven by Anthony Schulman struck both men. Johnson was killed and Howard was severely injured.

Schulman, who has a lengthy criminal past which includes drug and theft convictions, drove off claiming he was unaware he had hit anyone. Schulman later pleaded guilty to negligent driving.

Howard sued both LaFarge and Schulman for negligence. Last month, an Anne Arundel County jury awarded Howard $1.95 million including $1.83 million for pain and suffering which will be capped at $650,000. (Schulman and LaFarge reached a settlement with Johnson's family in March.)

When a bystander, pedestrian or motorist is injured by a commercial truck, it is important to contact an experienced trucking accident attorney immediately.

An experienced trucking accident attorney knows that commercial truck drivers and trucking companies are subject to special statutes and regulations. Truck drivers must obtains special licenses and training and undergo driving reviews and background employment checks. A number of laws require truckers and their employers to keep certain records that can be critical in prosecuting truck cases. Truck movements are often tracked with the use of global positioning systems. In some cases the actual truck movements recorded by GPS don’t sync up with the logbooks a trucker maintains. Black-box data often contains information on the truck in the time leading up to the crash. Knowing how to gain access to and interpret the information is important because truck accidents are harder to defend and easier to win for plaintiffs.

The victims of trucking accidents and their families need a level playing field, and the best way to get this is to find an attorney who can protect their interests. The Lowe Law Firm has investigators who can on the case within hours of a crash. Our staff will see to it that critical crash evidence is safeguarded and not destroyed. Our lawyers are experienced with trucking companies and insurance carriers and in trying cases against them.

If you have been hurt or a loved one has been hurt or died as a result of a truck driver's carelessness, contact The Lowe Law Firm Missouri/Illinois trucking-accident lawyers online or by calling 877-678-3400.

Last month, a House subcommittee held a hearing that examined the impact of existing truck weight and length regulations on safety, highway infrastructure, and interstate commerce.

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure received testimony on July 9. The witnesses included the executive director of the Federal Highway Administration, commissioners from state highway transportation departments, a teamster’s driver, an independent driver, industry representatives and safety advocates.

Although there are some exceptions, federal regulations typically limit truck weight to a maximum of 20,000 pounds for single axles, 34,000 pounds for tandem axles, and impose a total Gross Vehicle Weight limit of 80,000 pounds.

The summary prepared by the subcommittee before testimony began noted that in 2006, nearly 5,000 people were killed in crashes involving large trucks. It also noted that in the 2000 Comprehensive Truck Size and Weight Study, the Federal Highway Administration calculated whether the higher taxes that trucks pay cover the wear-and-tear they inflict on highways. It found:

“The most common combination of vehicles, those registered at weights between 75,000 and 80,000 pounds, now pay only 80 percent of their share of Federal highway costs and combinations registered between 80,000 and 100,000 pounds pay only half their share of Federal highway costs.”

In addition to the impact on infrastructure, the question of whether to permit bigger and longer trucks on the highways pits safety advocates against representatives of the trucking industry. Safety advocates argue that bigger trucks are too dangerous. The trucking industry claims larger trucks are needed to meet increased cargo demands.

Even if the truck weights and lengths remain unchanged it doesn’t mean the roads are safe. Unfortunately, trucking companies are pressured to cut costs, and drivers—who are typically paid by the mile—are under financial pressure to driver longer hours, faster than the speed limit, and faster than the road conditions allow. As a result, people are killed or hurt in truck accidents.
If you or a loved one has been injured or a family member has been killed in a collision with a large truck, we urge you to contact the Lowe Law Firm by calling 877-678-3400 or filling out our online contact form.

Our trucking-accident attorneys will find out whether the truck driver, trucking company, or trailer owner is responsible for the accident. If so, we will then seek compensation for future and other related medical expenses, future and other affected wages, pain and suffering, disability and/or other related damages.

Before a truck driver can call it a day, an inspection report on the semi must be completed. According to Part 396 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, trucking companies must require their drivers to detail how critical pieces of equipment operated during the day such as:

• Service brakes including trailer brake connections

• Parking (hand) brake

• Steering mechanism

• Lighting devices and reflectors

• Tires

• Horn

• Windshield Wipers

• Rear vision mirrors

• Coupling devices

• Wheels and rims

• Emergency equipment

If a defect is found that is likely to affect the safety of the rig, trucking companies are required to fix it before the tractor-trailer is allowed back on the road.

The daily inspections, which must be kept for 18 months, are important. An 80,000 truck with defective brakes barreling down the road at 70 miles per hour is a deadly weapon.

If you have been hurt or a loved one has been hurt or died as a result of a truck driver's carelessness, contact The Lowe Law Firm Missouri/Illinois trucking-accident lawyers online or by calling 877-678-3400.

When a driver behind the wheel of an 80,000-pound truck blacks out, goes into a diabetic altered state of consciousness, suffers a seizure or experiences a heart attack, the consequences are deadly. Unfortunately, far too many sick bus and truck drivers are on the road every day, placing innocent motorists in harm’s way.

According to a study released last week by the Government Accountability Office titled, “Commercial Drivers: Certification Process for Drivers with Serious Medical Conditions,” more than half-a-million people with commercial drivers licenses also qualified for federal disability benefits. At least 1,000 drivers were diagnosed with vision, hearing or seizure disorders that should have disqualified them from a commercial license.

As the Associated Press points out in “Deadly Tolls: Sick truckers causing fatal wrecks,” the problem was identified by U.S. safety regulators as far back as 2001. However, a proposal that would have set minimum standards for determining whether truck drivers are medically safe has not been implemented.

The cost in terms of lives lost is sobering, as the families of four women who were killed on Interstate 70 near Columbia, Mo., know all too well.

In June 2006, trucker George Albright Jr. crashed his tractor-trailer into a Ford sedan and killed the four women inside. He was charged with four counts of second-degree involuntary manslaughter. Last month, jurors acquitted the driver of all of the criminal charges after Albright’s lawyers argued that a diabetic episode “put him in an altered state of consciousness.”

If you have been hurt or a loved one has been hurt or died as a result of a truck driver's carelessness, contact The Lowe Law Firm Missouri/Illinois trucking-accident lawyers online or by calling 877-678-3400.