Auto Accidents with Trucks-Causes

Brien Roche

Truck accident lawsuits are hard fought and complex. Our roadways are loaded with large trucks. They are called 18-wheelers. These are mammoth vehicles. They occupy their entire lane. They are driven by experienced drivers. However these drivers make mistakes.

Auto Accidents with Trucks-Causes

There are about 500,000 tractor trailer crashes in the U.S. each year.  Driver error is the most common cause of crashes. However other factors may be weather, road conditions or vehicle performance.

There are an estimated 2 million tractor trailers on the road nationwide.  The primary causes of tractor trailer crashes and how to address those causes are discussed below.

Substances

• The use of drugs. They account for nearly 26% of crashes. Get all U. S. Department of Transportation mandated or allowed testing of the driver involved in the truck accident. This includes testing of alcohol and/or drug usage. Many companies use third-party administrators. Get all of the records from that third-party administrator. This includes how drivers were notified of impending tests. If the driver was given adequate forewarning that would allow time to change behavior. Likewise, the criteria used for labeling a test as negative or positive must be closely looked at. Certainly some medical review officers view the presence of prescription drugs in the results as not requiring a report. The trucking company has a right to know of all drugs, legal or illegal, that the driver is taking. All of this must be disclosed. In addition the company’s response to such info is needed. Therefore any evidence of any drug usage means you must get the entire prescription history of that driver.
• Use of over-the-counter drugs. They contribute to 18% of crashes. Call, or contact us for a free consult.

Speed or Movements

• Speeding or traveling too fast. They account for nearly 23%.
• Failing to use a turn signal or making some other illegal maneuver. This accounts for about 9% of crashes.
• Aggressive driving. This accounts for nearly 7% of crashes.
• Poor evasive action. This accounts for nearly 7% of the crashes.

Lack of Attention

• Being lost or driving in unfamiliar areas. They account for nearly 22% of crashes.
• Failure to check blind spots and observe all sides of the truck before making a turn. They account for 14% of crashes. Certainly these trucks have large blind spots.  As a result drivers must avoid these blind spots. They are at the rear of the truck and the side of the truck.  Likewise the connecting point between the truck and its trailer is a blind spot.  In other words if you can’t see the driver in the driver’s mirrors then the driver can’t see you. You should get out of that spot.
• Fatigue accounts for 13% of crashes. Sleep apnea must be considered. This results from the muscles in the back of the throat relaxing. As a result this blocks normal breathing. It results in the person waking up at night. This waking up may occur many times causing inadequate sleep. Some common characteristics of people with apnea are a deviated septum, allergies, sinus problems, a larger than average neck or obesity. Men over 40 are most likely to have this. As a result you should delve into this issue if fatigue is a factor. Do a thorough investigation of the driver’s medical history. In addition most drivers are paid by the mile. The more time they spend behind the wheel the more money they make. Any downtime for refueling, loading and unloading is not counted within the driver’s paycheck. You need to know about this. However drivers push on when they need sleep. Therefore if it is suspected that a truck driver is asleep at the wheel there are several things to look at:

Exams

• Any pre-employment or employment medical exams called for under the U.S. regs. They report any medication that the driver is on.
• Driver must have a CDL license.  In addition the driver must have a one year medical certificate.  These have to be current.  

Driving Time

• Credit card receipts at gas stations show date and time and place of purchase. However many fueling facilities have agreements with trucking companies not to show date and time. This info should be available from the credit card company.
• Some transponder companies do not record date and time of passing tolls. Therefore get this info from the entity that monitors the toll booths.
• Trucking company manuals are sources of info. They record maximum speeds in various states. This informs drivers as to what time frames they need to record on their daily log. Also the manuals tell the drivers precisely what documents the company will be looking at to determine driving time. In other words this is a message to the driver to make sure that the paperwork is all consistent.
• Some trucking companies only keep driver’s logs for six months. However under the Fair Labor Standards Act they must keep them for a minimum of two years.
• Driver inattention. This accounts for nearly 8% of the crashes. Call, or contact us for a free consult.

Load or Maintenance

• Shifting or falling cargo.
• Faulty inspection and/or improper maintenance. How trucks are maintained needs to be looked at. In a case in Texas a shaft broke off underneath the truck. It flew into an oncoming lane. The 20-pound metal shaft crashed through the window of a car. It killed the driver. The joint holding the shaft in place had melted. There was a lack of oil. This allowed the shaft to rip out of its placement. The lawsuit claimed that the U-joint had not been oiled for at least four to six months before the crash. However the U-joint manufacturer recommended oiling every 5,000 miles. In addition the Plaintiffs asserted that the president of the trucking company knew that the fleet manager lacked the necessary skills to deal with these issues. However he remained in that position. During the discovery it was learned that a mechanic at the truck company knew of other U-joints in the trucks that had failed because of lack of oiling.
• If the trailer is refrigerated then the loading time is much more than if the trailer is a “dry van”. This waiting time is not productive time for the driver. However the maximum time that a driver can be on duty in an eight day period is 70 hours. As a result if he is spending 40 of those hours loading and unloading, then that only leaves him 30 hours of time on the road. In other words there may be incentive on the driver’s part to misreport the amount of loading time. Therefore logs and “in” and “out” times at dock facilities are needed.

Weather

Where weather is stormy, raining or really foggy there may be a fact issue for the jury as to whether the driver violated the duty created by the FMCSR to exercise extreme caution under these hazardous conditions and whether such violation was a proximate cause of the crash.  See Kimberlin v. PM Transport, Inc., 264 Va. 261 (2002)

Work With A Trusted Auto Accident Attorney in the DMV Area

Call, or contact us for a free consult. Also for more information on truck accidents see the pages on Wikipedia. Also see the other pages on this site.