The Injury Board Commentary - Tractor-Trailer Accidents

Central Pennsylvania Car Wreck East Of Harrisburg On Interstate 78 Results In Fatality

Scott Cooper — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 07:52:13 GMT

Reports from state police and Central Pennsylvania newspapers and television stations are that one person died and one person was sustained serious injuries in a car accident in Lebanon County early on Saturday, February 4, 2012. The accident happened just before 1 a.m. at the Interstate 81 and 78 split in Union Township, Lebanon County, just east of Harrisburg in Central Pennsylvania.

State police believe that 80-year-old Margaret Rodgers of New Cumberland was killed when the car she was riding in attempted to make a U-turn while merging from Interstate 81 onto Interstate 78, and was hit by a tractor-trailer. The driver of the vehicle was flown to Penn State Hershey Medical Center.

The highway was shut down for hours while crews investigated. If you have any information on the car wreck and crash please contact the Pennsylvania State Police.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Scott Cooper

Another Fatal Pennsylvania Truck Collision Highlights Roadway Dangers

Michael Schafle — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:28:06 GMT

A box truck and tractor trailer collided in Pennsylvania in the early morning hours of Tuesday, January 31, 2012 resulting in the tragic death of the driver of the box truck. The collision occurred on Interstate-78 in Lehigh County. According to the Pennsylvania State Police, Mr. Alexandro Luis Morales, a native of Landsdowne, PA, was driving his Freightliner tractor-trailer east at 6:49 this morning when he struck a 2012 box truck that was parked on the shoulder of the highway. The box truck was subsequently pushed forward until it overturned. Regretfully, the driver was pronounced dead at the scene.

This collision highlights the dangers associated with tractor trailers and other vehicles parked on the side of roadways. Tractor trailers are so wide that any swaying within their lane on highways often results in the vehicle crossing into other lanes of traffic or, as in this instance, the shoulder. Far too often we see vehicles struck as a result of lateral movements of tractor trailers within the roadway such as this. If adequate attention isn’t paid by the tractor trailer driver, deadly accidents can result. And, as is evidenced by this recent accident in Pennsylvania, there is no such thing as a fender bender or small accident when it comes to a truck of this size and weight.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Schafle

Tractor Trailer Crash North Of Harrisburg Causes Injuries - Why We Need Regulation

Scott Cooper — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:39:17 GMT

As a follow up to yesterday’s posting on a new Pennsylvania law relating to commercial drivers and medical certificates, two people were injured on January 31, 2012 when a tractor-trailer ran into the back of a pickup truck along Route 61 in Saint Clair, near Pottsville, north of Harrisburg in Central Pennsylvania.

According to reports and police, the crash occurred at about 6:50 a.m. when a tractor-trailer driven by Randall Speilman was traveling south on Route 61 rear ended a Ford Ranger driven by Robert J. Beaver who was stopped for a red light. After hitting the pickup truck it appears the rig continued south on Route 61, crossed over the median and struck a Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Melvin C. Fishburn and a Chevrolet Impala driven by Jeffrey Mandel who were both stopped in the northbound lanes of Route 61.

Fortunately, no one was killed but two people were reportedly transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. If you have any information about the accident please contact the police in St. Clair.

For more on the accident go to the Pottsville Republican Herald at the following link:

http://republicanherald.com/news/4-vehicle-crash-snarls-traffic-in-saint-clair-1.1265685

Do you think that the Commonwealth was wrong to increase regulations to improve safety for drivers of commercial vehicles?

Scott B. Cooper
Schmidt Kramer PC
209 State Street
Harrisburg, PA 17101
(717) 232-6300 – Telephone
(717) 232-6467 – Facsimile
scooper@schmidtkramer.com
Facebook.com/SchmidtKramer

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Scott Cooper

New Pennsylvania Law – Truck Drivers Must Provide Medical Certificate

Scott Cooper — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:23:31 GMT

The next time a tractor trailer accident causes a car wreck, injuries, or possible death in Harrisburg, Central Pennsylvania and around the Commonwealth, there is a new area for you or your attorney to investigate the background of the driver. This involves compliance with a new state law and new federal regulations.

House Bill 1458 was recently signed into law by Pennsylvania Governor Corbett. This new law brings Pennsylvania into compliance with new rules from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) concerning commercial drivers. The FMCSA amended the federal regulations and requires holders of Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDL) to provide a current copy of their Medical Examiner’s Certificate to their state driver licensing agency, if their type of commercial driving requires a physical exam.

The FMCSA recently amended regulations to require CDL holders or applicants to self-certify the type of driving they do, or expect to do, with their state’s licensing agency. Current CDL permit holders, out-of-state CDL transferees and people seeking a CDL on or after Jan. 30 will be required to meet the provisions of the new law when testing, applying for a permit or transferring a CDL from another state. Their driving record will be updated to indicate that they have met the requirements.

PennDOT will begin notifying existing CDL holders of the new requirements by mail in March.

Information on the new law and certification forms can be found by clicking on “New CDL Law” at www.dmv.state.pa.us

For more on the new law go to the Shamokin News Item website at the follwing link:

http://newsitem.com/news/cdl-drivers-must-provide-copy-of-medical-certificate-1.1264775#axzz1l2MEfUFk

Scott B. Cooper
Schmidt Kramer PC
209 State Street
Harrisburg, PA 17101
(717) 232-6300 – Telephone
(717) 232-6467 – Facsimile
scooper@schmidtkramer.com
Facebook.com/SchmidtKramer

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Scott Cooper

How car accidents happen because of blind spots

Michael Monheit — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 06:42:16 GMT

Beware of blind spots and car accidents!

There are numerous causes for car accidents; the blind spot is one of those causes. A blind spot is the area behind a vehicle that a person can't see from the driver's seat.

Unfortunately, cars, SUVs, small trucks, mini vans, big rig trucks, and motorcycles all have blind spots.

To the typical car driver and small truck driver, we mistakenly think that big rig trucks have better visibility because of their size and height from the ground. That couldn’t be further from the truth because of their height ratio from the ground compared to that of a car or small truck, visibility becomes less verses better.

Like big rigs but on a smaller, more popular everyday scale, SUVs, pickups, and minivans have larger blind spots than passenger cars.

Blind spot accidents frequently occur when changing lanes or merging in and out of traffic or backing up.

How many times have you read a tragic story where someone was backing out of a driveway and didn’t see the small children playing behind the car?

Not seeing another vehicle or person or child is not an excuse. Don’t assume that the other driver or person will move out of the way. Drivers of all vehicles must be vigilant of these dangers.

Related Sites for Resources:

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Monheit

Did You Know... The Biggest Loser Highlighted Sleep Apena Problem In Semi Truck Drivers?

Brett Emison — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:26:00 GMT

I'm not one to normally watch The Biggest Loser on NBC. But I did catch part of an episode a couple weeks ago featuring a commercial truck driver named Joe. Apparently, as part of the The Biggest Loser program, contestants meet with a physician. In the segment with Joe and his physician, Joe admitted driving a truck 12-14 hours per day and did not realize he had severe sleep apnea that caused him to stop breathing up to 70 times per hour.

The crash risk for a person with sleep apnea is 242% greater than a person without the disorder according to Charles Czeisler, professor of sleep medicine at Harvard Medical School - according to an article posted at Today'sTrucking.com.

Sleep apnea is a major contributor to daytime drowsiness - a condition that could prove deadly for commercial drivers and involved passenger vehicles. it is a condition where, during sleep, a narrowing or closure of the upper airway causes repeated sleep disturbances leading to poor sleep quality and excessive daytime sleepiness. Since excessive sleepiness can be a consequence of sleeping disturbances, drivers with sleep apnea have compromised driving performance leading to increases in the risk of crashes. According to the Divided Attention Driving Task, a research test designed to mimic driving performance, individuals with sleep apnea perform, on average, as poorly as individuals whose levels of blood alcohol concentration exceed the legal limit.

Source: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration: A Study of Prevalence of Sleep Apnea Among Commercial Truck Drivers

Symptoms of sleep apnea include (from sleephealth.com):

Snoring plus "gasping" or stopping breathing
Excessive sleepiness during wake
Large neck size
Obesity
High prevalence in overweight middle-aged men
Leading known cause of high blood pressure
Higher risk of CV disease, hypertension, and stroke
Higher rate of drowsy driver car crashes
Most people are undiagnosed

The FMCSA's Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee met just last month to discuss the dangers of sleep apnea for commercial truck drivers. The meeting specifically tasked the MCSAC and the Medical Review Board to provide information, concepts, and ideas the FMCSA should consider in developing regulatory guidance to motor carriers and truck drivers regarding obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and whether drivers with sleep apnea should be medically certified to operate commercial motor vehicles.

The joint recommendations from this task force included:

New rulemaking to require commercial truck drivers with a body mass index greater than or equal to 35 be evaluated for obstructive sleep apnea using an objective diagnostic test
A driver diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea may maintain certification with evidence of appropriate treatment (if available) and effective compliance and if the examiner determines that the condition does not affect the driver's ability to operate a commercial motor vehicle safely.

The joint task force also recommended that the following conditions be grounds for immediate driver disqualification:

Individuals who experience excessive sleepiness while driving.
Individuals who have experienced a crash associated with falling asleep.
Individuals with an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) greater than 20, until such individual has been adherent to Positive Airway Pressure (PAP). Drivers can be conditionally certified based on the criteria for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) compliance.
Individuals who have undergone surgery and who are pending the findings in a post-operative evaluation.
Individuals who have been found to be effectively non-compliant with their treatment.

These proposals will be discusses again later this year when more detailed recommendations will be presented to the FMCSA.

One sleep apnea specialist - Dr. Charles Czeisler of Harvard University Medical School - suggests that drowsy or fatigued driving kills more people on America's highways than does distracted driving. At least one industry safety specialist agrees:

"I would argue that fatigue as a causal factor in truck-involved crashes is underreported, not over-reported," said Don Osterberg, vice president of Safety for Schneider National Trucking. "Absent the commercial driver acknowledging that he or she fell asleep, law enforcement doesn't record the crash as being fatigue-related."

Truck drivers with sleep apnea can spend a full eight hours in bed and get back behind the wheel as sleepy, groggy, and fatigued as if they only got a few hours of sleep. The FMCSA needs to act on these proposed rules to protect truck drivers and to make our highways safer for everyone.

[More on Semi Truck Accidents]

[More on Truck Driver Fatigue]

FMCSA: A Study of Prevalence of Sleep Apnea Among Commercial Truck Drivers
MCSAC Meeting List
Sleep Apnea In Truck Drivers: Advisory Panels Recommend Screening For Condition In Obese Drivers [Amanda L. Chan at The Huffington Post]
Panel Tells FMCSA to Toughen up Sleep Apnea Screening [Today'sTrucking.com]
Sleep apnea: hidden cause of wrecks [Stuart Watson at Charlotte Observer]
Fatigue An Issue For Pilots And Truck Drivers

Follow @BrettEmison on Twitter.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brett Emison

Truckers and Fatigue Have Fatal Consequences

Craig Brown — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 10:49:11 GMT

Mistakes made by truck drivers are the cause of a certain percentage of trucking accidents. These accidents, more the exception than the rule, are most often caused by truck drivers who are in one sense or another, impaired, whether by alcohol, prescription drugs, or the most frequent cause, driver fatigue.

Although truckers are under strict regulations to control their rest periods, they are sometimes influenced by economic factors to ignore the law, and drive well beyond their legal limits.

One problem stems from the fact that many truckers are paid by the mile rather than having a steady salary. This pressures them to rush, which can result in them ignoring safety in order to make a delivery.

All of these facors can result in an impaired driver, and unfortunately I have seen what happens when a tired driver stays behind the wheel of his big rig.

A 2006 crash on an Indiana highway killed five students from Taylor University. One of those who died was Laurel Erb, a 20-year-old St. Charles native who attended the school in Upland, Ind.

Laura rode in a van with others that night when a semi-trailer crossed over the center line, causing a head-on collision described by some emergency personnel as one of the worst crashes they had ever seen. It was soon learned that the semi driver, Robert Spencer, had fallen asleep at the wheel - in part because he had failed to take required rest breaks while on the road.

Spencer eventually received a four year prison sentence after pleading guilty to several counts of reckless homicide and criminal recklessness.

(The truck driver and his employer were insured by a policy that had liability limits of two million dollars. The van that was transporting Laurel and her fellow students was owned by Taylor University, and insured by Indiana Insurance Company.

I, along with Peter Flowers filed suit against Indiana Insurance to compel them to pay damages pursuant to the Underinsured Motorist Provision of its policy. The court agreed that Indiana's insurance did apply, and a global settlement of over 9 million dollars was reached on behalf of all five victims.)

Another case that comes to mind is that of an accident involving an 80-year old woman, a passenger in her adult daughter's car, who was seriously injured when a trucker abrubtly turned into their path. Full details of that case can be found on my firm profile http://www.foote-meyers.com/

(Peter Flowers and I secured a 1.32 million the day before jury selection)

If you are in an accident where you suspect that the driver fell asleep or failed to react properly, you should determine whether there was a violation of the hours of service rules. Because of the intracacies of the trucking industry, getting the proper information may require some industry knowledge. For instance, it is critical to make sure data contained on a truck's tech equipment is preserved, otherwise it could be erased as part of the normal routine of the trucking company. In any case, you may want to get advice or representation from an attorney.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Craig Brown

New Federal Regulations Aim To Make Sure Truck Drivers Aren't Sleep Deprived

Lindsay Rakers — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:05:00 GMT

Drowsy driving is a serious highway safety issue in the United States. Unlike other risky driving behaviors (distracted driving) —like drinking and driving or texting while driving—the vast majority of us are probably guilty of driving when we’re low on sleep and feeling the exhaustion of a long day. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates—conservatively—that drowsy driving causes more than 100,000 crashes a year, resulting in 40,000 injuries and 1,550 deaths.

While drowsy driving is certainly a concern for everyone, combating its prevalence was recently the subject of targeted government action: in December, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued a new rule aimed at making sure truck drivers get the rest they need to operate safely. The rule comes after an extensive period of scientific study, analysis and opportunity for public comment. According to the FMCSA press release announcing it, the rule “will help prevent fatigue-related truck crashes and save lives.”

The new rule revises what is known as the “hours-of-service” safety requirements for commercial truck drivers. Under the previous rule, truckers used to be able to work up to 82 hours over a seven day period—an average of nearly 12 hours a day. Now, that limit is 70 hours over the course of seven days—still a very long day, but an improvement over the old rule.

Recognizing the long hours that truck drivers typically work—and the constant pressure to log more miles—the rule also puts additional protections in place to make sure drivers are well rested. For example, truck drivers cannot drive after working 8 consecutive hours without first taking a break of at least 30 minutes. And drivers who max out their weekly work hours are subject to the “34-hour restart” provision—after working 70 hours in one seven day stretch, drivers have to take at least 34 hours off. During that time, they must get at least two nights of rest when the body most demands it—between the hours of 1 am and 5 am.

As Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood stated when announcing the new rule, “trucking is a difficult job, and a big rig can be deadly when a driver is tired and overworked.” Hopefully this new rule that goes into effect in July will translate into better workplace safety for the tens of thousands of truck drivers in our country and better highway safety for all of us.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Lindsay Rakers

Trucking Safety - One State Takes A Hard Look At What's On The Road

Greg Webb — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:32:06 GMT

Indiana State Police inspectors say approximately 25 percent of the trucks traveling on Indiana’s state highways in the state’s northwestern Lake and Porter counties, from 2003-2008 were beleaguered with serious safety defects risking the safety of travelers and truck drivers alike. In a January 8, 2012, article in The Northwest Indiana Times, Marc Chase reports “faulty brakes and driver fatigue top the truck safety risks” plaguing the Midwest trucks and truck drivers in Northwest Indiana according to the Indiana state police inspectors’ report.

Results of a six-year study of truck traffic through highways crossing only two Northwest Indiana counties, showed 1 out of 4 heavy trucks had major safety violations, i.e., violations serious enough to remove the trucks from service. Scott Fleming, supervisor of state police heavy-truck inspectors for the region, noted much of the data in the study were gathered through random checks at Indiana’s truck weighing stations and says the results “only scratch the surface of the safety problem of potentially unsafe trucks operating on region’s roadways.”

Federal and state police inspectors found 12,931 brake violations during the same study, placing brake-related violations in the top 10 of all violations. Any discussion of faulty brakes and trucks also involves stopping distances. Fleming explained, “The more the weight of a car or truck, the longer the distance required for it to stop.” According to the National Safety Council’s Defensive Driving Course for Professional Truck Drivers, a fully-loaded 80,000-pound truck traveling 65 miles per hour requires at least 525 feet to stop safely, which is 66 percent more distance than most automobiles, which require approximately 316 feet when traveling at 65 miles per hour to stop safely. And, if the truck is over-weight or has faulty brakes or both, do the math.

In addition to mechanical vehicle safety violations, the problem of driver fatigue was also high on the state police inspectors list of violations. By federal law, heavy-truck operators must complete logbooks recording their hours worked and all breaks. Federal regulations limit heavy-truck drivers to 11 hours of continuous driving within a 24-hour period before they must take a 10-hour break. The heavy-truck inspectors in the two Northwest Indiana counties recorded 10,376 violations related to missing or faulty driver log books or drivers who went over the federal standard for consecutive hours worked without a break. “In Northwest Indiana, more than 1,400 violations were recorded over six years for truckers operating their rigs beyond the 11-hour regulation, inspection records show.”

We have to wonder how much of a template the experience with truck safety of these two Northwest Indiana counties is for the rest of the U.S. Having experience with trucking cases and litigation, these problems are by no means unique to Indiana, or any one state. Because states do not have the money or manpower to enforce federal or state trucking safety regulations, it is incumbent upon the trucking companies to ensure their trucks are properly serviced and maintained, and that their drivers are qualified and observe safety procedures and regulations. Interstate commercial trucking companies are responsible for ensuring that they and their drivers follow the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. Unfortunately, in an effort to save money, many do not abide by the rules all of the time, or even some of the time.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Webb

Bruce Braley Again Fighting For the Consumer

Mike Bryant — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 09:01:00 GMT

Consumers have very few friends in congress who come close to Bruce Braley , Congressman from Iowa. Let's get out of the way the usual attack on him. Yes, he was a trial lawyer. But, as this clip points out, he also knows a lot about truck driving:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg4bWe2rDwo&feature=player_embedded

In this case, he is asking Congress to take a good hard look at how many hours truck drivers can drive. As he explains:

The simple truth is that the old rule is a serious safety concern for American drivers. As it stands, trucking companies have the ability to force their drivers to drive up to 11 hours in a 21 hour period. Additionally, the rule allows drivers to drive up to 88 hours in 8 days -- that's more than two full work weeks in just over a week! Under the existing rules, truck companies can force their truck drivers to drive extremely long hours without time off to sleep.

Thank you Congressman Braley for making sure safety is a regular issue that Congress is looking at.

A couple of other examples of his work:

What Is Going On With Toyota? Mike Bryant | March 06, 2010 6:35 PM

Braley Rudely Interrupted by GOP Chants of "Trial Lawyer": Is Standing Up for Justice A Bad Thing? Mark Bello | November 09, 2009 5:52 PM

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Bryant