Trucking Accident Attorney Blog

Five people were killed on Interstate 44 outside St. Louis in a collision involving two tractor trailers, a car, and two SUV's The collision occurred about 5:00 p.m. when a tractor trailer struck the rear end of a car that had slowed on the far right lane of I-44, just east of the Bowles Avenue exit ramp according to the Missouri Highway Patrol. Investigators are trying to determine why the tractor trailer did not slow down. The woman driving the car died at the scene and the truck driver who struck her was taken to the hospital where he also died. Five others in 2 SUV's and the other tractor trailer were taken to the hospital with minor to moderate injuries.

The I-44 corridor between Interstate 270 and Grey Summit is considered one of the most dangerous corridors in the state. There have been at least 19 crashes with 33 deaths in the last seven years along this 25 mile stretch of road.

This trucking accident blog has previous entries regarding some of the fatalities, many of them occurred near the Six Flags St. Louis exit which is 13 miles west of the crash scene. In July 2005 a dump truck slammed into a mini van near the Six Flags exit, killing five family members from St. Charles on their way to Six Flags. In July 2000 five family members were killed when their van crossed over the center line on I-44 and was hit broad-side by a tractor trailer.

Missouri Department of Transportation officials have made several improvements to improve the safety at the Six Flags exit which is the site of most of the deadly accidents. The improvements include better signage, two dedicated exit lanes to Six Flags on I-44 westbound.

The Missouri Department of Transportation has also done work on the Bowles Avenue ramp several years ago to improve traffic flow in and out of the Chrysler plant in Fenton.

These accidents show that no matter how safe or what changes are made, there are still going to be accidents due primarily to driver inattention, fatigue, and/or poorly maintained equipment. More has to be done to improve the safety of our highways which should include decreasing the number of allowable hours a truck driver can drive without rest and shortening the maximum number of hours a driver can drive per week.

According to the United States Department of Transportation report, there are 20,228 hazardous material-related incidents occurring nationally in 2006. Missouri ranked 15th among states with 400 incidents.

In Missouri, a county has hired a local consulting firm to track the movement of hazardous material through that county. A study is conducted by Global Insights U.S. Hazmat Tracking Service. Utilizing a database constructed from public and private sources, it tracks where the materials come from and where they are going and what transportation routes are being used. The study will record the flow of hazardous material for Interstates, primary streets, U.S. highways, and local connecting roads. In the event of an overturned tractor trailer on the Interstate, the county will be able to send hazardous response teams that are specifically trained to move or handle the hazardous material.

County officials believe that this study will be useful because they have been concerned about knowing all the facts of hazardous materials in the county.

Approximately 5,000 people are killed annually in trucking accidents. In order to reduce the number of traffic fatalities involving large trucks and buses, Congress, in the late 1990's, created the Federal Motor Safety Administration to oversee and regulate the industry. For almost six decades, truckers were guided by rules that prohibited them driving more than 10 hours without 8 hours of rest, and prohibited them from driving more than 60 hours in a consecutive 7 day period. In order to ensure compliance, drivers were required to keep logs of when they drove and when they rested.

In 2003, new regulations were put in effect, where instead of the 10 hour driving limit, truckers can now stay behind the wheel for 11 hours consecutively, but they must rest for 10 hours before driving again. Truckers can also now drive 77 hours in a consecutive 7 day period. Also truckers can now work 15 hours in one day instead of 14, but it allowed the 14 hours to be continuous. Previously a driver could work 15 hours in a day, but had to spend 2 or 3 hours off duty during that 15 hour period.

In 2003 within weeks after the agency introduced its new rules safety advocacy groups sued to prevent their enforcement. In 2004, a three judge panel prohibited the implementation of the law because the agency failed to consider the impact of the rules on the health of drivers.

In 2005, the FMCSA proposed revised rules that called for virtually no change from the previous rule which the courts prohibited enforcement. Safety advocacy groups again sued. Many truckers complained that the new laws prompted drivers to falsify their logs to get around the rules. Congress has held hearings on electronic monitoring devices in May 2007 to investigate whether paper log books are outdated, easy to falsify, and fail to ensure safety. No legislation has yet been introduced regarding this.

Safety advocacy groups blame accidents like one that happened recently in New Jersey where a South Carolina truck driver fell asleep at the wheel and crashed his truck on Interstate 78, killing a New Jersey woman and her 13 year old daughter. Apparently the truck driver fell asleep at the wheel causing the accident.

Until regulations are in place that adequately ensure adequate rest time for the driver and safety for the public, these types of accidents are going to continue to happen with huge liability for the trucking industry and their insurance companies. In addition, until electronic monitoring is mandatory, certain drivers are going to continue to skirt the rules.

In trying truck accident cases, there is certain discovery that should be done that can prove that the trucking company is liable not only for the actual damages, but also punitive damages.

In any trucking accident, the most obvious and simplest way to obtain evidence that will support an award of punitive damages it the Alcohol and drug screening that is performed after any accident. An attorney also needs to obtain the truck driver's logs and then make mathematical calculations of miles traveled during a particular time which could lead to evidence of excessive speed as well as the trucking company's knowledge of the truck driver driving at excessive rates of speed. Also, sometimes trucking companies on their bills of lading or other records indicate that a particular load is a "high value extremely time sensitive load" which can provide evidence of motive regarding why the truck driver was encouraged by his trucking company to speed.

It can also be argued that if the trucking company or motor carrier does not have a management system in place to monitor hours of service violations and prevent them, that the trucking company is permitting or intentionally turning a blind eye to allowing their drivers to speed and endanger other drivers lives.

Another area of discovery that should be explored is obtaining the driver’s cell phone records. There have been studies which demonstrate that drivers on cell phones are as impaired as drunk drivers. Obtaining records showing that the driver was on the phone, especially if he is on the phone to his company, can provide not only evidence of liability and conduct that could give rise to the imposition of punitive damages..

In addition, companies are required to keep certain records by federal regulation. Companies that do not keep supporting documents, including downloads from the truck’s ECM module, satellite positioning, tapes of phone records, pay records, as well as driver e-mail messages, can all form the basis of spoliation of evidence claims which in some states is an independent tort.

A less common area of discovery is annual driver reviews. Many companies do not do adequate annual driver reviews and evidence of unreported tickets including reckless driving, any evidence of drivers carrying duplicate drivers license from different states, and any general violation of company rules can provide a basis for liability.

Finally prescription drugs and legal medications can be a legitimate avenue that may provide evidence sufficient to allow recovery of punitive damages. Every company has a duty to find out whether the driver is taking any medication. The drivers in turn are supposed to tell trucking companies about medicines that they are taking. If a carrier does not take action to find out what type of medication a driver is taking, this may provide another independent basis for liability. Many medications are labeled informing a patient that they should not operate heavy equipment while taking the medication.

These are just some of the areas that should be investigated in any trucking accident case, including negligent hiring and retention. Negligent hiring and retention can, especially in cases of vicarious liability, provide an independent basis of liability if the trucking company does not admit agency and liability for the truck driver.