The NTSB is calling for the FMCSA to crack down on motor carriers that hire unqualified drivers and use vehicles with mechanical problems, by preventing these carriers from operating at all. In addition, the NTSB wants electronic onboard data recorders (EOBR) in trucks to help reconstruct accidents when they occur and to gather accurate data about drivers' hours of service, or how long drivers spend on the road. Truck drivers are subject to hours-of-service regulations to ensure that they are not driving while fatigued and thus prone to making mistakes and causing accidents. But according to The Trucker, the FMCSA is considering a rule that requires EOBRs only for two-year periods for carriers that historically have not complied with regulations or have had high accident rates. NTSB Chair Deborah Hersman said that making the EOBR requirement punitive would not make the roads significantly safer, since it would track the hours of service compliance for just 930 of 700,000 carriers -- 0.13%.

The NTSB would prefer that every truck carry an EOBR, so hours of service can be tracked and problems corrected before they lead to a serious accident. As a southern Illinois tractor trailer accident lawyer, I strongly agree. Our system currently relies on truckers to be honest about their hours, but evidence from trucking accident trials shows that many are not. Driving while fatigued is emerging as a serious distracted-driving issue for all drivers, not just truckers -- but it’s a particularly serious issue for truck drivers under pressure to avoid financial penalties for late deliveries. By tracking hours-of-service violations for all carriers, regulators can take unsafe carriers off the road before they can cause devastating accidents. The NTSB is right to push for tighter controls on factors that could cause such accidents.

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It’s not clear whether this accident could have been avoided if the trucker had been driving slowly and safely for the road conditions, and allowing a safe following distance. But even most trucking companies would agree that missing a deadline due to cautious driving or pulling over in dangerous conditions is better than loss of life on the roads, especially with the dangerous weather we've experienced in Missouri this winter. We don't know whether the Browns were going too fast for the road conditions when their car skidded, but drivers of 18-wheelers have a greater responsibility to watch out for others on the road. Tractor-trailers cause much more damage to cars and their passengers than the other way around because semis weigh up to 22 times as much as cars. Trucking companies have an obligation to hire safe and experienced drivers, but they sometimes choose to overlook drivers' prior traffic citations, or even license suspensions, in favor of moving cargo as cheaply as possible.

If you were involved in a crash with a large truck through no fault of your own, the Lowe Law Firm can help. To learn more and tell us about your case, please contact us through our site or call toll-free at 1-877-678-3400.

Sleep apnea is a breathing disorder in which the neck muscles relax too much during sleep, causing interruptions in breathing that wake the patient up. It isn’t clear why truckers have such a high rate of sleep apnea, but groups at risk for the disorder include people with a body mass index of 30 or greater (considered obese), people with wide necks and men, especially older men. Because symptoms appear while the patient is unconscious, doctors believe many thousands of people suffer from it without realizing it, often for years. This presents a problem for regulators and trucking companies trying to identify drivers at risk for a sleep apnea-related accident. Another problem is that truck drivers don’t necessarily want to be screened or admit they have the problem, for fear of losing their jobs. Truckers oppose a proposed FMCSA rule requiring screening, but one trucking company in the article said its own diagnosis and screening program substantially reduced crashes.

As a southern Illinois tractor-trailer accident lawyer, I strongly support the proposed federal rule that would make sleep apnea screening mandatory. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has said that sleepy driving causes thousands of crashes a year. It also said shift workers who drive at night or work long hours -- both of which apply to truck drivers -- are at special risk. Sleep deprivation can actually reduce drivers’ reaction times and focus, just like alcohol. This is risky even in an economy sedan -- but in a large truck, it can be catastrophic. When the massive size and weight of a commercial truck hits a smaller car of truck, it brings much more force to the crash than another car would. All too often, the result is death or catastrophic injury to the people in the smaller vehicle, regardless of who was at fault.

If you or a loved one was involved in a serious 18-wheeler accident that was not your fault, Carey, Danis & Lowe can help. To set up a free, confidential evaluation of your case, please contact us through the Internet or call toll-free at 1-877-678-3400.

Neither the bride nor the groom remembers much about the night of the accident. They were traveling down Illinois 15 to Chad’s parents’ house when they hit a grain truck pulling out from a field. Both passed out and awoke calling for one another. Chad was originally ticketed for failure to slow down, but that ticket was dropped. Neither of them was drinking. The article didn’t say what role the truck’s driver played, or whether he or she was injured in the crash. Kelli had just quit a job as a bartender and Chad worked as a roofer, but has been laid off. Both had planned to go to school in Missouri before the accident, but now they’re working on Kelli’s health. The family is waiting for Medicaid payments to begin, but in the meantime, they have only enough medication for two weeks.

I see avoidable tragedies like this more often than most, through my work as a Missouri semi truck accident lawyer. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for trucking accident victims to leave the scene with permanent, lifelong injuries. And, like Kelli Wisneski, these victims often end up on shaky financial footing due to their very high medical bills, with no health insurance to cover them and no hope of going back to work and earning an income. The article isn’t clear about fault for the crash, but victims may sue at-fault truck drivers and their trucking companies for all of the injuries and financial costs they caused. Of course, this is far from an adequate compensation for having your health and your dreams snatched away in an instant. But it can help trucking accident victims get medical care and support themselves financially as they learn to live with a new disability.

If you were involved in a crash with a large truck through no fault of your own, the Lowe Law Firm can help. To learn more and tell us about your case, please contact us through our site or call toll-free at 1-877-678-3400.

Knight was driving a load of scrap metal when he approached a line of stopped cars near the junction with Interstate 270. He failed to slow or stop in time, running into or over ten vehicles before stopping. The accident killed Charles “Keith” Cason, of Caseyville, 55; Lydia Miller of Canton, 55; and Alvin Mast of Kahoka, 88. Miller and Mast were Amish and had hired a driver to bring them to a funeral in Tennessee. The Missouri Highway Patrol said Knight had a clean driving record and didn’t seem to be using drugs and alcohol. However, in its report, the patrol said Knight admitted that he had been reaching for his phone and opening it just before the accident, opening him to distracted driving charges. If convicted on all three counts, he faces up to 12 years in prison.

This was a terrible, avoidable accident. But as a Missouri big rig accident lawyer, I hope that we can at least use it as an example of why it’s so important for truck drivers to avoid driving distractions. Every driver should avoid distractions behind the wheel, of course, and public safety campaigners are starting to acknowledge that. But truck drivers are in charge of machines many times the size and weight of a passenger car, and that means they can do much more damage in a crash. For example, if Knight had been driving an ordinary sedan in this crash, it’s unlikely that he would have been able to hit ten vehicles or harm 18 people. Truck drivers are well aware of this greater danger, and I hope that means they also feel a greater responsibility to drive safely.

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According to the Illinois State Police, Trigg was driving a Freightliner Truck Tractor laden with trash when he crashed his truck just east of where I-64 meets Interstates 55 and 70. They said he took the curve too fast, causing him to run off the side of the road, hit a guardrail and overturn. Illinois law enforcement may charge him with a traffic infraction or a crime. Although the injuries were not extensive, the crash shut down the eastbound side of the highway until about 3:30 and the eastbound I-64 ramp until at least 6 p.m. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency came to the scene to help Illinois officials dispose of the spilled diesel and hydraulic equipment. A witness told the newspaper that he saw a smoke ball to into the air and that the cab was caved in.

As a southern Illinois tractor-trailer accident lawyer, I’m glad that no more injuries were reported, and wish Trigg the best luck in his recovery. Given that the crash happened at 9:15 a.m., around the end of morning rush hour, it could easily have hurt random innocent southern Illinois commuters -- or even killed them. In fact, the fact that no other motorists were involved is also a bit of luck for Trigg and the trucking company that employs him. The article doesn’t give a final ruling on the cause of the crash, but it does say the Illinois state police believe Trigg crashed because he took the curve too fast. If this is the case, he, and possibly his employer, would have been legally responsible for any injuries or deaths that could have resulted.

If you or someone you love was involved in a crash with a large truck, you should call the Lowe Law Firm right away. To set up a free, confidential case evaluation, please contact us through our Web site or call 1-877-678-3400 today.

Distracted driving emerged as an issue in 2009 after research showed that truckers who text behind the wheel raise their crash risk by 23 times and take their eyes off the road for nearly five seconds at a time. At highway speeds, that’s enough time for a semi truck to travel more than the length of a football field. For at least one Missouri trucking company, the News-Leader reported, the ban won’t make a difference because it already prohibits its truckers from texting on the job. A spokesman for Prime Inc., a central Missouri trucking company, said the company strongly supported the ban as a safety measure for everyone on the road. However, KMOX in St. Louis reported Jan. 27 that it might be hard for state troopers to enforce the law, because it’s hard to see into truck cabins. A law enforcement spokesman in that article said citations were most likely to occur after an accident, when police can go through phone records and find proof that the ban was violated.

Unfortunately, this is probably true. Nevertheless, as a St. Louis 18-wheeler accident lawyer, I believe this ban will help keep drivers of all vehicles safe for a few different reasons. First and foremost, a legal ban on texting for commercial drivers ties those drivers’ jobs and livelihoods to compliance. If truckers are caught doing anything that violates federal safety rules, they can be penalized by the government, and that can lead to losing their jobs, their licenses or their careers. Furthermore, truck drivers who violate a federal rule are more likely to be found liable in any trucking accident lawsuit that grows out of an accident caused by texting while driving. When the federal government has already said that a behavior is unsafe, it’s much harder to argue in court that it is not. And for both reasons, employers are likely to make compliance an important in-house safety rule as well, reinforcing the importance of following the law.

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At least some blamed the crash on thick fog that settled over the highway. Cathy Jankovich said visibility was almost nil past the headlights of the vehicle her son-in-law was driving, even though other drivers were passing him. The exact cause of the pileup wasn’t known, but authorities said the chain reaction began with an accident involving a tow truck. Of the thirty vehicles involved, nineteen were involved in the largest crash, including six tractor-trailers. Another crash involved six vehicles. Crash survivor Mike McRoberts told the newspaper that he and his brother raced to get out of their pickup truck after it hit two vehicles. That’s when they saw an out-of-control 18-wheeler approaching and ran for their lives. They dodged the truck, but it hit another semi “and just bent in half.”

As a St. Louis trucking accident lawyer, I wonder how much effect the weather had on this terrible accident. The newspaper’s description suggests that conditions may not have been safe for any driver -- but that may be particularly true for the truckers. Under federal law, commercial truck drivers have a special duty to use “extreme caution” in hazardous weather conditions, including heavy fog, snow or ice that limits visibility and traction. This is above and beyond the ordinary standard of care that applies to all drivers. Federal safety laws like these are made in part because large trucks can do severe damage to smaller vehicles in a crash, beyond what another car might do. Unfortunately, they’re also necessary because trucking companies and their drivers have a financial incentive to disregard safety and drive through bad weather.

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According to the blog, the NSC estimates that drivers using a cell phone in some way cause 28% of crashes. The majority are drivers talking on the phone, according to the NSC, but 200,000 of those crashes, or 3% of crashes overall, were caused by drivers involved in texting. Using other research, the blogger suggested that the true number of texting-involved crashes could be as high as 1 million. While the author didn’t seem to think truckers were likely to be guilty of texting-- despite some research to the contrary -- he suggested that truck drivers should care because people in smaller vehicles were likely to cause crashes. According to research from the Auto Club Foundation and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, truckers did nothing unsafe in 73% of all crashes.

As a southern Illinois trucking accident attorney, I won’t argue with those numbers. Research consistently shows that drivers of heavy trucks crash less often than non-commercial drivers. However, when trucks do crash into passenger vehicles, they can cause deaths and devastating injuries, even if the same accident wouldn’t have been serious if the truck had been another car. Or, to put it another way, trucks’ much greater size and weight gives them the potential to kill and permanently disable the motorists around them, regardless of fault. That makes it essential for truck drivers to drive carefully and avoid anything that could impair their driving or judgment. And that means truckers have at least as much responsibility as other drivers, if not more, to avoid texting on the road.

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The meetings are set as a result of the FMCSA’s settlement of a lengthy lawsuit brought by safety groups including the Truck Safety Coalition, the Teamsters and Public Citizen. The terms of the settlement require new rules to be submitted for review nine months after the settlement was reached, which will be in mid-summer. Trucking companies oppose new rules, arguing that the current rules, which were formed in 1935 and updated in 2000, are working fine. Currently, drivers of tractor-trailers may drive up to 11 hours at a time, after a 10-hour off-duty period. They also face a weekly limit of 60 hours of driving in seven days or 70 hours in eight days, after which they must take a “weekend” of at least 34 straight hours. The safety groups contend that the on-duty periods are too long and can leave drivers impaired.

As a southern Illinois tractor-trailer accident attorney, I’m glad these groups are considering our safety. Driving while fatigued is an issue for drivers of all kinds of vehicles. Past studies have suggested that a sleep-deprived driver may be just as dangerous as a drunk driver. This is too big a risk to take when it comes to large commercial trucks, which can have up to 100 times the weight of a Honda Civic. In a crash, that weight difference can translate to severe damage for the smaller vehicle, and grave injuries or death for the people inside. Statistically, commercial drivers are involved in far fewer accidents than drivers of passenger vehicles -- but one mistake by a commercial driver can have far graver consequences. For the sake of the people who share the highways and roads with truckers, revising the rules to conform with science makes sense.

If you’ve suffered a serious injury or death because of a trucking accident that was no fault of your own, the Lowe Law Firm can help. To set up a free, confidential evaluation of your case, please send a message through our Web site or call 1-877-78-3400 toll-free.

Walters is a member of the Madison County Board, executive director of the Southern Illinois Industrial Association and a former insurance claims adjuster. He said he was waiting to make a left turn when Headrick drove by in his side of the road, then hit the left-turning truck. Both men had green lights, said Walters, but he was waiting to make sure traffic was clear before turning. Walters said Headrick was driving five to ten mph above the speed limit, but that this was not unusual for the area. And two other trucks in line to turn didn’t move, Walters said, suggesting that they didn’t have a green arrow. Under those circumstances, he told the Telegraph, “It was completely the truck’s fault[.]” However, the Alton Police Department initially assigned the blame to Headrick based on other witness accounts. The police department declined to comment.

As a St. Louis big rig accident lawyer, I think this is powerful evidence that things are more complicated than they may initially have seemed to the police. I would be interested to know who the other witnesses are who implicated Headrick for the crash, and what their angles of vision might have been. The issue of who was at fault for the accident is important, because if police decide the truck driver was at fault after all, there will be important financial consequences for both parties. Not only could the truck driver face professional consequences, but Headrick’s family could have a strong claim in any lawsuit they choose to pursue. Depending on the circumstances, the truck driver, his or her trucking company and even the quarry could all be held legally and financially responsible for this terrible crash.

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Television station KCTV followed up Dec. 15 with a report looking for reasons for the two crashes. Missouri Department of Transportation officials blamed excessive speed for both crashes. They reiterated that warning in an interview with the station, saying the bridge is easy to navigate if drivers stick to posted speed limits. However, the bridge is also currently under construction, which means drivers also have to contend with workers, equipment, detours and lane closures. Drivers interviewed for the piece said the construction was sometimes confusing; one driver added that the downhill slope at the end of the bridge didn’t seem safe. Some said they prefer to avoid the bridge altogether, which means detouring to bridges to the north and south, some far out of the way and none attached to an interstate highway.

As a St. Louis big rig accident lawyer, I suspect that both MoDOT and the drivers are right. Speeding isn’t a factor in truck accidents as often as it is in accidents involving passenger cars. But when truckers do speed, they can do far more damage, simply because their vehicles weigh up to 100 times more than the average import economy car. That weight matters not only in a collision, but also in a curve, because it makes it easier for trucks to turn over like these two did. And because there is construction on the bridge right now, drivers must slow down even more than usual. They must also be extra careful about their route and lanes, which may have changed because of the construction, and keep an eye out for people and equipment. Drivers who use the bridge regularly, and professional truck drivers, may be lulled into a false sense of a security by their experience -- but failure to take extra care under these conditions can easily cause a crash.

If your family has suffered a devastating injury you believe was caused by a careless truck driver or trucking company, you should call the Lowe Law Firm for help. To tell us about your case and learn more about your legal options, please contact us online or call toll-free at 1-877-678-3400 today.

Dant’s family argued that MoDOT should have done more to warn drivers about the backup problem. In fact, the exit in question has been re-striped since the 2005 accident, their attorney said, and warning signs have been added. Cases against MoDOT may be heard by an out-of-court arbitration panel instead of a state court. A panel in this case ruled in mid-November that Dant’s father, sister, brother, nieces and nephews should receive $1.3 million in compensation. But because Dant’s family had already received $950,000 in a claim against the trucker and trucking company, the state may subtract that amount from the judgment, leaving a payment of only $350,000. This is just under the maximum of $378,814 that state agencies may be compelled to pay, a cap set by sovereign immunity laws.

As a Missouri semi truck accident lawyer, I am pleased that Dant’s family received fair compensation despite those laws. Sovereign immunity is a legal doctrine dating back to Britain, which says that governments are immune from lawsuits. Incredibly, this doctrine allows states to decide whether they and their employees are liable at all for wrongdoing, even clear and undisputed wrongdoing. As a rule, Missouri and Illinois citizens may sue their states for negligence, but they have special rules to follow -- such as the damages cap -- and often must overcome special obstacles like shorter deadlines and administrative petitions. Failure to follow these rules can disqualify a claim entirely, no matter how strong it might be. That’s why it’s important for people with a claim against a government agency to speak with an experienced attorney as early as possible in the process.

If you or a loved one was seriously hurt in a trucking accident in Missouri or southern Illinois, you should talk to the Lowe Law Firm as soon as possible about your legal options. To set up a free, confidential evaluation of your case, please send a message through our Web site or call 1-877-678-3400 today.

According to the Star, police said the driver of the truck was probably going too fast for the stretch of highway, which is part of a construction zone. The truck hit a concrete barrier and overturned, spilling acid from its tank. Hydrochloric acid has many uses in industrial processing, but corrodes human tissue and can produce toxic gas when mixed with common substances like bleach. To control this danger, the city threw down sand and dirt to stop the spreading puddle, following up with a special truck to siphon it away. It also had to call in a special road crew to repair holes the acid had eaten into the highway. The nearly Isle of Capri casino closed down its climate-control system and went on lockdown to minimize the risk of injury to staff and customers. Nonetheless, eleven people went to hospitals complaining of eye, nose and throat irritation, including the truck’s driver, two police officers and a construction worker.

As a St. Louis tanker truck accident attorney, I’m grateful that the damage was not worse. The federal government considers hydrochloric acid a toxic substance. Direct contact with human skin causes chemical burns that can lead to permanent damage if the exposure is strong enough. Contact with the fumes is even more dangerous, leading to death, circulation problems or permanent organ damage in high concentrations; or burning eyes, nose and throat in lesser concentrations. If the spill had gone differently, or the city had not been able to respond so quickly, everyone in the area would have been at risk for these serious injuries. And because law enforcement suspects that speed was the cause of the crash, the trucker -- and probably his trucking company -- would have been held responsible for those injuries.

If your family suffered a severe loss because of an accident with a Mack truck, you should talk to the Lowe Law Firm right away to learn more about your rights and your legal options. To set up a consultation at absolutely no cost to you, please contact us through the Internet or call toll-free at 1-877-678-3400 today.

The new trucking rules arose from Boston’s Big Dig project. Trucks couldn’t use the project’s tunnels, so they ended up using major thoroughfares within the city itself. This prompted safety worries, especially after a fuel tanker overturned in a traffic circle in 2007, spilling flaming gasoline down the street. To address those concerns, the city revoked all permits allowing trucks carrying hazardous materials to use city roads during the daytime, except to make local deliveries. Semi trucks were still allowed to drive city roads at night, the Globe said, but were limited to specified interstate and local routes during the day. For trucks carrying fuel from a north Boston fuel depot to the South Coast, this route meant a 40-mile detour that cost extra time and fuel. The city argued that highways are better suited for pass-through traffic, but critics said it was merely exporting the risk to the suburbs.

As a Missouri tractor-trailer accident attorney, I am disappointed by this decision. Cities may still develop rules on transporting hazardous materials through their streets, but this decision means they have to go through a state agency like MODoT, and ultimately submit their plans to the NTSB for approval. This puts extra layers of bureaucracy in the way of safety. Naturally, local governments that deal with transportation and infrastructure issues every day are better positioned to make these decisions than federal regulators. I also believe convenience to truck drivers -- the reason for the route through Boston -- should not trump safety concerns. In a high-density urban area with narrow streets, the potential for serious damage in any trucking accident is very high. That’s especially true when the truck is carrying a hazardous material like asphalt, gasoline or fuels, which can cause an explosion or a major fire in the blink of an eye.

If you or a family member was seriously injured by a careless trucker or trucking company, you should talk to the Lowe Law Firm as soon as possible. To set up a free, confidential evaluation of your case, please contact us through our Web site or call 1-877-678-3400 today.