Articles Posted in Car Accidents

Two people are dead following a Cumberland County, Tennessee tractor-trailer accident, Channel 10 News reported.

The crash claimed the life of the 41-year-old Memphis trucker and his 27-year-old passenger, who was in the sleeping cabin at the time of the crash. A Knoxville personal injury lawyer should always be called when a passenger or other motorist is killed in a commercial-driving crash.

No word yet whether driver fatigue could have been involved in this crash. However, the Tennessee Highway Patrol reports the tractor-trailer was carrying U.S. mail when it swerved three times and ran off the right side of the Interstate. The semi struck a tree and overturned.

The AAA Foundation for Highway Safety recently reported nearly half of Americans admitted to falling asleep behind the wheel at some point in their lives. More than 25 percent admitted to driving while so tired they could hardly keep their eyes open at some point during the past year.

“When you are behind the wheel of a car, being sleepy is very dangerous. Sleepiness decreases awareness, slows reaction time, and impairs judgment, just like drugs or alcohol, contributing to the possibility of a crash,” said AAA Foundation President and CEO Peter Kissinger. “We need to change the culture so that not only will drivers recognize the dangers of driving while drowsy but will stop doing it.”

Fatigue is cited as a leading cause of trucking accidents. Whether it was involved in this accident may never be known; authorities believe the problem may be even more serious than statistics suggest because of the difficulty in determining whether drowsy driving is responsible for an accident that results in fatality.

We reported earlier this month on our Tennessee Truck Accident Lawyer Blog that the government is set to require data recorders in all over-the-road trucks, which will determine compliance with hours-of-service regulations. The regulations are meant to limit the amount of time a driver can remain behind the wheel, but reliance on hand-written long books often make the laws ineffectual.

Alcohol or drugs are not believed to be a factor in the crash but testing is being conducted in accordance with standard procedure.

The Cookeville Herald Citizen reported the crash happened on I-40 about 10 miles east of Crossville.

Both drivers were pinned inside the 2011 International tractor.
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After years of delay, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has finally proposed requiring data recorders to track hours-of-service for over-the-road truckers in an effort to reduce the risk of trucking accidents in Tennessee and elsewhere.

As our Knoxville personal injury lawyers reported late last year on our Tennessee Truck Accident Lawyer Blog, the feds continue to tweak the hours-of-service rules, which are aimed at preventing fatigued truckers from causing accidents.

But the combination of a pay structure that rewards most over-the-road trucker based on miles traveled, and the fact that hours-of-service compliance is determined by hand-written log books, toll receipts and other so-called documentation, has made a mockery out of the system for decades.

“We cannot protect our roadways when commercial truck and bus companies exceed hours-of-service rules,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “This proposal would make our roads safer by ensuring that carriers traveling across state lines are using EOBRs to track the hours their drivers spend behind the wheel.”

The electronic on-board recorders (EOBRs) are attached to commercial vehicles and automatically record the number of hours the vehicle spends in operation. A number of carriers, including Schneider National, Maverick USA, J.B. Hunt, Knight Transportation and U.S. Express Enterprise, have already installed the technology.

However, the devices have not been mandated unless a driver or company was caught violating hours-of-service rules. The new proposal would impact 500,000 carriers nationwide.

“This proposal is an important step in our efforts to raise the safety bar for commercial carriers and drivers,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. “We believe broader use of EOBRs would give carriers and drivers an effective tool to strengthen their HOS compliance.”

Organizations, including Road Safe America, have long advocated for the devices.
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A Henderson County, Tennessee trucking accident has claimed the life of a 37-year-old Middle Tennessee woman, the Jackson Sun reported.

A Tennessee wrongful death attorney should always be consulted in the wake of a fatal accident involving a semi or other large commercial vehicle.

In this case the Sun is reporting the woman crashed into the semi, which had come to a stop late Thursday afternoon on I-40 eastbound, about 14 miles north of Lexington. The Tennessee Highway Patrol reports the Centerville woman was killed in the crash. She was wearing a seat belt.

An experienced semi accident attorney in Tennessee may find additional parties at fault in the accident. Parties who may be at fault in a trucking accident include:

-The truck driver

-The trucking company

-The owner or leasing agent of the truck and/or trailer

-Other motorists

-Companies responsible for loading the truck or that own the cargo

-Equipment or vehicle manufacturers

-Road construction companies

-State or local government entities responsible for road repair and signal operation

-Associated insurance companies

Additionally, truck drivers must follow strict rules enforced by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and state and local governments. These rules are designed to protect the public and could impact the finding of fault in an accident case. For example, it is illegal under federal law for truckers to text message while driving. And, as we reported recently on our Tennessee Truck Accident Lawyer Blog, drivers must follow strict hours-of-service rules that govern how many hours they can remain behind the wheel.
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The National Safety Council recently reported that motor vehicle deaths for the first 11 months of 2010 are down 4% from the previous year. Most states can lay claim to playing a part in the decrease, but not Tennessee. Motor vehicle deaths have increased in Tennessee.

Knoxville personal injury lawyers understand that an increase in fatal Tennessee car accidents signals a renewed risk of serious or fatal trucking accidents in Maryville, Knoxville and elsewhere in the state. Road Safe America reports large commercial trucks have a higher fatal crash rate than all other vehicles on the road. And as we reported recently on our Tennessee Injury Attorney Blog, significantly more fatal accidents were reported last year in Blount County, including Alcoa and Maryville.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that about three-quarters of trucking accident victims are passengers of other vehicles or are non-occupants, such as bicyclists or pedestrians.

The NSC reported 31,740 motor vehicle deaths during the first 11 months of 2010. The U.S. total in 2009 for January-November was 33,180, showing -4% change in deaths. The percent change from 2008 to 2010 was -13%, reporting a total of 36,460 motor vehicle deaths from January-November 2008.

Unfortunately, Tennessee was not one of the states that contributed to the downward trend reported by the NSC. Although the stats are incomplete, Tennessee over the course of an 8 month period reported 679 motor vehicle deaths in 2010. During these same 8 months for 2009, there were 636 motor vehicle fatalities reported.

It’s estimated that a 7% increase occurred between 2009 and 2010. In 2008, 659 motor vehicle deaths were reported during the 8 month period leading to a 3-year change of +3%.

The 2008 Traffic Safety Facts data reported by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows a 20% overall increase in passenger vehicle registrations from 1999-2008. Over 25,000 occupants of passenger vehicles were fatally injured in traffic crashes nationwide in 2008.

The estimated annual population death rate was 11.2 deaths per 100,000 people in 2010. The NSC estimates the annual mileage death rate for 2010 during the first 11 months was 1.1 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled. This is a 9% decrease from 2009.

As the death count decreases, however, the estimated costs associated with traffic accidents in the United States continued to rise. up 12 percent to $216.5 billion through November of last year.

Additionally, the NSC now measures nonfatal injuries differently, dictating that it should be all medically consulted injuries as opposed to the more vague “disabling injuries.” It is estimated for January-November 2010 there were 3.1 million motor vehicle injuries serious enough to require medical attention.
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