Auto and Truck Wrecks

A high percentage of traffic crashes and deaths involve large trucks. A large truck is any truck whose vehicle weight is over 10,000 pounds. Because of their size, crashes involving large trucks are more likely to result in serious injury and death than are car crashes. Approximately 10% of all those injured in a large truck crash will die. Large trucks are more likely to be involved in multiple-vehicle crashes than are passenger cars. Both Federal and state regulations govern trucking and cover areas such as safety of equipment and hours of the drivers. Trucking companies are required to keep records of such information and it will be necessary to find and research such records. Poor equipment and driver fatigue can be causes of such crashes, and a careful study of the trucking company records may be needed to determine if negligence has occurred.

Inattentive and negligent truck driving kills:

Mr. Jensen will do everything in his power to provide justice to the family that lost their nineteen year old boy driving in this Suburban, who through no fault of his own, died at the hands of two semi-trucks.

The story of truck driving in America presents a deadly and horrible example of where legislation is not doing enough to make our roads safe. Consider this:

There were 411,935 accidents involving trucks in interstate commerce reported in 1998 to the Office of Motor Carriers, Department of Transportation.

1. Of accidents 4,935 were fatal crashes. Twenty-five percent produced injuries. Accidents with large trucks accounted for 5,374 fatalities and 127,000 injuries.
2. Over one-quarter of fatal accidents occurred in six states:
   California, North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. Texas had 422 fatal accidents, California had 365.
3. 1998-Nine percent of fatality accidents involved a large truck.
4. Top three factors contributing to accidents: (1) driving too fast; (2) running off the road or out of the traffic lane; and (3) failure to yield the right-of-way.
   (4) Truck tractors pulling semi-trailers accounted for 65% of the trucks involved in fatal accidents and about 50% of the accidents in non-fatal injury accidents.
5. Adverse weather conditions were reported in 83% of fatal crashes and 85% of the non-fatal crashes. (Source: Office of Motor Carriers, Department of Transportation, http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov /factsfigs/mchsstats.htm).
6. National Truck and Bus Safety-Human error plays a part in
   85% of highway crashes. Truck safety advocacy group, Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways (CRASH), called for initiatives to reform federal hours of service rules to reduce driver fatigue; establish a national cap on truck weight and length. (Highway & Vehicle/Safety Report, Volume 21/No. 14, March 20, 1995, at page 7.)
7. 1993-3,311 trucks were involved in 3,169 fatal accidents. There were 3,783 persons who died. This included 432 occupants of the trucks. (Highway and Vehicle Safety Report, Volume 21, No. 11, February 6, 1995 at page 2.)
8. 1994-Over 5,000 people killed collisions involving trucks and
   100,000 injured. 13 percent of the total death toll for the U. S. in traffic fatalities. 71 percent of the truck/car collisions were the fault of the driver of the passenger vehicle. (Highway and Vehicle Safety Report, Volume 212, No. 21, June 24, 1996.) The issue of fault may be questioned: if there is a death in an auto/truck collision usually the truck driver survives with lesser injuries or no injuries and is available to give his or her side of the story while the passenger of the vehicle is either dead or badly injured.
9. 1995- 4,903 people killed in accidents involving heavy trucks and 116,000 injured. Insurance Institute statistics show that large trucks make up about 3 percent of all registered vehicles, but were responsible for 21 percent of fatality crashes involving two or more vehicles. Jill Claybrook, chairwoman of CRASH noted that this was the equivalent of 30 fully loaded 737 jefliners crashing. She notes, “If this were the airline industry, it would be grounded.” (Highway and Vehicle Safety Report, Volume 23, No. 22, August 4, 1997).
10. In a study sponsored by CRASH-Drivers who are over 65 years old are three times more likely to die in a heavy truck crash than drivers aged 16-64. The study cited the difference in the speed between trucks and older drivers, who tend to drive slower. The elderly are more likely to be struck from behind by a truck for this reason. Drivers over 65 are six times more likely to he killed by being struck from behind by a truck driver than younger drivers. (Highway and Vehicle Safety Report, Volume 23, No. 1, September 16,1996 citing CRASH study authored by R.D. Mingo).
11. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has asked five major trucking companies to recall 320,000 trucks with faulty turn signals. Indiana-based Grote Industries, Inc. made the switch. Involves trucks built since 1991 by Freightliner Corp, Navistar International Transportation Corp., Mack Truck, Inc., and Volvo-GM Heavy Truck.

Jensen, Belew & Gonzalez handle major car wreck litigation as well as trucking cases.

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