Houston Truck Accident Lawyer Blog

Many people have a good feel for how long it takes to stop their car or truck. It is a was a good idea to keep a safe distance from the car or truck in front of you in case they stop quickly. Everyone knows the faster you go the more safe distance you should maintain that you should maintain ahead of you.

A good rule of thumb is you should stay 2 seconds behind the vehicle had of you. Another general rule is that it takes a driver about a second and a half to react to an emergency situation and apply the brakes.

If you are going 20 miles an hour assuming decent brakes the takes approximately 63 feet to stop or 44 feet to react and 19 feet to stop. Going 40 mph it takes about 109 feet to skid to a stop including reaction time.

If you're going 60 is now up to 303 feet to stop including reaction time and this is assuming you have good brakes and tires and the road is dry and level pavement. In other words optimum conditions.

If you are in less than optimum conditions you should allow more stopping time and more safe distance between you and the vehicles ahead of you. If it is raining or if conditions are wet your vehicle is harder to control and it will take your car or pickup longer to stop. If the traffic is heavy you should also allow as much safe distances you can.

Hopefully these general stopping distances will be a refresher course and reminder to allow plenty of room between you and the vehicles ahead of you should waste a sudden stopping necessary. Drive safe-be safe.

Continue reading "Approximate Stopping Distances" »

Semi-truck accidents are some of the more gruesome types of collisions on the roadways - for obvious reasons. In any type of run-in between a 40 ton vehicle and a 5 or 6 ton car or light truck there can be no doubt that the injuries and damages will be catastrophic for the smaller motor vehicle and its driver and passengers.

While we have discussed some of the more germane statistics related to semi-truck accidents - they bear repeating on a regular basis - if only to serve as a reminder to all drivers on the road to drive defensively.

*One in eight - or 12% of - highway fatalities are the result of a collision with a semi-truck.

*The more populous states can experience rates of semi-truck accidents that are 3 or 4x higher than their less populated counterparts. For instance, the number of semi-truck deaths is clearly 3 times greater in Indiana and Michigan than New Mexico.

*Regulation is imperative. The bottom line in the trucking industry is the bottom line. Many companies and even independent drivers have been found to make choices that adversely affect other drivers on the road in order to improve their own profitability.

*Some of the more common driving errors on the part of semi-truck drivers include distracted driving, drowsy driving, speeding and driving in unsafe weather conditions.

If you see a semi-truck driver taking chances on public roadways - contact the local highway patrol or police agency. As cliché as it may sound - the life you save may be your own.

Continue reading "Fatal Accidents with Big Rigs" »

The National Transportation Safety Board is not a legislative body and cannot, therefore, enact laws related to any mode of transportation - air, marine, highway or otherwise. However, they are an investigative group who throw the full weight of the government into researching the cause of accidents and drawing conclusions from which they make transportation related recommendations.

The public can access their reports dating back several decades. For our purposes let us consider some of the recommendations made related to semi-truck driving and safety. As mentioned in a previous blog, reports indicate that after an accident that took the lives of 10 people when the truck driver lost control of his rig and crossed into the path of a van when he became distracted by his cell phone, the NTSB has called for a ban on cell phone usage of any kind by semi-truck drivers when they are actually in the act of driving itself.

Needless to say, many truckers are up in arms about this proposition. They claim they use the technology safely and to impose a blanket proclamation of this kind is nothing more than an impingement on their civil rights. However, commercial trucking is an industry - and subject to the regulatory and legislative oversight necessary to ensure (as best as can be done) the safety of the driving public in general.

I urge my readers to take the time to visit the ntsb.gov website and review some of the more recent accident investigations and resulting recommendations. You will find that the accident reconstructionists have been extremely thorough in their investigations - explaining in painful detail how the events of some of the more horrific semi-truck accidents unfolded - and how they can be prevented in the future. This is an exceptional example of our tax dollars at work.

Continue reading "NTSB Investigations of Truck Accidents" »

Semi-truck accidents perpetually plague America's roadways and endanger the lives of innocent drivers and passengers around them - in many cases because of careless driving. Unfortunately, the cause can often be traced to driver error - that of the semi-truck driver that is. What follows are several reported accounts of accidents that were alledgedly the result of careless rig driving.

*A semi-truck driver in a nearby state failed to gauge the flow of traffic ahead of him on the highway. He therefore did not realize that the traffic was slowing before it was too late. He rear-ended a semi-truck that had slowed in front of him and before the accident was over both semis burst into flames and both trucks and their contents were considered a total loss.

*A semi-truck driver who it was discovered to be an OTR or over-the-road hauler had a dvd player and small video unit installed in his dashboard as a means of staying entertained on the long trips across the country. Unfortunately the presence of a video playback center served as a distraction more than anything else.

When a particularly dramatic filled moment played out on screen the driver lost focus of his truck for more than a moment - and ended up running it off the road and into a field. In this case, no one was hurt - but the driver was ticketed for distracted driving

If nothing else, these stories should serve to remind small car and truck drivers what Texas semi truck accident attorneys already know that not all semi-truck drivers are giving their full attention to their 'job'. Your best bet is to drive defensively.

Continue reading "Recent Semi Truck Wrecks" »

Unfortunately, it is often only in the case of catastrophe that our government and other organizations can be persuaded to make common sense changes that improve the safety and well-being of the public at large.

Such is the case with banning cell phone use of any kind by semi-truck drivers who are behind the wheel of a rig and motoring down America's roadways. Last year, in a reported accident that can be characterized as nothing less than horrific, a 45 year old semi-truck driver lost control of his rig in the pre-dawn hours of a perfect morning, crossed the median and struck a van carrying 12 people - killing himself and nine passengers in the van.

Reports indicate that records show that he had dialed a number just as the vehicle went awry - and had made a combination of 69 phone calls and text messages in the 24 hours prior to the accident. All other causes than distracted driving have been ruled out.

So, now the NTSB is calling for a complete ban on the use of cell phone devices by semi-truck drivers who are driving. That is both hand-held and hands-free devices. No phones, period. No phone calls, period. Keep your eyes on the road and your focus on awesome responsibility of safely moving an 80 plus ton vehicle from point A to point B.

Although the NTSB does not enact legislation - their recommendations carry weight.

So do yours. Contact your state and federal legislators and tell them you do not want distracted semi-truck drivers on the road.

Continue reading "Why Cell Phone Use By Truckers is a Bad Idea" »

As I have mention previously - my main concern is semi-truck accidents of which there are thousands each year - and many of the truck accidents are caused by the rig driver due to one negligent act or another.

However, we private vehicle drivers can also be the cause of an accident with a semi-truck that can have equally disastrous results.

For instance, right here in Houston a driver of an automobile was said to have been speeding and darting in and out of traffic when his vehicle 'clipped' the back of a semi-truck. This caused the auto driver to lose control of his vehicle which then ultimately ran into an electric pole snapping it in half. The driver suffered serious injuries and was transported to a nearby hospital.

In another incident a driver passed a semi on the left but did not leave enough room before passing back in front of the truck. The semi driver had to brake unexpectedly causing him to lose control of his rig and run off the road. The story could have been worse. The semi-truck driver suffered only minor injuries but traffic had to be rerouted for several hours.

It's not only important that semi drivers use common sense and caution on our roads - we have to do the same in the name of safety. Most importantly, keep a sharp lookout when driving around an 18-wheeler because the sheer size and weight of the big rig can be devastating to occupants of smaller passenger cars and pick-up trucks

Continue reading "Use Caution Around 18-Wheelers" »