Houston Truck Accident Lawyer Blog

Drunk driving runs the gamut of motorcyclists, motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists. Examples of injuries and fatalities when drinking and motoring in any way are mixed. But the most likely to be deadly is the trucker who consumes alcohol before climbing behind the wheel of his or her rig to hit the open road.

One may wonder at the frequency of just such an event. Let us consider the statistics.
According to studies done by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety semi truck drivers are the least likely among all types of drivers to drink and drive.

In a recent year they found that only 4% of all 18-wheeler truck driver deaths had a blood alcohol content level that registered high enough to be considered legally intoxicated.

In statistics compiled by police forces around the country - random stops of drivers over the course of a year revealed that only 0.2% of semi truck drivers tested positive for alcohol (not necessarily to the point of intoxication) while 5% tested positive for illicit drugs including (but not limited to) marijuana and cocaine.

Undoubtedly, strict federal regulations regarding alcohol consumption and semi truck driving play a role in minimizing the problem. For instance, federal law calls for drug testing of drivers before an offer of employment.

It is mandatory to get a blood alcohol content level of any semi truck driver who is involved in a crash as well as random testing in general. Drivers found with ANY alcohol content in their blood systems are taken out of service immediately. A BAC of 0.4 or higher causes the driver to be disqualified from applying for a CDL.

Occasionally it's heartening to see our federal tax dollars at work.

Continue reading "Drinking Truck Drivers- a Small but Deadly Number" »

Semi trucks serve a valuable service to the overall economy of this country but their tendency towards certain types of accidents cannot be overlooked. The most common of these is jackknifing which can be traced to thousands of fatalities each year.

A semi truck will often jackknife if they are forced to hit their brakes suddenly causing the vehicle to go into a skid or slide. As the driver loses control, the trailer of the truck has a tendency to slide around at a 90 degree angle to the cab.

A second type of jackknifing may occur when a semi truck is pulling two trailers and one jackknifes as the big rig attempts to stop. Most often this happens in inclement weather but it can also be the result of distracted or intoxicated driving.

This type of incident is regularly the cause of multiple car pile-ups. Consider the following headlines.

A semi truck driver lost control of his rig as it jackknifed in foggy conditions sending it careening across the highway. The truck hit a concrete culvert and trees and then burst into flames. The driver was killed. A second trailer detached and was found standing intact near the site of the crash.

In another incident a semi truck driver lost control of the vehicle and when the trailer jackknifed it caused the cab of the vehicle to hit a concrete abutment. The accident caused the gas tanks to erupt and the entire vehicle was quickly engulfed in flames. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene.

If you share the road with semi trucks always drive with caution and give yourself lots of stopping space between your vehicle and theirs. It only takes a moment for a semi to lose control.

Continue reading "Jackknife Truck Accidents Kill Thousands Each Year" »

Until there are no more deaths that can be attributed to drunk driving then it is a topic that will be revisited with regularity in this blog. The ugly truth is that more than half of the 45-50,000 highway fatalities each year are caused by drunk drivers.

That translates to 25,000 people in the United States alone that would be alive if it weren't for the negligence - more aptly named stupidity - of those who daily dare to gamble the lives of others with their foolhardiness.

I take to my soapbox on this topic again because it appears the pain and hurt of drunk driving resonates and ripples like a stone to a pond - and knows no bounds.

Today's headlines state that a young girl of 14 who survived a drunk driving accident only a few weeks past - that meanwhile claimed the lives of her sister and two friends - took her own life out of despair.

This poor child is as much a victim of drunk driving as those whose lives were lost several weeks ago. Remember yourself at fourteen and the flood of emotions that accompanied even the slightest of experiences was often magnified beyond proportion. Now try to imagine coping and coming.

I have seen this same situation in the past when a daughter lost her mother in a truck accident. The strain was to much too much to bear and everyone wishes that we would have seen it coming.

When a loved one is lost, it is an extremely difficult situation to deal with, particularly when it happens suddenly in an accident. If you have lost a loved one please seek professional help, and the support of family and friends.

Houston has some of the deadliest roadways in the country. Unfortunately, many are alcohol-related and, therefore, easily preventable.

For instance, just this past week a man in his late twenties was driving at a high rate of speed on the Gulf Freeway when he clipped a Toyota truck causing that driver to lose control and wreck. To be exact, according to reports, the vehicle rolled several times before coming to land on the shoulder of the highway. The Toyota's passenger was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the truck. He died en route to the hospital. The driver expired on the scene.

The drunk driver is being held on a $60,000 bond and faces two counts of vehicular manslaughter. In legal terms the young man is being charged with the killing of another human - less culpable than actual murder. Unintended or not - legally known as malice aforethought - there is no cure for death and the driver is accountable both criminally and civilly.

The lives of all family members will be changed forever. Loved ones who died will be mourned and missed. The driver will most probably face jail time and financial damage from the criminal process from which he (and a spouse, children or other family members) may never recover - all of this in the name of drowning one's sorrows in a glass of alcohol and then opting to drive while under the influence.

The families of drunk driver victims often suffer a double whammy, they lose a loved one and the drunk driver have very little insurance, and it is also devastating to the family financially.

The another thing about drunk driving is that often the drunk driver doesn't die in an accident but takes the innocent lives of others. This has nothing to do with providence and more to do with the human body's ability to go limp in an accident when intoxicated thereby minimizing injuries.

Don't drink and drive.

Continue reading "Houston Alcohol Related Accidents" »

Motor vehicle collisions are classified as head-on collisions, rollovers, rear-end collisions, side-impact collisions, and run-off the road collisions. In addition, they are further defined as single or multi-car collisions. Automobiles, SUVS, light and heavy trucks can hit each other, animal, buildings, debris or pedestrians.

Head-on collisions are considered the most dangerous with the greatest likelihood of fatalities. They happen most commonly on narrow, two lane roads or in the case of opposing traffic patterns with a lack of necessary median strips or other crash-prevention barriers.

Intersections also hold great potential for accidents - head-on or side impact being the most common.

Accidents between wild animals and vehicles are the most difficult - if not impossible - to prevent. They happen often in the hill country of Texas due to the large population of white tail deer and human intervention very utterly futile to prevent such accidents.

While deer and vehicle collisions are the most common, drivers have been known to hit everything from cows to geese. At the risk of sounding inhumane, it is often best to hit the brakes and then hit the animal instead of swerving to avoid it and taking a chance of losing control of the vehicle.

The phenomenon of vehicle-structure accidents is most often the result of a driver losing control of their vehicle for any number of reasons. These types of accidents hold the added dimension of property damage costs beyond vehicle repairs and can be very expensive to correct.

Vehicle-pedestrian accidents tend to be more harmful to the 'walker' than the vehicle. Thouands of pedestrians die each year at the hand of motorists and tens of thousands suffer debilitating injuries.

While the pedestrian holds some level of responsibility for their own safety the driver must always be alert for those who are traveling on foot.

Finally, debris in a roadway also leads to accidents. Everything from tire treads to mattresses has been dropped in the middle of the road. Drivers should always be alert for obstructions.

Continue reading "Car Accidents Can Be Varied" »

Just like drinking and driving, driving under the influence of drugs puts you at risk.

In the press we read about celebrities who get arrested for driving impaired, Nichole Ritchie, George Michaels just to name a few, and many more for allegations of drinking and driving.

Recently Lindsay Lohan's ongoing legal problems seem to be getting a lot of press coverage.

As we all know the problem with drinking and driving, impaired motor skills and judgment are also the problem with drugged driving. However, the impairment from drug use differs depending on the drug being used or abused.

While studies show the adverse effects of marijuana on driving increase with the level of THC (the active agent in marijuana) it is clear that attentiveness and perception of time and speed is most affected.

Prescription abuse also has been in the press recently with doctors operating pain clinics being charged for distributing narcotic like pain medication in large quantities. Each of those users may very well drive a car on Houston highways and put you or your family at risk.

Dangerous driving under drug influence can also occur by accident, in that a person on legitimate prescription medication gets in their car and drives because they did not read the warning on the prescription label or they didn't heed such warning.

If you are taking medication which indicates do not operate machinery- do not drive. If you are a passenger be very careful who you ride with- there are very few second chances when it comes to serious car accidents.

Continue reading "Driving While Drugged- Part 2" »

Today in Houston, a man died after the pickup in which he was riding struck an 18-wheeler parked on the shoulder of the road police reported. The truck accident occurred on the 3100 block of West Loop North early this morning.

Reports indicate that a passenger in the pickup truck died at the scene. The pickup driver was taken to Memorial Hermann Southwest hospital for injuries.

The police are still investigating the cause of the accident fatal 18-wheeler accident.

18-wheelers have very specific rules regarding parking on the side of the road. The rules are covered in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and provide express guidance to truck drivers parking their trucks.

Many times, truck accidents are a combination of factors all working together to cause the accident. In this case, hypothetically, the pickup driver may be partly responsible for not staying in a lane of traffic. Likewise, if an 18-wheeler driver did not follow applicable truck safety rules the truck driver and the trucking company may be partly responsible for the wrongful death of the pickup truck passenger.

While the specific factors of this accident are unknown at this time, in any serious truck accident it pays to get facts from the scene as early as humanly possible.

Continue reading "Accident With parked 18-Wheeler Kills Houston Man " »

A Houston police officer that was responding to a call was injured when she crashed through an apartment complex fence last night. The car accident occurred about midnight Thursday evening.

According to reports, the officer sustained injuries and was taken to the hospital for care.

The cause of the auto accident is under investigation and no report has been issued at this time. One could assume that the veteran officer was trying to get to what has been reported as an assault in progress as quickly as possible to save Houston lives.

Fortunately, no one else was reported hurt from the officers car accident and her injuries do not look to be serious.

The Houston 100 club is an organization that supports families of officers who lose their lives in the line of duty and is a worthwhile organization to support. You can contact the Houston 100 club at 713-952-0100.

Continue reading "Houston Police Officer Crashes into Apartment Complex " »

Recent headlines on television, newspapers and radio have focused on the number of collisions that occur between moving vehicles and police cruisers that are pulled off to the sides of highways.

In fact, Houston just finished a week long campaign aimed at educating the general population about the recently enacted 'move over or slow down' law which calls for drivers to do just that in the presence of police vehicles pulled off to the side of the road.

The interesting thing is this isn't a new law at all - but one that was passed in 2003! It states that "when a driver sees a police car pulled over to the side of the road with its siren lights on you are legally obligated to either move over one lane or slow down 20 miles per hour below the speed limit".

It would seem that either drivers are unaware of this law or simply wantonly disregarding it because last year alone no less than 26 crashes occurred between highway drivers and police cars and four officers and four drivers in all sustained injuries that sent them to the hospital.

Statistics show that the year before that there were 19 crashes and 3 injuries. At least one third of these collisions involved drunk drivers (truly the bane of our existence!)!

Of course, as with any driving infraction - a disregard for the law comes with legal consequences. Fines range anywhere from $200 to $500 dollars.

One more thing for a Texas driver to be aware of to drive safe and within the law. It is important for us to follow this law to protect those who work so hard to protect us.

I also would like to take this opportunity to plug the Houston 100 Club which is a great organization and provides benefits to families of area officers who are killed in the line of duty.

I am a life member of the Houston 100 club and urge all of you to donate what you can to this worthy organization. Contact the 100 Club at (713) 952-0100 or see them on line at http://www.the100club.org.

Continue reading "Move Over and Slow Down Law" »

Often throughout the course of this truck accident lawyer blog we have discussed and reviewed driving safety tips. Today we would like to discuss an very important driving safety principle- maintaining a decent stopping distance between your vehicle and those around you - particularly the vehicle in front.

Perhaps the average driver is unaware of the highly refined equations related to stopping distances for trucks and automobiles. Let's consider some statistics and research on the topic.

According to one reliable authority if a street surface is dry, the average driver should be able to safely decelerate an automobile or light truck with reasonably good tires at the rate of about 15 feet per second (fps). That is, a driver can slow down at this rate without being worried that control of the vehicle will be lost in the process

In addition, "The measure of velocity is distance divided by time (fps), stated as feet per second". For the statistical novice consider the following explanation:

"Velocity is reduced 15 fps every second. If the initial velocity is 60 mph, 88 fps, after 1 second elapsed, the vehicle velocity would be 73 fps, after 2 seconds it would be 58 fps decreasing progressively thereafter.

Given the previous set of conditions, it would mean that a driver could stop a car or pickup truck in a total of 6.87 seconds (including a 1 second delay for driver reaction) and your total stopping distance would be 302.28 feet, slightly more than a football field in length".

A football field is often too lengthy of a span to slow down to prevent an accident. The cautious driver will leave plenty of room between their vehicle and the one in front. It just makes sense.

You should also be aware that stopping distances for 18 wheelers is much greater than cars or pickup trucks. The predicted distances for truck stopping depends on the condition of the brakes, weight of the load, and type of rig. But in every case it takes a big rig much longer to stop.

If you find yourself followed to closely by an 18 wheeler, change lanes if you can or let the truck pass you.

Continue reading "Safe Stopping Distance" »

An 18 wheeler flipped over on the Katy Freeway causing Houston commuters much frustration Friday morning.

The truck accident happened on the ramp to the Katy Freeway from the West Loop northbound. The accident shut down the roadway for several hours during peak traffic times.

Alternative routes were selected by many to avoid the snarled traffic. Unfortunately, in Houston such truck accidents occur almost every day. In this case it appears that the only one hurt was the truck driver and reports indicated that his injuries were minor.

Reports indicate that the DPS was inspecting the roadway to make sure that the road and the guard rails did not sustain damage.

Apparently, the 18 wheeler driver was ticketed for failure to maintain a center lane.

When truck drivers flip or rollover the clearing of the roadway takes much longer than in a car accident. Mainly it takes longer to clear the accident site due to the size and weight of the tractor-trailers. Sometimes, a load can get distributed over the roadway that requires extra caution and labor to ensure the roadway is safe for motoring traffic.

Continue reading "Truck Flips and Closes Katy Freeway" »

A semi truck crossed the median on Interstate 59 and ran head-on into a pickup truck killing all four occupants. The semi-truck driver sustained moderate injuries and was taken to the hospital.

Reports indicate that the 18 wheeler apparently lost a left front tire which resulted in the driver losing control and the tractor-trailer crossing the median and striking the pickup truck.

Both the tractor-trailer and the pickup truck came to rest in the bar ditch.
This tragic accident is an example of the severe consequences that can occur when a truck is out of control. A 20,000 pound vehicle can demolish everything in its path and there is not much anyone can do to prevent serious consequences with the extreme forces involved in a truck accident.

In truck accident fatality cases a trooper and reconstruction team usually analyze the wreck site, the vehicles and the circumstances of the truck accident to determine the cause of the truck wreck.

In this case, officers were inspecting the truck to determine whether the tractor-trailer had equipment complying with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations provide specific rules and regulations for the condition of an 18 wheeler. In addition, the regulations provide stringent inspection rules on both the truck driver and the motor carrier.

Unfortunately, whether or not this specific 18-wheeler complied with the safety regulations there are four people who died due to the loss of control of the truck.

To the family of the four victims my heartfelt condolences.

Continue reading "4 dead in Interstate 59 truck wreck" »

Help avoid a truck or car accident in wet weather by driving at reduced speeds and heeding safety guidelines.

If you hit a patch of water on the highway and it feels as though you are not in control you probably are hydroplaning.

Hydroplaning happens when the volume of water is not allowing your tires sufficient contact with the roadway. When that happens, you may be skidding or drifting out of your lane.

Texas Department of Insurance recommends you do the following to avoid a hydroplaning accident:
• Do not brake or turn suddenly
• Ease of the gas until the car slows enough for you to feel contact with the road
• Turn you wheeler in the direction of the skid, and as you recover gently straighten out the wheel.
• If you need to brake do it gently with light pumping action.

The deeper the water the sooner you can lose control over your car, as speed increases your chances of hydroplaning increase.

If you pass through very deep-water test your brakes. They may be saturated, and only driving very slowly and braking lightly at the same time will generate enough heat to dry them out. Be sure they are pulling evenly on all wheels before building up speed again.

Continue reading "Hydroplaning accidents" »

With truck drivers it is critical that they are in control of their vehicles at all times. Sometimes truck accidents are caused by inattention of the truck driver or other causes beyond the truck driver's control.

There are times however when the truck driver himself is impaired. Driving a 20,000-pound vehicle requires certain height and responsibilities upon the truck driver end the trucking company.

Sometimes a truck driver will drink when off-duty and then go on duty while still under the influence of alcohol or with little sleep. In that case, like any other person the truck driver may very well have difficulty safely operating his rig.

The Federal motor carrier safety regulations have very specific rules with regard to truck drivers, alcohol and drugs. Having the regulations is not enough. Enforcement and drug test by trucking companies and state officials is critical to protect the public.

It does not matter to the family who has lost a loved one that the truck driver gets a lengthy jail sentence. The key to truck safety is prevention.

Trucking companies can implement policies, which reduce the number of drinking drivers operating semi-trucks.

Like most drunk driving accidents, a drivers reaction time, judgment and physical impairment all create a situation that is a prescription for disaster.

Continue reading "Drinking truck drivers" »

According to police and a bowler of a semi truck was killed when he was attempting to wreck his rig in order to collect insurance money.

The semi truck was being driven on the highway near the North Loop about 2 AM. Please indicate that 26-year-old man jumped out of the semi truck just before it crashed.

According to reports, a witness indicated that the driver jumped out of the cab and sustained a head injury, which proved fatal.

Authorities indicate that the purpose of the truck crash was to intentionally wreck a vehicle for insurance proceeds.

This tragedy should have never happened. One lesson to be learned from this truck accident is that even big rigs can be dangerous in accidents. Certainly accidents are nothing to take for granted and each life is precious.