Georgia Truck Accident Lawyers Blog

Speed-limiting devices could be mandated for commercial trucks, limiting them to 68 mph and reducing the risk of Georgia trucking accidents and accidents involving tractor-trailers elsewhere on the nation's highways.

Our Atlanta personal injury lawyers applaud this long-overdue move by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. As we reported recently on our Georgia Truck Accident Lawyers Blog, the government has also proposed adding data recorders to commercial trucks in order to monitor compliance with hours-of-service rules. HOS regulations are meant to reduce the risk of fatigued truckers causing accidents because of too many hours spent behind the wheel.

But, as safety organizations like Road Safe America point out, without speed limiters, truckers forced to limit their time spent behind the wheel will simply speed to make up the difference. Of course, truckers have always been subjected to HOS regulations, but hand-written log books have largely made a joke of the safety effort.

“Rules that slow down the top speed of big rigs will certainly save lives. But, the pay-by-the-mile formula of most in the industry is an incentive to drive fast and long," said Tom Hodgson, RSA’s Executive Director. "RSA thinks that the truckers deserve a professional’s wage for the hard and crucial job they do. We want them to get paid for all of their working hours, whether their truck is moving or not, so that safety is the primary concern for all."

Countries in Europe, as well as Japan, Australia and several Canadian Provinces, have speed governors on trucks set at top speeds ranging from 55 mph to 65 mph. They also have far fewer fatalities caused by large trucks.

Their rate of truck crash related fatalities is lower than ours and we need to catch up,” said RSA Founder Steve Owings. "Road Safe America believes the recent move by the DOT will gain traction as more citizens become aware of the lifesaving potential in its becoming law."

Continue reading " Limiting speeds will decrease risk of Georgia Trucking Accidents " »

The media is abuzz after a 22-year-old woman survived a jump into Lake Lanier to avoid a Georgia semi accident.

It is one of the more courageous acts our Georgia trucking accident attorneys have encountered, and may well have saved the young woman's life. As we frequently report, the extreme weight of a tractor-trailer -- which can weight 20 times more than a 4,000-pound passenger car -- frequently results in fatal injuries to occupants of involved passenger cars.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports more than 380,000 accidents involving large trucks claimed 4,229 lives in 2008. Of those, only 677 were truck occupants. The majority were victims in the other vehicle or non-occupants, including bicyclists and pedestrians.

In this case, the woman said she got out of her car following a fender-bender on Dawsonville Highway Bridge. She then saw the semi speeding toward her and knew the truck was going to hit her car and force it into her.

Instead, she jumped from the bridge. She said she felt she was in big trouble because she had so far to swim to get to shore. While she suffered some leg injuries and hypothermia, she may have avoid fatal injuries; the truck did indeed slam into her car on the bridge.

No charges have been filed and the case remains under investigation.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the woman jumped about 40 feet. She had driven onto the icy bridge about 6:30 a.m. and was taking it easy when a car sideswiped her and knocked her into a concrete pillar.

The water was 40 degrees. Access North Georgia said the woman reported hearing the truck hit her car as she swam to shore. The Journal-Constitution said the truck avoided colliding with any vehicles on the bridge.

Continue reading " Woman plummets from bridge to avoid Georgia semi accident " »

A Georgia tractor-trailer accident has claimed the life of a teenager who was reportedly driving the wrong-way down the eastbound lanes of I-285 in DeKalb County, Channel 2 News reported.

Our Atlanta injury lawyers frequently write about the consequences of accidents with large trucks in Georgia. Even when the accident is the fault of the other motorist, the weight, speed and force of a large truck can make for deadly consequences.

Witnesses say the truck exploded as if hit by a stick of dynamite and a firefighter pulled at least one victim from a burning car. The truck burned on its side, backing up traffic for miles near Ashford-Dunwoody and Chamblee Dunwoody roads and closing the Interstate for more than 12 hours.

The Georgia Department of Transportation reported the truck was carrying margarine. The 19-year-old driver of the car was killed on impact. The 57-year-old truck driver was not hurt, CBS Atlanta reported.

Teenagers are at particularly high risk of being involved in a serious or fatal car accident. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for all teens. In 2008, 233 motorists died in Georgia car accidents involving teenagers.

Continue reading " Wrong-way driver allegedly causes Georgia Trucking Accident " »

Our Georgia trucking accident attorneys applaud the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's move to require on-board recorders to monitor hours-of-service compliance for over-the-road truckers.

As we reported on our Georgia Truck Accident Lawyers Blog, the government continues to fine tune the regulations governing how many hours a day and days a week a trucker can remain behind the wheel. Fatigued truckers are a leading cause of trucking accidents in Atlanta and elsewhere.

However, compliance checks have long been a joke as truckers are paid by the mile and compliance relies upon toll receipts, hand-written log books and other evidence.

"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."

Those in violation would face fines of up to $11,000 for each offense. The proposal would cover approximately 500,000 carriers nationwide. Previously, only those who had been caught violating hours-of-service rules had been required to use the electronic on-board recorders (EOBRs).

"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."

Continue reading " Data Recorders to Measure Hours of Service - Fewer Georgia Trucking Accidents Possible " »