Georgia Truck Accident Lawyers Blog

A Georgia trucker is in trouble after plowing his big rig into a train; the clash of titans occurred at the Cherokee Street crossing in Kennesaw, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

The risk for Georgia semi accidents is on the rise as 2012 gets underway; truckers are hitting the road looking to make up for lost time after the break. Motorists don't stand a chance in an accident with a tractor-trailer and are unlikely to fare any better in a railroad crossing accident. Train engineers and truck drivers share a larger responsibility in keeping motorists safe on the road. When they fail to live up to their end of that bargain, the results are typically catastrophic and often deadly for victims in passenger cars.

Our Atlanta trucking accident attorneys understand those risks: Nearly 4,000 motorists were killed and nearly 75,000 were injured in accidents with large commercial trucks in 2009. In three-quarters of those cases, the victim was the occupant of a passenger vehicle or a non-occupant, such as a bicyclist or pedestrian, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In this case, the truck got stuck at the crossing and was hit by a freight train, according to a report from the Kennesaw Police Department. The Atlanta Foods International truck was crossing the CSX Transportation tracks at the time of the accident. The 44-year-old truck driver was cited for failure to heed a crossing signal that warned of the approaching train. The train slammed into the trailer but managed to remain on the tracks.

The train missed the tractor and neither the driver or the train crew reported serious injuries, according to the AJC report. The road was closed for more than three hours and the Cherokee crossing was to remain closed pending repairs.

Georgia is one of 10 states under federal mandate to improve safety at railroad crossings. The state ranked fifth most dangerous in a report released in 2010 by the Federal Railroad Administration. Georgia is under a directive to focus on crossing deemed most dangerous and to come up with an action plan to improve safety.

Nationwide, about 7,000 railroad crossing accidents occur each year, claiming nearly 900 lives. Nationwide, railroad infrastructure is aging and woefully inadequate when it comes to the task of keeping motorists safe. Far too many crossing lack arms, lights and signals and far too many intersections have equipment that is not functioning or not properly maintained.

According to the Georgia Department of Transportation, the state currently evaluates crossings based on the following criteria:

-Number of passenger trains using the crossing.

-Number of freight trains using the crossing.

-Distance to alternate crossing.

-Crossing's accident history.

-Type of warning devices present at crossing, if any.

-Alignment of roadway and crossing.

-Traffic volume of crossing.

-Crossing speed limit.

-Affects of closure, including presence of medical facilities in the area.