Truck Accident Attorney Blog

Unfortunately, accidents involving passenger cars and tractor-trailers are an everyday occurrence in Florida. According to news4jax.com, early yesterday morning, Charles Davis, Jr., a 25-year-old resident of St. Augustine was involved in an accident with a tractor-trailer driven by 39-year-old resident of Cassellberry, Britt Wortman. Apparently, Mr. Wortman was making a U-turn at the intersection of Factory Outlet Drive and State Road 16 and turned into the path of Mr. Davis' car. Mr. Davis was taken to Orange Park Medical Center in critical condition.

Very Familiar Accident Circumstances

The preceding circumstances are very familiar to our firm: we recently represented a young woman that crashed her Honda Civic into the side of a tractor-trailer that made an improper U-turn in front of her on Okeechobee Road. The victim's car was left unrecognizable and she had to be cut out of the vehicle by rescue personnel. The young lady suffered multiple catastrophic injuries, including a traumatic brain injury. For more details on this and other commercial truck accident cases handled by our firm over the years, please visit the Notable Cases section of our website.

Commercial Trucks Keep Getting Larger

When it comes to businesses, there is no greater motivator than profit, which in this case increases as trucking companies are able to move more merchandise per truck. Consequently, commercial trucks keep getting bigger (and heavier) with each passing year. Just to give our readers an idea of the rate of growth of tractor-trailer trucks in the last 50 years, please note that while the combined length of an eighteen-wheeler in the 1960's was about 40 feet, today it can be 57 to 59 feet long.

However, while building larger commercial trucks allows trucking companies to carry more merchandise, it also has other consequences: longer breaking distances because of the trucks' extra weight and greater difficulty driving them because of their ever-increasing length. This greater difficulty to drive these larger vehicles may have been a contributing cause to the accidents mentioned above.

Continue reading "Accidents With Tractor-Trailers: An Everyday Occurrence in Florida" »

Texting while driving is illegal in thirty-five states and the District of Columbia. Some consider that texting while driving can be as dangerous as driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. For example, according to herald-mail.com, the Motor Vehicle Administration of the State of Maryland considers that texting while driving slows down a driver's reaction time as much as if said driver had a blood alcohol level of .16 percent. That is twice the drinking limit in Florida, yet the Sunshine State does not have a ban on texting while driving. I guess that the Florida legislature does not consider those killed by a driver distracted while texting as dead as those killed by a drunk driver...

Often Considered, As Often Rejected

This is not the first time the Florida Legislature considers enacting a ban on texting while driving: one was killed at the committee level last year. The Republican dominated legislature considers anti-texting laws an intrusion into people's lives and points out that it is silly to try to regulate every thing we might do wrong. Moreover, as Jim Harper, Director for Information Policy Studies of the Libertarian Institute points out in support of the Republican position, "we already have laws that make it illegal to drive unsafely", which is what texting while driving is considered.

According to abcnews.go.com, a 2010 study by the Highway Loss Data Institute has found that accidents have not decreased in those states where laws against texting while driving have been enacted. In reality they have increased slightly.

In fact, some researchers claim that the bans are making the situation worst by causing some drivers (who know it is illegal to text and drive) to place their cell phones down and out of sight when they text, which makes them take their eyes further away from the road.

Tractor-Trailer Drivers More Likely to Cause Accidents While Texting

A study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that commercial truck drivers are 23 times more likely to cause an accident when texting while driving. According to this study, which was commissioned by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, drivers who text take their eyes off the road for about 4.6 seconds, which means that if the distracted driver is going at 55 MPH, the vehicle will have travelled the length of a football field (including both end zones) without the driver looking at the road.

Although the study found that a trucker's behavior while texting and driving does not differ much from that of other drivers, the inherent dangers of driving large commercial trucks make it more likely for this group to cause accidents. It is well known that due to its weight and size, it takes a considerably larger distance to stop an eighteen-wheeler than it does to stop an average family car. Not to mention that the ever growing size of these commercial trucks is likely to make any such accidents deadlier than those caused by average passenger cars.

The effect of a tractor-trailer driver getting distracted sending text messages while driving is like throwing gasoline on a raging fire. Throughout our careers we have seen how poorly some trucking companies train their drivers, how many of these drivers (driven by the trucking companies' greed as well as their own) work for longer hours than they should, how much larger tractor-trailers are now than 50 years ago and how often these trucks (also in the name of profit) are overloaded or loaded incorrectly. Now, modern life throws in texting while driving and the results could not be deadlier.

Continue reading "Ban On Texting While Driving Under Review By Florida Legislature" »

The older brother of New York Knicks' star Amare Stoudemire died early Monday in an accident involving a tractor trailer. According to nytimes.com, Hazell Stoudemire, a resident of Lakeland, Florida, was killed when his 2007 Cadillac Escalade rear-ended a tractor trailer on Highway 27 in Lake Wales. The same article reports that Mr. Stoudemire was not wearing a seat-belt at the time of the accident.

Investigation Continues

The investigation of this case continues and it should be noted that although initial reports have Mr. Stoudemire rear-ending the tractor trailer, all facts are not known yet and it is therefore too early to place blame on anyone involved this accident.

Tractor Trailers Accidents Keep Happening With Alarming Frequency

On a separate note, one more victim has been added to those that perished in the recent pileup on I-75, according to clickorlando.com. The eleventh victim was a man traveling with his wife and daughter in a Dodge pickup truck that crashed into a tractor trailer as it travelled South early Sunday.

The investigation also continues in this recent multiple crash, according to ocala.com. Six tractor trailers were involved in that crash which, in addition, caused injuries to 18 people.

All survivors talk about suddenly "hitting a wall of smoke" and that from there on visibility was close to zero. As a matter of fact, ACFR District Chief Jeff Harpe stated to the press that upon approaching the scene and "hitting the wall of smoke" he couldn't see the hood of his own truck. I imaging that any driver reaching such conditions would instinctively slow down and stop. However, professional truck drivers are taught to lead their vehicles on to the shoulder of the highway and stop, which leaves me wondering why so many of these initial reports talk about a number of eighteen wheelers being rear-ended after stopping on the right lane...

It does not look like these professional truck drivers followed protocol and stopped their large commercial trucks out of "harms way" on the shoulder. Could it be that there was just not enough time for them to react and do what they were trained to do? Or, could it be that they were just too fatigued after many long hours at the wheel to react as fast as needed? I am sure the ongoing investigation will shed some light on this event and give us an idea of who, if anyone, failed to follow protocol. Yet, we cannot help but wonder why these trucks were stopped on the right lane and not on the shoulder of the highway as protocol dictates. After all, in our many years of practice we have seen how commercial truck drivers are forced by their employers to drive longer hours than they should and/or received very poor training by these same employers.

Continue reading "Brother Of NBA's Star Amare Stoudemire Dies In Crash With Tractor Trailer" »

While many are questioning the decision to reopen the stretch of I-75 where the car pileup happened in the early morning hours of last Sunday, authorities are still trying to identify some of the victims of the fiery crashes that occurred near Gainesville. The latest victim was identified as Christie Nguyen, a 27 year old college student. Ms. Nguyen was the 7th victim to be identified. Authorities are still trying to identify three bodies that were badly burnt in their vehicles, making the process hard to complete.

No Federal Guidelines To Shut Down Roads

Apparently, there are no federal guidelines for the closure of highways. Be it a sandstorm in Arizona, a whiteout in Maine or a wildfire in Florida, the decision to shut down a highway rests with local state troopers, according to cbsnews.com. Typically, those on the scene will relay to their local supervisors information based on their visual appreciation of the conditions and these supervisors will then make a decision to close the highway or not.

Closing a highway can be a costly decision, given the volume of merchandise that's moved through our road system in large commercial trucks everyday. Timely delivery of those goods affects the profitability of trucking companies and freight forwarders alike. Therefore, local troopers "making the call" are likely to be under a lot of pressure to reopen a road.

However, there is no evidence that such was the case when troopers decided to reopen the stretch of I-75 where the pileups occurred. This part of the highway had been shut down earlier due to a previous accident. However, after being closed for three hours, a sergeant and a lieutenant from the Florida Highway Patrol decided that conditions had cleared enough to reopen the road. Apparently, conditions quickly deteriorated soon thereafter, causing the fiery pileups that ended up costing the lives of ten people and injuries to 18.

Continue reading "Authorities Still Trying To Identify Victims From Gainesville Pileup" »

A fatal pileup late Saturday evening on I-75 just South of Gainesville started with a three vehicle crash involving a tractor-trailer, according to msnbc.com.

As a result of the pileup, 10 people died and 18 got injured. The combination of heavy smoke from a nearby brush fire, the fog and the darkness were to blame for the low visibility that caused the initial accident involving an eighteen-wheeler and two passenger vehicles. Because of this accident and the deteriorating visibility, the Florida Highway Patrol closed both I-75 and nearby US-441. Both roads were re-opened a few hours later despite the poor visibility, which caused a series of pileups that brought about the death, injuries and destruction mentioned before.

Both Sides of the Road

Poor visibility affected both sides of the interstate and accidents started happening on both the Northbound and the Southbound lanes of I-75. Steven R. Camps, a witness who was driving home to Gainesville said that once the pileup started it felt like there was nowhere to run and that it looked "like the end of the World". Visibility was so poor that rescuers arriving at the scene early Sunday had to listen for screams and moans to find victims in the mile long pileup.

Brush Fire May Have Be Arson

Police now suspect that the brush fire, which combined with fog and darkness helped blind the drivers of the vehicles involved in the deadly pileup, was arson. If so, this makes the arsonist liable for multiple counts of manslaughter. Police's suspicion of arson is based on the fact that there were no controlled burns in the area, as well as no lightning strikes. A few years ago our law firm handled a tractor-trailer accident case that occurred on I-95 in northern Florida. After an extensive investigation we were able to successfully recover money damages for our clients. Although fog is a natural occurring event, professional tractor-trailer drivers are trained on how to handle encounters with smoke and fog. In that case some, if not all of the eighteen-wheeler drivers involved failed to follow their training and good judgment.

Continue reading "Deadly Tractor Trailer Crash in I-75" »

Commercial trucks continue to grow in size to the point that while the combined length of a tractor-trailer in the 1960's was about 40 feet, today their combined length can be 57 to 59 feet long. This, of course, not only means more weight capacity, but deadlier accidents....

Large Truck More Likely To Crash

Statistics show that while large trucks account for just 4 percent of all registered vehicles and make up for just 7 percent of all vehicle miles traveled, they are involved in 11 percent of all crash fatalities. Logically, the longer and heavier commercial trucks become, the deadlier these trucks are. The odds of those traveling in the average family car of surviving an accident with one of these large trucks decreases as the weight of the truck increases.

According to the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, a commercial truck weighing 80,000 pounds is more than twice as likely to get involved in a fatal crash as one weighing 50,000 pounds. This is because of the increased braking space needed as weight increases. For example, a commercial truck weighing 100,000 pounds with unadjusted brakes travels 25% further after the driver steps on the brakes than an 80,000 pound truck.

Large truck crashes cost our economy $19 billion every year. And, a final chilling accident statistic: the annual death toll from truck related crashes equals 26 major airplane crashes every year....

Larger Trucks Do Not Equal Less Trucks On Road

Studies continue to show a steady increase in the number of commercial trucks in our roads, despite their larger size over the years. This means that the fact that they are now bigger, has not translated into fewer trips or less miles travelled. As a matter of fact, according to the Advocates for Highway & Auto Safety, the number of trucks and miles traveled per truck continue to consistently grow every year despite the growth in size of the trucks themselves. As a matter of fact, the number of tractor trailer trips is expected to grow tremendously in the next 10 years putting more cars and their occupants in harm's way.

Continue reading "Bigger Trucks, Deadlier Accidents" »

According to the Sun Sentinel, a South Florida teenager lost her life and her friend was taken to the hospital in critical condition when their SUV was rear-ended by an eighteen wheeler early last Wednesday, August 10, 2011.

SUV Was Disabled

Carol Sun was pronounced dead on the scene of the accident and her friend Patricia Bao-Tran Le had to be taken to a local hospital in critical condition. They were both 17 years old. Apparently something caused Patricia, who was driving the Toyota 4Runner, to hit the median wall and end up disabled on the right lane. Moments later they were hit by a tractor trailer and split in half.

Although not so long ago I was a parent that went through the worries and sleepless nights that come along with his kids' early teenage driving, I can't even start to imagine the pain that Carol's parents are going through....My thoughts and prayers go out to them.

Continue reading "South Florida Teen Dies In Crash With Tractor Trailer" »

Road repair crews had to work overnight on July 15 to restore a portion of Interstate 75 damaged by the fiery crash of two eighteen wheelers, according to the HeraldTribune.com.

Cited For Careless Driving

Thankfully, no one was injured. However, the Florida Highway Patrol cited Ruban C. Evans of Ocala for careless driving. State troopers claim that had Mr. Evans slowed down to traffic, he would not have rear-ended another large truck driven by Terry Burke from Gibsonton.

After striking Burke's tractor trailer, Evan's truck hit the concrete shoulder and caught fire. The Highway Patrol estimated the truck's damages at $90,000.00.

Tractor Trailer Rollover On I-95

According to FloridaToday.com, on July 13 an SUV and an eighteen wheeler collided near the Port St. John Parkway when the driver of the tractor trailer tried to pass the SUV. Nathaniel Williams, of Jacksonville, was given a ticket for failure to use due care when he tried to overtake an SUV driven by Rolland Merritt and hit the trailer being towed by the SUV. The impact caused both vehicles to roll off to the West shoulder, rollover and end up on their sides. Mr. Williams was injured and taken to the hospital.

Continue reading "Tractor Trailer Accidents Continue To Plague Florida's Roads" »

Accidents involving large commercial trucks keep occurring with alarming frequency in Florida. Just a few days ago, two eighteen wheelers heading South on the Florida Turnpike collided when one merged from the right shoulder into the path of the other near PGA Boulevard, according to the Palm Beach Post.

Five vehicles involved

Lloyd Temple of Miami emerged into traffic with his truck and was rear-ended by a truck driven by John Fryer of Miramar. A fuel tank and other debris from Temple's truck went flying onto the roadway. The crash caused a 2004 Honda Civic driven by Shannon Black of Port St. Lucie to collide with the fuel tank. Another vehicle subsequently crashed into the debris, while another truck crashed into the median when the driver swerved trying to avoid the debris. As a result, Ms. Black was taken to Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center with minor injuries, while Fryer was taken to St. Mary's Medical Center. None of the other drivers were taken to a hospital.

Continue reading "Two Tractor Trailer Accidents In Less Than A Week" »