When any employee is working, they expect to take breaks and expect fair pay. But, when companies like Amazon and their third-party contractors push their drivers to their limit, garnishing their pay and requiring high delivery quotas, their employees will be stressed, exhausted, and distracted. In instances like this, delivery truck drivers will have a higher chance of accidents. The last thing you want is to be on the road around large trucks whose drivers aren’t at the top of their game. So, what happens when Amazon truck [...]
Being injured in a collision caused by a mail truck driver is not something most people worry about on a day-to-day basis. But, although rare, mail truck crashes can occur. So what happens if a mail truck gets into an accident? Key Highlights: Mail carriers are federal employees, and, as such, cannot be sued in the same way a typical at-fault driver would be. A law called the Federal Tort Claims Act may allow you to recover compensation after injuries and property damage caused by a negligent on-duty [...]
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), there were 543,061 motor carriers operating both intrastate and interstate in Dec. 2017. While some of these trucking companies are small operations with only a handful of trucks working in a limited area, others employ hundreds of thousands of drivers to transport goods all over the country. Some trucking companies place a greater emphasis on safety than others. Motor carriers that have a high number of crashes may be less likely to engage critically in important safety practices, like [...]
Most of us readily recognize the term "interstate" as describing a fast-speed roadway that is free of traffic signals and riddled with exits for different stops along the way that connects one state to another. However, according to the title of this piece, you saw where the term interstate is used to describe a type of trucking in contrast with "intrastate" trucking. Interstate trucking describes any crossing of state or international borders. In contrast, intrastate trucking refers to a trucker who keeps within a specific state's borders, which [...]
Over half of drivers report feelings of anxiety or fear when traveling near a tractor-trailer on the highway. Given that big rigs weigh up to 40 tons and cause thousands of deaths each year, this is a reasonable cause of driver anxiety. It’s understandable, then, that the idea of several large trucks traveling en masse down the highway may strike fear in the hearts of many motorists. However, research indicates that this type of trucking formation—known as platooning—may be better for both the environment and the commercial trucking [...]
When fully loaded, the typical tractor-trailer can weigh as much as 80,000 pounds, compared to only 4,329 pounds for the average passenger vehicle. The sheer size and weight difference between big trucks and passenger vehicles means that in an accident, the most extensive property damage and most severe injuries are going to occur among occupants of the smaller vehicle. Getting your life back on track following a truck crash is not easy. It takes time, medical care, rest, and access to sufficient financial resources. But if you’re hurt [...]
Filing suit against fleet companies after a crash used to be complex yet easily handled by skilled attorneys. However, some states are making it increasingly harder for drivers to file lawsuits against trucking companies following crashes. Trucking industry lobbyists in states like Iowa, Montana, Louisiana, Missouri, Texas, and Florida have already been successful in passing new laws limiting truck crash victims' rights to sue trucking companies after collisions. While the lobbyists' efforts haven't altogether limited a victim’s ability to file lawsuits yet, it has resulted in caps being [...]
A recent Frontline documentary titled "America's Dangerous Trucks" highlighted some alarming statistics surrounding the tractor-trailers that we share the road with when traveling down roadways, and more specifically, the risks we all face of becoming accident victims. Below, we cover the dangers of underride crashes that the new documentary examines in an effort to call attention to these preventable accidents. (more…)
You get involved in a truck accident and get hurt, but the trucker, their employer (the fleet company), or someone else (like a big rig manufacturer) isn't wholly to blame for what happened. Instead, you believe that your actions as a passenger car driver, for example, might have played a contributory role in causing the crash. If you're suffering from serious (and costly) injuries and you're wondering if you have any recourse for recovering compensation to help you pay those expensive medical bills or to recoup any lost [...]
Trying to do anything without enough sleep is like fighting a losing battle. You’re tired, clumsy, distracted, irritable, and just not up to your usual standards of capability. A task as seemingly simple as driving a car is a lot more challenging when you’re sleep deprived. Imagine being exhausted and needing to drive—for 11 hours. And now imagine that your car is 30 times larger than its normal size—and filled with hazardous materials. That’s the situation many truck drivers face every day on the job. How many hours [...]
