Injury Law Blog : Florida Injury Lawyer & Attorney : LaBovick & LaBovick Law Firm: Serving West Palm, Boynton, North Palm, West Palm Beach, Jupiter

Traffic accidents involving commercial trucks  happen everyday, therefore drivers must pay careful attention while on the road. This week in West Palm Beach, there was a truck accident involving an 18-wheeler. According to reports, the driver of the  tractor trailer suffered a heart attack. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the driver and his family as he recovers.

The driver, a 61 year old male was taken by Trauma Hawk to St. Mary's Medical Center. The West Palm Beach truck accident occurred after the driver had a heart attack and lost control of the vehicle. The tractor-trailer rolled over and ended up in a canal, thankfully, emergency workers managed to get the driver out of the cab after about 25 minutes of prying the cab open.

Commercial Trucks are very important to transporting goods throughout the country. The Trucking Industry is an important industry that creates approximately 255.2 billion dollars a year. There are over 3 million truckers that drive on our highways, as independent drivers and as contract employees for trucking firms. However, since large tractor trailers and other commercial trucks share the highway with motorists, there is a level of responsibility that must be maintained to help keep the roadways safe to prevent truck accidents.

The FMCSA indicates that a number of factors can contribute to poor driver performance, which in turn can cause truck accidents. These factors can include:

• Speeding
• Fatigue
• Distractions such as Cell Phone Use or Texting while Driving
• Use of Prescription and Over-the-Counter Drugs

Florida 2008 truck accident statistics: 11,500 accidents involving medium, heavy and tractor-trailer trucks.

• Over 290 truck crash fatalities and more than 6,400 truck accident injuries
• Medium Truck (Four Rear Tires): 72 Fatal Crashes; 2,596 Injury Crashes
• Heavy Truck: 77 Fatal Crashes; 1,939 Injury Crashes
• Tractor-Trailer (Cab): 145 Fatal Crashes; 1,867 Injury Crashes

18-wheeler driver may have suffered heart attack before crash - Palm Beach Post

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In Palm Beach County, there was a fatal truck crash involving a tow truck and a van this week. Reports show that the tow truck driver tried to make an illegal U-turn on Florida's Turnpike and caused a fatal crash.  The victim of the other vehicle unfortunately died. This Palm Beach traffic accident caused a shut down the major roadway's southbound lanes in Boynton Beach for several hours.

According to the FHP, the tow truck slowed on the turnpike in order to make an illegal U-turn. The tow truck pulled into the median but the rear of the truck remained protruding into the traffic lanes. A van driving behind the truck collided with it and rolled over.

The van's driver, was a 32 year old Lake Worth resident. The driver was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash, according to an FHP news release.The tow truck driver was a 42 year old male of  West Palm Beach. He was not injured. The FHP said the case is still being investigated and charges in the crash are pending.

There was a surviving passenger in the Ford truck that was taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries.

 Rollover Crash in Palm Beach County causes death of driver - Palm Beach Post

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Every day millions of people take the Florida Turnpike to work. Personally, I have a two-hour daily commute on the Florida Turnpike.  I use a Sunpass to save time.  A Sunpass helps drivers move  through the toll lanes with no waiting. On Wednesday, Warren Thomas made his last and final drive on the Florida Turnpike. Thomas went through a Sunpass lane at Mile Marker 63 and tried to back up to get to a tollbooth where change is given. At the same time, a semitrailer truck fatally struck his minivan. He was taken by ambulance to Broward Medical Center where he later died.

Investigations are underway by the Florida Highway Patrol to determine what caused this fatal crash involving the minivan and the semitrailer truck. At this time it is not known whether Warren Thomas of Fort Lauderdale had a Sunpass. The truck driver, Orta Gerardo, 45, of Miami, wasn't hurt, According to the FHP.

The accident occurred before 6:00 AM Est., driver fatigue may have played a factor in this fatal accident. Reports indicate that over 750 deaths occur each year and over 20,000 injuries, due to driver fatigue by truck drivers operating commercial truck vehicles, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Tired and sleep drivers can be deadly drivers. Commercial truck drivers often drive long hours to make more money, many are sleep deprived to make the tight delivery deadlines often imposed by commercial trucking companies.

Nodding off or drifting into other lanes are two common signs of driver fatigue and sleep deprivation by a trucker. Inattentive and fatigued truckers often lead to rollovers, jackknifing and ineffective down-breaking, which can result in a fatal crash. Truck accidents often involve multi-vehicle accidents. Reports show that approximately 600 commercial truck drivers die each year in fatal highway truck accidents.

Click on the following link to read more from the Sun-Sentinel.

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A tractor-trailer owned by Alabama trucking company, Hester Inc., was involved in a horrific crash  that killed 11 people in Kentucky. The driver of the commercial tractor-trailer, was carrying auto parts, when he crossed a highway median and slammed head on into a van filled with friends and small children en-route to a wedding. After the collision, the truck hit a rock wall and burst into flames, killing the driver.

The National Transportation Safety The National Transportation Safety Board has dispatched a six-person team to investigate Board dispatched a six-person team to investigate the Kentucky highway crash involving Hester Trucking, Inc.   According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Hester Inc., a privately owned company, had no fatal accidents and one injury accident in the 24 months before the Kentucky accident.

Hester Inc is an interstate carrier with 30 drivers and 25 trucks. Records show that in 2008, they drove a total of 2.3 million miles carrying general freight, meat, produce and beverages. According to Federal records, 19 of the interstate carrier's drivers were taken off the road for violations from 167 driver inspections. This rate of 11.4 percent is higher than the national rate of 6.6 percent.  Excessive driving hours, was the most common violation issued for Hester, Inc.  Driving too many hours in a row or not taking required breaks accounted for approximately 166 (one-fourth)  of the total violations for drivers.. 

Before crashing into the van, the tractor-trailer knocked down six cable barrier uprights and the four cables running through them. According to County officials, the cable barriers recently installed has helped prevent other crossover accidents. Mark Brown, a spokesman for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet stated the following:

"The cable barriers weren’t designed to withstand a tractor-trailer. They have been very successful though in preventing crossover crashes where they are installed,”
 

Truck Crash Statistics for 2008, from the Department of Transportation and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

In 2008, there were 365,000 police-reported crashes involving large trucks.   One percent  (3,733) of the truck related crashed had at least one fatality, and 18 percent (64,000) had at least one nonfatal injury.

 

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Commercial Drivers, including truckers and bus drivers, beware, texting while driving is now illegal, according to a new Federal ban.  If you need to send a message while driving, pull over safely and send or read your text, if not, you can face serious charges and fines up to $2750.

Ray LaHood, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), announced a Federal ban on texting for the drivers of large commercial vehicles on Tuesday, Jan. 26. Effective immediately, this ban prohibits the operators of vehicles regulated by Federal law, including tractor-trailers and large commercial buses, from sending and/or receiving text messages while driving. The texting ban is a step in the DOT’s comprehensive plan to combat the dangers of distracted driving.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), on average, drivers who send and receive messages are distracted 4.6 out of every 6 seconds while texting. This means that operators, travelling at 55 miles per hour, will drive the full length of a football field without looking up from their phone. In fact, drivers distracted by texting are more than 20 times likely to be involved in a crash than non-distracted drivers.

This is such a critical issue that Nineteen states and the District of Columbia already ban texting-while-driving any vehicle.

Violations of this new Federal ban subjects commercial vehicle drivers to civil and/or criminal penalties of up to $2,750. This ban stems from the Distracted Driving Summit held in September 2009 in Washington, D.C. In addition to text ban, the DOT and other government agencies are reported to be working on further regulatory measures to decrease distracted driving.

“We want the drivers of big rigs and buses and those who share the roads with them to be safe,” Secretary LaHood said. “This is an important safety step and we will be taking more to eliminate the threat of distracted driving.”

To learn more about the texting while driving ban for large commercial vehicles click on the following links: The National Highway Safety Administration site on Distracted Driving,  Department of Transportation, Reuters, Automotive Fleet and American Automobile Association (AAA)

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Driver distraction caused the deaths of nearly 6,000 people and the injuries of 500,000 people last year according to new government reports on auto safety. There is a correlation of using mobile devices while driving. This includes texting while driving and talking on the cell.

Transportation officials recently released a report that showed driver distraction being involved in 16 percent of all fatal crashes in 2008. The Transportation report shows that 515,000 people were injured and 5,870 people were killed last year, with driver distraction being involved in the accident.

The Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, government officials, safety advocates, researchers and lawmakers are coming together this week to discuss ways of setting new restrictions on texting and using devices while driving.  Young adults involved car accidents where they were texting while driving are also involved in the safety discussions. New data supports that 16 percent of all under-20 drivers involved in fatal car accidents were distracted while driving.

Every day, people text and drive, even in places where it's outlawed. According to Secretary LaHood "We feel a very strong obligation to point to incidents where people have been killed or where serious injury has occurred.”

Earlier this year, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that collision risks were 23 times greater when drivers of heavy trucks texted while driving.  Dialing a cell phone and using or reaching for an electronic device increased risk of collision about six times in cars and trucks. The popular magazine Car and Driver released a report that showed texting and driving to be more dangerous than driving while intoxicated. This report obviously has caused a lot of controversy and discussions among safety advocates.

Some groups want tough laws on the distractions and are asking for restrictions on talking and texting by drivers of tractor trailers, motor coaches and large vans.

Automobile Manufacturers and the Governors Highway Safety Association are on the same page in support of restrictions for texting while driving.  Surprisingly, 11 automakers have come together on a united front with the Alliance for Automobile Manufacturers to support this important issue of auto safety and the use of handheld devices.

The Cellular Telephone Industry Association (CTIA) believes that education and enforcement are critical to changing the behavior of drivers. A series of public Service Announcements warning teen drivers of the dangers on distracted driving will be paid for by the National Safety Council and CTIA in an effort to promote safe driving.

We encourage all of our readers to exercise caution and to use judgment when driving and using a cell phone. Texting while driving is dangerous and increases your risk of an accident.

To read more on efforts to enhance driver safety, visit the following: CTIA and National Safety Council, Distracted Driving Summit, Driver distractions and safety efforts, ABC News Report on How do you stop Texting while Driving

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Drunken-driving deaths decreased in 32 states from 2006 - 2007, according to a NHTSA report on Thursday. However, alcohol-related fatalities among motorcycle riders increased around the country.

According to the report, in Florida there 143 fewer deaths in 2007 (3,214) that were traffic related fatalities from 2006 (3,357).

Overall, almost 13,000 people were killed in crashes in which a driver had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08, the legal limit in the United States, or at higher levels, compared to the 13,500 in 2006.

The report also shows that in 2007, 1,621 motorcyclists were killed in alcohol-impaired crashes, a 7.5 percent increase from 2006.

In light of the Labor Day weekend, please drive responsibly. If you are driving and happen to have a drink or two, think twice before getting behind the wheel of a car. Ask a friend to drive you home or call a cab before risking your life and the life of others, by driving intoxicated. Law Enforcement in Florida is in full force this weekend and will be ticketing and arresting people that are driving drunk.

Click here to see the report from the NHTSA on traffic related fatalities in Florida and all of the states across the Country.

Click here to read the AP/MSNBC article on Drunk Driving Deaths fall in 32 States.

Click here to read more about Driving and roadway safety.

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A recent study from the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety tested several mid-sized cars and rated most with marginal or poor ratings for rear-end collisions.  This is important to mention because rear-end collisions and and neck injuries are the most common injuries reported in automobile injury accidents. According to insurance reports, rear-end collisions account for nearly 2 million insurance claims each year, with an estimated cost of $8.5 billion. Although, neck injuries are not life-threatening, they often leave the injured accident victim with a lot of pain and are sometimes debilitating.

The Rear crash test rated protection in a two-step procedure. Starting points for the ratings are measurements of head restraint geometry — the height of a restraint and its horizontal distance behind the back of the head of an average-size man. Seats with good or acceptable restraint geometry are tested dynamically using a dummy that measures forces on the neck. This test simulates a collision in which a stationary vehicle is struck in the rear at 20 mph. Seats without good or acceptable geometry are rated poor overall because they can't be positioned to protect many people.

On a positive note, according to Institute senior vice president David Zuby, "The side impact results represent a huge change from just four years ago. "A major change is that auto manufacturers have been moving quickly to make side airbags standard, even on lower priced models."

In 2006, there were 42, 642 people killed in the 38, 588 fatal motor vehicle accidents, according to the Institute of Highway Safety. Florida was third in the nation in fatal motor vehicle accidents, with 3,374 reported deaths from 3,097 fatal accident crashes.  California was number one in the nation in automobile fatal accidents with 4,236 deaths and Texas came in second with  3,475 reported motor vehicle deaths.

According to a NHTSA FARS report, South Florida led the state in traffic fatalities by County, with Palm Beach County having 212 traffic fatalities, Broward County having 267 traffic fatalities and Miami Dade County having 367 traffic fatalities. It is important to mention that Palm Beach County traffic fatalities increased the most significantly in South Florida from prior years by nine percent. 

This makes the National Click it or Ticket Campaign, so important in saving lives on the roadway. During May 19 - June 1, 2008, law enforcement agencies join forces day and night, from coast-to-coast, for an enforcement blitz that delivers on our message “Click It or Ticket". The mobilization is supported by national and local paid advertising and earned media campaigns aimed at raising awareness before the blitz that ... Day or Night - Buckle Up or Pay Up.

The amazing nonprofit, Dori Slosberg Foundation has taken important steps in working with Florida law enforcement to ensure Florida's participation in this meaningful campaign.  Irv Slosberg and his dedicated team have tirelessly worked side by side with Florida law to ensure that we have the necessary representation on the roadways during this campaign. Although the campaign is only for a few weeks, prior year statistics show that traffic fatalities are decreased during this timeframe.

Click here to learn more about the Staying Alive on 95 event spearheaded by the Dori Slosberg Foundation.

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Are drug tests for truckers important to our safety on the highway?  The next important question that needs to be answered is "Are the drug tests tamper proof?".  According to undercover federal investigators, it is not difficult for truck drivers to cheat on "random drug tests".  This is alarming, because, the tests are designed to catch truck drivers who are on the road and using drugs.

In an NBC news reports, undercover investigators with the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress, used bogus truck driver’s licenses to gain access to 24 drug-testing sites. An alarming rate of 75 percent “failed to restrict access to items that could be used to adulterate or dilute the [urine] specimen, meaning that running water, soap, or air freshener was available in the bathroom during the test.”

In addition, the report found that the GAO team was able to buy drug-masking products over the Web and was able to mix them with real specimens at the drug-testing sites “without being caught by site collectors”.

Click Here to read more on this GAO report from NBC.com

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Jorge Romero, an Apple Valley trucker was charged recently  with three misdemeanor counts of vehicular manslaughter for allegedly ramming into a minivan on a Mission Viejo freeway, killing three children in the May 4 crash on the San Diego (5) Freeway near Oso Parkway. The children were ages, 5, 4 and 2 years old.

Jorge Romero is accused of crashing his truck into the back of the minivan, driving through the back seat where the three small children were sitting. The family was returning home from a day at Irvine Spectrum, where they had been celebrating the five year-old's birthday. 

The trucker allegedly came up behind the van at a speed of about 60-70 mph in a tractor-trailer carrying electronics weighing in excess of 40,000 pounds.

Unfortunately, this tragic California truck accident only adds to the fuel of truck statistics and truck safety on the highway. According to the organization, Truck Safety Coalition, in 2005, the most recent year that U.S. data is available, more than 5,200 people were killed and another 114,000 were injured in truck crashes. The Truck Safety Coalition study found that 22 states had truck death crash rates higher than the national average of 1.76 in 2005.

This does little to ease the pain of the surviving loved ones that have tragically lost family members in tragic truck crashes. All we can do is hope that the trucking companies that hire truckers will enforce safety first to their drivers.  Maybe if stiffer penalties and fines were in force for breaking safety rules, they would give the message and learn that large trucks share the roadway with smaller vehicles that carry passengers.

Click Here to read more about this truck accident story in KNBC News.

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A  Jury  awarded a family nearly $45 million in a Florida truck accident, wrongful death and personal injury case near Orlando, Florida.  On Feb. 20, 2006, Carla Bryant, was driving her daughter and daughter's best friend, when a commercial-sized truck turned in front of her 1998 Ford pickup. The two little girls ages 8 and 9 died later in the day after being involved in the truck crash.

Their is no amount of money that can bring back the family's little girl. There is some solace and comfort in knowing that the commercial truck company was held accountable for their driver's actions. Congratulations to the Jury for doing the right thing for this family.

This comes a day after, A federal appeals court threw out a Bush administration decision to allow long-haul truckers to drive for up to 11 hours straight. For 60 years, truckers could drive for 10 hours at a time. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has been trying to change the rule to allow truckers another hour of driving time.

Click Here to read the Opinion in: Owner - Operator Independent Drivers Ass'n, Inc. v. FMCSA, 06-1035 (D.C. Cir. July, 24, 2007).

I do not know if the driver of the commercial truck that was involved in the Florida truck crash last year was tired or just lost control.  However, with the new ruling from the federal appeals court, the rules are 10 hours or less on the road. It should help with safety. Let's hope.

One thing for sure, Parents Against Tired Truckers applauded the court's decision.

The Private Law Firm, LaBovick & LaBovick, Civil Justice Prosecutors, is a Plaintiff’s firm. The firm focuses on fighting for personal injury victim’s rights in Florida and on qui tam (whistleblower claims) nationwide.  Visit our firm website at www.LaBovick.com for more injury information

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