Traffic accidents are, unfortunately, unavoidable on major roadways like highways or interstates. These accidents can range from minor fender-benders with no injuries to multiple-car pileups that result in severe injuries or deaths. A truck accident is especially likely to result in injury or death because of the size of the vehicle involved. Several months ago, one such accident occurred in Georgia, and one of the drivers who was seriously injured in the crash recently passed away. As a result, charges have been filed against the truck driver involved. The original crash occurred in November of last year and involved 11 vehicles, including a tractor-trailer. Multiple people were injured in the crash, but only one has died as a result of those injuries. It was ultimately determined that the truck driver was responsible for the crash, and warrants have been issued for his arrest. Authorities are filing multiple charges against the driver of the…

Cell phones and other electronic devices are the causes of multiple car accidents in Georgia and across the nation every day. Often, these accidents occur on major roadways and interstates. However, residents of Milton were recently reminded that these crashes can occur in residential areas as well when a truck accident left two people injured. The accident occurred on a local road when a commercial dump truck lost control and struck a stone mailbox as well as another vehicle. The driver of the dump truck had apparently looked away from the road to check the GPS on his phone, and when he did so, the truck dropped off of the side of the road. When he attempted to correct the vehicle, he hit the mailbox. The vehicle then slid sideways across the double yellow line and struck a pickup truck traveling in the opposite direction. Both drivers suffered serious injuries and were taken…

It can sometimes be unnerving for Georgia drivers to navigate the roadways with large commercial trucks. Often, drivers will move over to the next lane when they see one pulled over to the side of the road in order to prevent a truck accident. Unfortunately, drivers are not always able to move over, or they are otherwise distracted, and accidents still occur. Such an accident occurred on Interstate 75 when a rental moving truck crashed into a larger truck that was pulled over in the emergency lane. The driver of the truck, which was hauling combustible material, had pulled over into the right emergency lane to fix a flat tire. The rental truck was driving southbound and veered into the emergency lane, clipping the driver's side of the stopped vehicle. After colliding with the truck, the rental truck then crashed into a passenger van, which flipped and landed upside down on the road's left shoulder. Authorities…

Georgia drivers know that driving next to a semi-truck can be unnerving. They are easily the largest vehicles on the road, and they have notoriously large blind spots. Therefore, the drivers of these trucks have to be even more vigilant about following driving laws. Unfortunately, not all truck drivers adhere to these laws, and the result is too often a fatal truck accident. On the evening of Sept. 27, Georgia State Patrol responded to a crash involving a semi-truck and a car. The car held two passengers, the driver, and a child. The driver was killed in the crash, and the child was reportedly taken to Archbold Medical Center. Reports also say that the child was in critical condition. The crash occurred on Maddox Road and State Route 188. Authorities say that the driver of the semi-truck failed to yield upon exiting a private driveway. The truck crashed into the…

On most days, news of a proposed rule being published in the Federal Register, the legal newspaper run by the National Archives and Records Administration, would fail to generate any real coverage or discussion. That's because most proposed rules, while important, are nevertheless written in an arcane style and/or cover an area of little interest to the general public. Of course, there are always exceptions. For example, consider that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration published two proposed rules earlier this week that, if adopted, would change the landscape of the trucking industry in the U.S. Commercial Learner's Permits The first proposed rule calls for states to be granted the authority to issue commercial learner's permits for up to 12 months with the option to renew for an additional six months. This would be a departure from the current rule, which sets the limit for issuing CLPs at six months. According to…

When the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released its estimates for the number of traffic fatalities during the first 9 months of 2016 earlier this year, people were understandably concerned. That's because it projected that as many as 27,875 people lost their lives in motor vehicle accidents versus 25,808 during the same timeframe in 2015, an 8 percent increase. While these figures have sounded an alarm about the safety of our roads and highways, the numbers recently released by another federal agency will likely raise these concerns to another level. Last week, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration released its annual figures concerning large truck accidents, meaning those weighing in excess of 10,000 pounds. They revealed that the number of large trucks involved in fatal accidents rose from 3,749 in 2014 to 4,050 in 2015, an 8 percent increase. Furthermore, the rate of large trucks involved in fatal accidents per 100…

It would perhaps be the understatement of the century to say that there has been no shortage of action -- and controversy -- on Capitol Hill over the course of the last two months. Indeed, from healthcare and immigration to the federal budget and Supreme Court vacancy, there has been no respite in either the halls of Congress or the Oval Office. While this is perhaps not altogether unsurprising, it does raise concerns as to whether lawmakers are still paying sufficient attention to those matters, which despite not being on the same scale as those mentioned above, are nevertheless vital to the functioning of the nation. For example, are federal lawmakers continuing to make road safety a priority? The good news is that it appears as if the fight to make our roads and highways safer have not been abandoned. Just last week, the Senate Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and…

In a post last week, our blog discussed how the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has introduced a rule calling for the creation of a database listing the names of licensed truckers who have either refused drug tests or failed drug tests. Curiously enough, this issue perhaps took on added significance after last week's elections, which saw voters in four states -- California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada -- legalize marijuana for recreational purposes and voters in three states -- Arkansas, Florida and North Dakota -- legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes. Indeed, statistics show that as many as 80 million people currently live in states where recreational marijuana is now legal in some form, while over half the states permit medical marijuana. Given this dramatic expansion of pro-pot laws, it naturally raises the question as to what, if anything, the FMCSA has recently had to say about use of the drug…

The next time you find yourself traveling down the highway in the proximity of a semi, take a moment to glance at just how big it is and just how fast it is moving. Indeed, chances are good that you'll have forgotten just how unnerving the prospect of being so close to a vehicle weighing 40 tons and traveling upwards of 70 miles-per-hour really is. As unnerving as this is, consider how it can become even more so when you add the possibility that the person at the wheel of this mechanical behemoth is not paying attention to the road, violating traffic laws or even driving despite a record of failed drug tests. Interestingly enough, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration introduced a rule back in 2014 that would create what is known as the Commercial Driver’s License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, which would essentially be a database listing licensed truckers who…

One of the single most difficult things for millions of Americans to do is secure eight hours of sleep. While this can be attributed to everything from generalized anxiety and acid reflux disorder to newborn babies and noisy neighbors, it can also be attributed to a serious condition known as obstructive sleep apnea. Interestingly enough, a recently published study by researchers in Italy revealed that truckers suffering from obstructive sleep apnea -- or OSA -- have a considerable higher crash risk than their counterparts able to secure a good night's rest. What is OSA?     OSA is a breathing disorder in which a person's airway actually collapses during sleep, resulting in a coughing/gasping reflex that wakes them momentarily. As this happens many times throughout the course of the night, it prevents the person from ever falling into a deep, restorative sleep cycle. Many times, people are unaware they have the…