Car-truck accidents can be gruesome to behold. You may have seen pictures of the aftermath of such encounters: the economy car that looks like it has been put a trash compactor; the sedan that has its side stove in; the pickup that not only got rolled over but ended up with the big rig that hit it resting on top of it. The circumstances under which you might find yourself involved in an accident with a truck can vary. Still, regardless of how it happens, a definite possibility is that you will suffer significant injuries as a result. Injuries from a trucking accident can take time to heal. They can even lead to long-term disability or prevent you from returning to work at all. Aside from the prospect of lost income, don’t forget the medical bills that can wipe out your savings, outstrip your insurance coverage, and leave you facing…

When a speeding truck slams into the rear of a car, the results can be catastrophic. Collisions caused by an inattentive truck driver, or by someone suffering from truck driver fatigue, failing to apply the vehicle’s brakes in time to avoid an accident is an all too common occurrence on Georgia highways. The existence of automatic braking systems that employ lasers and other technology to signal a truck driver of stopped or slowing vehicles up ahead, has prompted the federal government to consider requiring their installation in all trucks. According to government investigations into the causes of a typical 18-wheeler accident, 64 percent of them involved a frontal collision as the truck crashed into another vehicle. The automatic systems apply the brakes to slow or stop a truck in the event the driver does not do so after being signaled of a crash risk up ahead. Truck accident statistics show…

When an accident happens, a car or other passenger vehicle is no match for a fully loaded tractor-trailer traveling along at highway speeds. A distracted or inattentive truck driver who fails to react to slowing traffic up ahead can cause a collision resulting in serious injuries or death. Reacting to accidents this year on Georgia highways in which 10 people lost their lives when their vehicles were hit by big rigs, Congress is considering legislation to require every truck company to install automated braking systems on vehicles before putting them into service. The collision avoidance technology is designed to maintain a safe distance between the truck and other vehicles that are in front of them. The system works by automatically applying the brakes if an operator suffering from truck driver fatigue or an inattentive truck driver fails to take notice of slowing traffic. Legislators believe the law could eliminate situations…

A central characteristic commercial trucks is that if you find yourself involved in an accident with one, the odds are good that it was engaged in a business purpose. The significance of this observation becomes apparent when after the accident the time comes to identify the responsible parties against whom to pursue a legal claim for damages. Under Georgia law, the doctrine of vicarious liability can enable you to establish a cause of action against the business that owns the truck and not just the driver. Vicarious liability must be specifically alleged in a legal complaint, and you will need to include specific elements to prevail on this claim. These elements need to establish the existence of a business connection between the truck involved in the accident and the owner of the truck (or the company that has hired or contracted with the driver), as well as how the truck…

On Aug. 8, 2011, a deadly trucking accident occurred on Highway 32 in a road construction zone west of Irwinville. Seven vehicles were at a standstill on the roadway when a truck driver failed to stop and crashed into the line of cars. Three of the drivers were killed when their vehicles became engulfed in flames. The male truck driver found responsible for this fatal accident received a 3-year judgment on March 13 in the Irwin County Superior Court. After pleading guilty to six counts of misdemeanor vehicular homicide earlier in the week, the trucker was ordered to begin serving 18 months in jail. Once he is released, the man will be on probation for an additional 18 months. He is also prohibited from driving commercial vehicles and was ordered to pay $3,000 in fines. A family member of at least one of the victims of the crash was dissatisfied…

Every year, large truck accidents happen on highways in Georgia and throughout the U.S. These accidents often result in catastrophic injuries or deaths. An accident may happen if a driver of a passenger vehicle fails to take extra caution when driving near a large truck or if certain circumstances cause the truck driver to lose control of the vehicle. Repercussions of large truck-related wrecks may be more severe in nature than consequences of a wreck between two passenger cars due to the large, heavy structure of trucks. Even minor errors made on the roadway could cause major damage to an individual who collides with a commercial vehicle. A division of the U.S. Department of Transportation has indicated that large truck accidents may take place more frequently than people might realize. There were 333,000 traffic accidents that involved a commercial vehicle in 2012. That same year, large truck accidents resulted in…

Some Georgia residents may be unaware that commercial motor vehicle drivers must comply with a set of federal regulations known as Hours of Service rules. This applies to, among others, truck drivers traveling in tractor-trailers that weigh at least 10,001 pounds or that transport enough hazardous material to require placards. All transportation companies must ensure that their drivers are following Hours of Service rules. Pursuant to these regulations, drivers are limited to, per day, 11 hours of driving and 14 hours of work altogether. Moreover, drivers may not work more than 70 hours per week on average, and once this maximum is reached on any given week, the drivers must rest for at least 34 consecutive hours, within which must pass two nights. The Hours of Service rules also call for drivers to take a half-hour break within the first eight hours of each shift. These new rules reduce by…

Georgia residents might be interested in figures released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration regarding crashes in 2012 that involved large trucks. Fatalities stemming from these accidents increased by 4 percent over the previous year, with 3,781 deaths in total, reportedly. Among the 1,688 vehicles involved in fatal crashes in Georgia during that same year, 149 of them were large trucks or about 9 percent. Research reveals that 81 percent of fatal accidents involving semi-trucks include multiple vehicles, whereas 58 percent of fatal crashes involving no semi-trucks are multiple-vehicle accidents. Researchers say that, with regard to fatal collisions in 2012 involving a semi-truck, at least one of the involved vehicles was attempting to negotiate a curve in 12 percent of them. In 9 percent of these wrecks, both vehicles were making a turn, and neither vehicle was attempting a turn in almost half of them. According to statistics, almost…

Four softball players from North Central Texas College lost their lives when the team bus was hit by an 18-wheeler in Oklahoma on Sept. 26. The team bus, carrying 15 players, was being driven home by the coach following a scrimmage against Bethany's Southern Nazarene University. The crash happened late in the evening approximately 60 miles north of the Gainesville campus on Interstate-35. Three of the women reportedly died at the scene, and a fourth later succumbed to her injuries in a Sulphur, Oklahoma, hospital. Two other players remained in Norman Regional Hospital the following day, one in critical condition, while the coach and nine other players were treated and released. The sides of the bus sustained severe damages as a result of the crash. Oklahoma police were unsure as to why the semi-truck veered across the median and into the path of the bus. The investigation into the accident…

A car accident that occurred in Villa Rica, Georgia, involving a semi-truck and a bus left two people with injuries on Aug. 20. According to the report, the incident took place in the westbound lanes of Interstate 20 in Carroll County just after 6 a.m. A representative for the Georgia Department of Public Safety stated that the driver of the FedEx semitrailer rear-ended the bus while traveling down the interstate. The impact of the collision caused both vehicles to leave the roadway before overturning. Both vehicles then reportedly caught fire. The driver of the semi-truck was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital hospital via a Life Flight helicopter, and the bus driver was taken via ambulance to Tanner Medical Center. Their identities had not been released when the report became available, and the extents or their respective injuries were not known. Those who become involved in truck accidents are at risk for suffering…