Articles Posted in Trucking Accident

Unsecure loads on trucks are a common cause of serious Massachusetts trucking accidents. A recent fatal accident happened when a loader/backhoe fell off a tractor-trailer being towed by a National Grid truck and landed right on top of a van on Interstate 495 in Southborough, according to boston.com. Criminal charges have not been ruled out completely.

The woman killed was pronounced dead on scene, a female driver was airlifted to UMass Medical Center in Worcester and two children were transported by ambulance to that same hospital. The truck ran off the road, but the driver was not injured. Police are looking to interview witnesses and reconstruction experts are doing their best to recreate the scene.

Our Boston personal injury attorneys realize that one of the first areas that will be examined in this accident is the measures that were taken to secure the heavy piece of construction equipment to that trailer. When the proper safety precautions are not executed, catastrophic injury can result.

Truck drivers can lose control of their tractor-trailers because of heavy-shifting cargo. This shifting can cause the cargo to fall. Oftentimes cargo includes lumber, logs and other heavy building products. It is also risky to transport heavy machinery, such as bulldozers and backhoes, as swerving can cause the cargo to break loose from its moorings. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s regulations require that truck loads remain under a specific weight and for this reason it is important for you to contact an experienced attorney if you’re involved in an accident with a truck’s loose cargo; they can help to determine if any federal regulations were broken. There are also regulations that specifically detail how cargo is to be secured and fastened so that the truck’s maneuverability and stability is not adversely affected.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were approximately 380,000 large trucks involved in traffic accident in the United States in 2008 alone. A large truck is classified as a vehicle having a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds. Nearly 4,100 large trucks were involved in fatal traffic accidents that took the lives of nearly 4,500 people during that year. These deaths accounted for more than 10 percent of all of the traffic deaths in 2008. Another 90,000 people were injured in these accidents. Even though these large trucks made up only 4 percent of all registered vehicles in the U.S. in 2007, they accounted for nearly 10 percent of all of the vehicles miles traveled.

Those in a passenger-vehicle that are involved in a traffic accident with a large truck are most at risk. According to 2008 statistics, nearly 75 percent of those who were killed in these accidents were occupants of another vehicle (not of the truck), approximately 10 percent were nonoccupants and more than 15 percent were those in a large truck.

Of those who were injured in these accidents, more than 70 percent were those in another vehicle (not in the truck), 3 percent were nonoccupants and more than 25 percent were the occupants of the large truck.
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Technology helps track hours of service and eliminates paperwork for commercial truckers which could keep them more alert, thereby reducing the risk of Boston trucking accidents.

A regulatory proposal was issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requiring installation of electronic on-board recorders (EOBRs) for interstate commercial truck and bus companies to monitor hours-of-service (HOS) compliance by their driver’s.

Our Boston personal injury lawyers applaud the U.S. government in their continued efforts to ensure truckers comply with safety regulations that keep all motorists safe.

In 2008 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 50,430 vehicles were involved in fatal crashes. A total of 4,066 of these vehicles were large trucks. In Massachusetts there were 444 vehicles involved in fatal crashes in 2008; 20 were large trucks.

Currently truckers keep a log book to document hours of service. Supporting documents such as toll and delivery receipts are used to verify the total amount of time drivers spend behind the wheel. The antiquated system is ripe for abuse and has made a mockery of hours-of-service rules, which are designed to protect motorists from accidents caused by fatigued truckers.

The EOBR’s eliminate the need for retaining all the paperwork, and do more to keep the industry honest. Think of the device as an electronic record keeping system.

“We cannot protect our roadways when commercial truck and bus companies exceed hours-of-service rules,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “This proposal would make our roads safer by ensuring that carriers traveling across state lines are using EOBRs to track the hours their drivers spend behind the wheel.”

Several carriers have already installed this technology, including U.S. Express Enterprise, Schneider National, Maverick USA, J.B. Hunt, Knight Transportation and Maverick USA. The proposed rule would affect about 500,000 carriers.

The proposal would require interstate carriers that currently use Records of Duty (RODS) log books to use EOBRs to document hours of service. Carriers that use timecards to document HOS, like short-haul interstate truckers, won’t be required to use EOBRs.

Noncompliance impact a carrier’s DOT operating authority and safety fitness rating negatively. Carriers can be fined up to $11,000 for each offense that violates this EOBR requirement.

“This proposal is an important step in our efforts to raise the safety bar for commercial carriers and drivers,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. “We believe broader use of EOBRs would give carriers and drivers an effective tool to strengthen their HOS compliance.”
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Texting on your cell phone while driving is a common danger we face today and can heighten the risk involved with Boston truck or car accident on a daily basis.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that for 2009 almost 5,500 people were killed because they were involved in a distracted driving crash. It is reported that 18% of the fatalities involved a cell phone.

Texting While Driving sites several studies illustrating how dangerous texting and driving can be. One study was simply to stop your vehicle while traveling at 35 mph. When the driver was intoxicated it took them 4 feet longer to stop than the sober driver. The texting driver needed 25 feet to stop the vehicle. Some studies indicate that texting drivers travel out of their lane 10% of the time. Others say while texting your eyes are off the road for as much as 5 seconds at a time. Statistics show that drivers who text increase the chances of getting into an accident to twice that of an intoxicated driver. An intoxicated driver has a 4 times greater chance of crashing than a sober driver.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that 30 states have banned text messaging for all drivers. In 8 states additional bans have been place on texting regarding novice or bus drivers. Massachusetts doesn’t have a handheld ban for all drivers but does ban cell use for drivers under 18 and bus drivers. The state also enforces the no texting law as a primary violation, something that just went into effect this fall.

Last month Automotive Industry Today reported the rule announcement from The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) banning bus and truck drivers from texting. Commercial motor vehicle drivers that operate within interstate commerce are affected by the rule. A hefty fine of $2,750 can be placed on the driver and a bigger fine of $11,000 placed on the carrier. Research done by FMCSA concluded that commercial motor vehicle drivers have a 23% chance of crashing or being in a near crash if texting. A loophole was also closed that involved intrastate hazardous waste haulers who don’t have to follow The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) rules where an additional 12,000 drivers and 1,490 carriers will also be banned from texting.

As a rule, when you are driving in your vehicle you should power off your cell phone and refrain from using it by placing it in the glove compartment or console so there is no temptation to answer when the ring tone comes in.
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Two pedestrians were killed in separate accidents on highways in eastern Massachusetts in the past 24 hours, State Police said.

Bruce Flaherty, 46, of Salisbury was fatally injured when he was hit by a car after stepping into the right lane on Route 95 South in Newbury at about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, State Police said in a statement.

In the second case, a male was killed when he was hit by a commercial vehicle at Interstate 93 southbound at Woburn Street in Wilmington at about 3:36 a.m. today. State Police said the victim might have jumped from an overpass before being hit. The victim’s name was not released.