“In 2009, 5,474 people were killed on U.S. roadways and an estimated additional 448,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes that were reported to have involved distracted driving.”

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration lists the above as the top “highlight” of a September 2010 Traffic Safety Facts Research Note. Another 16 percent of U.S. traffic accidents in which someone got killed involved at least one distracted driver. Teens and adults younger than 30 had the highest numbers of injuries and deaths in distracted driving accidents.

Some highlights.

Distractions leading to driving-related injuries and fatalities include using cell phones to talk or text, eating, speaking with passengers and simply taking one’s eyes off the road. A study by Virginia Tech researchers showed that drivers of large commercial trucks such as 18-wheelers, semis and tractor-trailers of all sizes posed particular risks to themselves and others when they allowed themselves to become distracted. Big rig drivers appear nearly 20 times more likely to have accidents than other motorists.

A totally incomplete record of the deaths and injuries caused by distracted truck, car and van drivers in just 2010 makes up a distressingly large amount of the content of this blog:

• “Driver Killed When Tractor-Trailer Driver Runs Red Light in Virginia Beach, VA“
• “Nine Car Accident Starts With Distracted Driver, Ends With Faulty Brakes“
• “Fiery Tractor-Trailer Crash on I-64“

Federal, state and industry efforts to prevent and crack down on distracted driving by proposing and adopting bans on texting by drivers and banning hand held cell phone use behind the wheel have made a dent in the problem. Those measures can only go so far, especially as more and more distractions — even in-dash televisions and Internet-enabled computers — appear in new vehicles.

All drivers need to keep their minds and eyes on their driving. This is especially true for truck drivers, because the damage they can do — the lives they can destroy — is so great.

EJL

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm which focuses on injury and accident law and our attorneys have experience handling truck accident cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Our primary office is Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA), but our lawyers also hold licenses to practice in NC, SC, WV, KY and DC. We are ready to talk to you by phone right now. We provide free initial confidential injury case consultations, so call us toll free at 1-800-752-0042. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube . Furthermore, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, Eastern Shore Virginia Injury Attorneys Blog and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as pro bono services.

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When we hear in the news that a fire fighter has been killed, we expect it to be while in the line of duty, not in a car accident.  So I was surprised and saddened to learn of the death of a Clifton Forge Firefighter, Mr. Ashley Weikle.

Ashley was killed in a fatal crash on Interstate 64 (I-64) in Roanoke, Virginia (VA) on Dec. 3, 2010.  He was involved in a head on accident with another tractor trailer.  According to state police, the at-fault driver ran off the left side of the interstate, crossed the median and hit Ashley, sending the cab of his truck plunging into the river.

Our deepest condolences go out to his family.  It is terrible to lose someone in a preventable accident, even more so during this time of year. 

The driver of the other big rig was not hurt but was charged with reckless driving.

There is no word yet why the at-fault drive lost control, but the power, size and weight of a commercial tractor-trailer make the impact of a truck collision much worse and the chance of serious injury and death much higher. The death rate for truck crashes is 50 percent higher than for car accidents, and many injuries may cause life-long disability and permanent or chronic health problems.
CA.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm which focuses on injury and accident law and our attorneys have experience handling truck accident cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Though not every case meets our criteria, we offer free, initial consultations so give us a call at 1-800-752-0042. If you can’t get through due to high call volume, please leave a message and we will return your call promptly. Our primary office in based in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) although our lawyers hold licenses in NC, SC, WV, KY, FL and DC. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube . Furthermore, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service.

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It what can only be described as being in the wrong place at the wrong time, tragically a passenger riding along in a Fed Ex truck was killed last week when the vehicle overturned on Fentress Airfield Road. Virginia Beach Police have identified the victim of this accident  as Andrew Copeland, 38, or Virginia Beach.

The fatal Fed Ex truck crash occurred around  4:25p.m. close to the intersection with Long Ridge Road,  according to Gus Mojica, the Police Dept spokesperson.

The driver of the Fed Ex truck was going south and had veered slightly to the right as the oncoming traffic was approaching, said Mojica. The Fed Ex truck ran off the shoulder and as the driver attempted to pull back onto the road the entire truck rolled over instead. The driver was taken to a hospital for treatment and his name has not been released.

Deeply saddened friends and family of Copeland never expected that his life would be cut short so suddenly and severely. This incident shows just how deadly a trucking rollover accident can be and should wave a caution flag for all to think twice prior to riding in the cab of any  commercial truck such as the one involved with this Fed Ex  accident. It makes you wonder if safety is their number one issue or if it is just convenient to put in their mission statement? It seems that speed and corporate profits might fit into the puzzle as well, maybe too much?

Given the large size and weight of heavy trucks, especially commercial trucks such as tractor-trailer vehicles, a serious safety threat can be posed to the vehicle’s occupants in the event of a rollover collision. It has been clearly demonstrated that a large number of incapacitating and fatal injuries have occurred when the occupants were contained in the cab during rollover accidents. In many cases when a rollover occurs in a heavy truck and the occupants were not ejected, injuries sustained were either incapacitating or fatal.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm which focuses on injury and accident law and our attorneys have experience handling truck accident cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Our primary office in based in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) although our lawyers hold licenses in NC, SC, WV, KY and DC. We are ready to talk to you by phone right now—we provide free initial confidential injury case consultations, so call us toll free at 1-800-752-0042. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube . Furthermore, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service.

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In many of these devices we’re talking about mobile phones that allow you to text and use Twitter which has been documented to distract drivers. There is plenty of evdience showing this to be true even if they are hands-free. The argument is that the drivers of these large commercial vehicles are taking their mind away from what is on the road which can greatly reduce reaction time.

In a legal petition already filed by attorneys representing AHAS, they are requesting that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) officially assess the real risks involved with using electronic communication devices. This safety group has left no stone unturned. The list of electronic gadgets that AHAS would like to see investigated on is the CB radio—the trusty old standby short-distance radio used by truckers for decades to talk with each other.

It is believed that approximately 5,000 people die every year in truck-related accidents. In addition, another 100,000 suffer from serious injuries. The group is also attempting to add further credibility to their argument by using scientific studies that have been produced in recent years pointing out that chatting and texting on cell phones are key potential factors behind many accidents involving large commercial vehicles such as tractor trailers.

Among thes various studies includes research conducted within this last year at Virginia Tech that ostensibly found texting truckers are 23 times as likely to be involved in an auto accident. In a very similar study held in 2006 it was concluded that truck drivers chatting on mobile phones had driven through stop signs without stopping 10 times more frequently than those not otherwise distracted by a cell device.

Documentation provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, almost one quarter of all reported auto accidents—which includes both private and commercial drivers— involve some form of “distracted driving”. Although the AHAS’s petition has been delivered to federal officials, they are under no legal constraint to respond by any deadlines and could very well take their time in examining the case.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm which focuses on injury and accident law and we have experience handling truck accidents. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Our law firm has offices in Elizabeth City, North Carolina (NC) and Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA). . Our attorneys have handled thousands of automobile negligence cases involving trucks, cars, trains, and motorcycles. Our lawyers hold licenses in NC, VA, SC, WV, KY and DC. We are ready to talk to you by phone right now—we provide free initial confidential injury case consultations, so call us toll free at 1-800-752-0042. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube .  In addition, our lawyers proudly edit the Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard, as well as the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service.

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Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis, & Appleton

Truck accidents are terrible, but tanker truck accidents can be even worse. The size and velocity these massive vehicles possess can inflict incredible damage when involved in a trucking accident. This is especially true in rollover accidents.

This scenario unfortunately came to fruition when a tanker truck rolled over on U.S. Highway 40 in Colorado and spilled over 6,000 gallons of fuel on the road. Fortunately, no other vehicles were involved in the incident and the driver of the tanker truck survived.

Truck accidents are not relegated to the Colorado area. There have been numerous truck accidents in the western portions of Virginia (VA) including I-81 (Virginia’s most dangerous road) and U.S. Highway 11. There have also been accidents on I-64 around Cabell County in West Virginia. One of these accidents involved a tractor trailer containing fuel. Sadly, this accident had a tragic ending. The fuel tank ruptured and caused a fire leading to the death of a driver in a vehicle involved in the accident.

In the Colorado accident, the driver, named Robert Windecker, is facing a careless driving charge. Why?Because Robert was driving too fast. This is completely unacceptable behavior, especially for a trained driver handling a tanker truck. Robert failed to responsibly drive this vehicle and the devastation he could have inflicted would have been enormous considering the amount of fuel that spilled out   from the tanker.

As an injury lawyer who works for a firm that’s represented people in trucking accidents, I understand the damage they can inflict on people when involved in an accident.

Hopefully, tanker truck drivers can learn from Robert’s mistake and exercise responsibility when driving such hazardous vehicles on major roadways.

About the Editors: The trucking injury attorneys with Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm are based in Virginia (VA), with an office also in Elizabeth City, in Northeast North Carolina (NC), practicing primarily in the southeastern U.S. and handles only injury law, including car, truck, railroad, and medical negligence cases and more. Our Virginia injury law website is www.HSInjurylaw.com and our Carolina injury law website is: http://carolina.hsinjurylaw.com, the firm edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, as well as the Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard and also hosts a YouTube injury law video library with over 50 videos covering many FAQ’s on personal injury subjects. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY.

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Just recently in Franklin County, Virginia, two folks were admitted into the hospital after a tractor trailer struck a Pittsylvania County School bus carrying 15 people on Route 40  just west of the Pittsylvania County line.

One of the students was taken to Franklin Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to state police. Ricky Lee Ferguson was the driver of the 18 wheeler and at 52 years of age you would think he had some experience in charge of such a heavy load. As is most often the case, he was unharmed being the truck driver. It has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that the truck drivers almost always come out of the crash unharmed as compared to the either lifeless or critically injured passenger vehicle occupant that it crashed into.

The school bus driver was dutifully carrying her passengers that day as she has probably for years when this irresponsible truck driver hit the unsuspecting bus riders.  While Linda Gail Harris, of Chatham, was driving the bus, carrying 12 students and three adults the 1995 International tractor trailer traveling west crossed the center line and sideswiped the eastbound bus.

After the school bus was struck, the tractor trailer ran off the left side of the highway and struck an embankment. It has been discovered that Ferguson drives for trucking company SWK, Inc. based out of Natural Bridge Station.

It is certain that the school bus was very lucky and had escaped what could have been a very tragic event for Pittsylvania County, In all, the school bus sustained $40,000 in damages, and only $50,000 in damages to the truck. Everyone escaped with their lives. According to the state police, the entire Route 40 was closed for a period of time. The crash is still under investigation and charges are pending.

As this recent horrific close call clearly shows, a tragic accident can occur anytime with a tractor trailer truck. When this occurs there is a high likelihood that a serious injury will be incurred with any passenger vehicle that may be unfortunate enough to stand in its way. In many cases truck drivers are stretched thin and may have been on the road too many hours and could be struggling with exhaustion. Often, truck driving companies push their employees beyond their limits and beyond the limits of the law. When this happens bad road accidents can occur and change lives in an instant.

Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm is based in Virginia (VA), with an office also in Elizabeth City, in Northeast North The trucking injury attorneys with Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm are based in Virginia (VA), with an office also in Elizabeth City, in Northeast North Carolina (NC), practicing primarily in the southeastern U.S. and handles only injury law, including car, truck, railroad, and medical negligence cases and more. Our Virginia injury law website is www.HSInjurylaw.com and our Carolina injury law website is: http://carolina.hsinjurylaw.com, the firm edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, as well as the Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard and also hosts a YouTube injury law video library with over 50 videos covering many FAQ’s on personal injury subjects. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY.

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Gustavo Gracia was driving down Interstate 5 in San Diego going about his business, when suddenly, a truck rolled over smashing Gustavo’s Lexas Sedan killing him. He was just 33 years old.

My heartfelt condolences go out to Gustavo’s friends and family.

The truck was a 1996 Freightliner pulling a 32-foot cargo container behind it. The power and weight of the truck were a deadly combination in this type of rollover accident.

Rollover car and truck accidents account for only 3 percent of all car accidents, but they account for 33 percent of accident fatalities, according to safecar.gov. In 2002, over 10,000 people were killed in rollover crashes.

Rollovers are complex crash and violent in nature. All types of vehicles can rollover, though SUVs, pickup trucks, and vans have higher centers of gravity, and thus are more susceptible to rollover if involved in a single-vehicle crash.

As an injury lawyer who works for a firm that’s represented people seriously hurt in these types of accidents, I understand the terrible outcomes which occur when a car and truck are involved in a rollover accident.

If you’re driving in a truck or SUV, here are some general safety tips from ehow.com…

· Beware of the center of gravity

· Respect the weight of the vehicle

· Be especially cognizant of the weather

About the Editors: The trucking injury attorneys with Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm are based in Virginia (VA), with an office also in Elizabeth City, in Northeast North Carolina (NC), practicing primarily in the southeastern U.S. and handles only injury law, including car, truck, railroad, and medical negligence cases and more. Our Virginia injury law website is www.HSInjurylaw.com and our Carolina injury law website is: http://carolina.hsinjurylaw.com, the firm edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, as well as the Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard and also hosts a YouTube injury law video library with over 50 videos covering many FAQ’s on personal injury subjects. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY.

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According to authorities, the truck driver lost control just before his big rig flipped. All the scrap metal contents from the trailer spread across both lanes of route 250 causing responders to close a segment of the road.

Virginia Department of Transportation crews labored well into the afternoon in order to clean up all the debris that was scattered. It was said by a Virginia State Police Trooper that was on the scene that passenger vehicles were very lucky not to have been beside the semi when it flipped.

Even though no one was injured if someone had been driving beside the truck the result would have likely been deadly. The truck driver, who has not been identified, has been charged with failure to maintain control of his vehicle.

Driver behavior is the number one cause of tractor trailer accidents. When poor driving is combined with an improperly secured load or overloaded trailer, then an accident resulting in serious injury is highly likely. Injuries caused by failure to properly load tractor trailer truckers may include disfigurement, lost limbs, traumatic brain injury, paralysis, and death.

Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm is based in Virginia (VA), with an office also in Elizabeth City, in Northeast North Carolina (NC), practicing primarily in the southeastern U.S. and handles only injury law, including car, truck, railroad, and medical negligence cases and more. Our Carolina injury law website is: http://carolina.hsinjurylaw.com, the firm edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, as well as the Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard and also hosts a YouTube injury law video library covering many FAQ’s on personal injury subjects. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY.

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Without heeding the warnings of public health and safety groups, the exemption will potentially lead to increased deaths and injuries, medical costs, road and bridge damage, and domino effect throughout Northeast USA if this big rig provision passes.

The Governor and trucking industry in Vermont have been seeking the same exemptions in their state, and are watching the congressional vote closely with hopes that it will open the door for federal truck weight exemptions to allow overweight trucks up to 100,000 pound trucks to operate in their state and throughout the northeast.  The main area for concern is that national and state trucking interests in other Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States will use this

Congressional action as the springboard for seeking a congressional repeal of the federal truck weight exemption in other states and nationwide.

According to Joan Claybrook, chair of Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways (C.R.A.S.H.), “This special interest provision was quietly inserted into this federal legislation without any public input and without any public hearings.” Further stating, “This is straight out of the trucking industry’s playbook as they work in the shadows of the Capitol to pick off one state and then another as part of their nationwide strategy to bypass public scrutiny and overrun today’s rules of the road.”

These health and safety advocates brought a letter to members of the U.S. Senate cautioning them that the exemption is only a pretext for permanently raising the weight limit to 100,000 pounds on Maine’s I-95 interstate and then in other states, making that highway even more dangerous.

With CRASH heading up the charge, along with the Truck Safety Coalition, Parents against Tired Truckers (P.A.T.T.), Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Environment America, Environment Maine, Vermonters for a Clean Environment, the Trauma Society, Consumer Federation of America, and Connecticut Nurses Association, the coalition warned that:

• Bigger trucks lead to more deaths, injuries, and road and bridge damage
• Maine has serious road and bridge safety issues, and that overweight trucks could result in a catastrophic bridge collapse similar to the I-35 bridge tragedy in Minnesota

• The motoring public is unfairly subsidizing heavy trucking as the expense of a balanced and safe transportation system.

Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm is based in Virginia (VA), with an office also in Elizabeth City, in Northeast North Carolina (NC), practicing primarily in the southeastern U.S. and handles only injury law, including car, truck, railroad, and medical negligence cases and more. Our Carolina injury law website is: http://carolina.hsinjurylaw.com, the firm edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, as well as the Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard and also hosts a YouTube injury law video library covering many FAQ’s on personal injury subjects. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY.

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Nodding off  is usually a result  of sleep deprivation that can cause the trucker to drift into other lanes. Ineffective down-breaking, rollovers and jackknifing are also typical results caused by inattentive and fatigued truckers. Multi-vehicle accidents are not uncommon when a truck is involved. Truck operators themselves are exposed to these common dangers with about 600 commercial truck drivers per year dying in highway accidents.

All truckers are required to keep log books and are usually helpful in litigating a case to prove liability based upon driver fatigue. In addition, there are black boxes and electronic onboard recorders (EOBR) that can be useful tools in reviewing past behaviour and events that may have lead up to collision with a truck.

It’s often the case that truck accidents involve overlapping laws and regulations. It is quite common that a trucking accident lawsuit will be brought against a trucking company as well as the commercial truck driver. However, government agencies, truck mechanics and maintenance companies, truck manufacturers and their insurance companies are possible defendants. Their involvement in an accident should be investigated before a suit is filed. In tractor trailer collisions, the history of inspections and weigh station stops are always crucial in discovering information. Also, if you include any recent road changes, like re-grading or new signage may potentially lead to liability of governmental agencies and subcontractors.

With all these appearant dangers, passenger vehicle drivers should steer clear of 18 wheelers as much as they can on highways. For example, it is also important to keep in mind that big rigs have a shorter braking distance than cars, so when you are switching lanes after passing a truck always bear in mind that the big rig will be coming up quickly from behind. At the very least make sure the trucker’s two headlights are far enough away in your rear view mirror before re-entering the lane. Even with the added caution, most tractor trailer truck accidents occur, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, on rural highways in the middle of the day and on weekdays. So, oddly enough highway driving is statisitcally not the most likely location for a car-truck collision.

Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm is based in Virginia (VA), with an office also in Elizabeth City, in Northeast North Carolina (NC), practicing primarily in the southeastern U.S. and handles only injury law, including car, truck, railroad, and medical negligence cases and more. Our Carolina injury law website is: http://carolina.hsinjurylaw.com, the firm edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, as well as the Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard and also hosts a YouTube injury law video library covering many FAQ’s on personal injury subjects. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY.

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