The National Transportation Safety Board has proposed a ban on cell phone use by commercial truck drivers and bus drivers. Many commercial drivers believe the proposed ban goes too far, and should be limited to hand-held phones. To read more, click over to “Ban on Cell Phones Could Make Truck Driving Safer.”

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About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton is a law firm whose attorneys focus on injury and accident law and have experience handling truck accident cases. Our primary office is in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA), but our lawyers also hold licenses to practice in NC, South Carolina (SC), West Virginia (WV), Kentucky (KY), Florida (FL) and Washington, DC. Rick Shapiro and James Lewis were included in the 2011 issue of Best Lawyers in America. They, along with fellow attorney John M. Cooper, were also named 2011 Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law, an honor which fewer than 5 percent of outstanding lawyers receive. Our injury attorneys host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube. Further, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard blogs as pro bono public information services. Check out our case results. Though not every case meets our criteria, we offer free initial consultations so give us a call at (800) 752-0042. If you can’t get through due to high call volume, please leave a message and we will return your call.

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Commerical truck drivers spend a lot of time on the road.  This gives them a higher chance of being in an accident.  As more and more young people start driving the rate of distracted driver accidents has been going up as well.  This was the case late yesterday afternoon when distracted driving led to a wreck between a tractor-trailer and a car, find out more.

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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“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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The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recently approved a proposed rule by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) that would require the use of electronic onboard recorders by certain commercial trucking companies. This new regulation will require trucking companies whose drivers have a record of violating current safety regulations, including hours-of-service rules, to use the recorders in tractor trailers, 18-wheelers, big rigs and all other trucks in their fleet.

This new rule comes on the heels of a texting ban for all truck drivers. Those who violate the texting rule face a fine of $2,750.

Some people in the trucking industry make look at these new regulations and complain about all of the oversight and restrictions. They may even describe an electronic onboard recorder as a violation of privacy. What they fail to realize is that these new regulations are designed to help save lives by reducing the number of truck crashes attributed to preventable actions like texting and/or an overworked trucker falling asleep at the wheel.

The data is as clear as day regarding the risks of texting and drowsy/overworked truck drivers. In 2008, nearly 6,000 people were killed, and over 500,000 people were injured in accidents linked to distracted driving. When it comes to drowsy truckers, roughly 13 percent of all truck wrecks are due to tired truckers. Most of these truck drivers are drowsy and overworked because they violated the hours-of-service regulation which determines the number of hours a driver can operate a commercial truck. With the new electronic onboard recorder, instances of willful negligence should decrease.

Hopefully, when these new regulations are working in concert, we’ll see a precipitous drop in the number of truck wrecks in Virginia (especially those wrecks that can be prevented with proper oversight and responsible behavior from both trucking companies and drivers).

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.

PA

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Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis, & Appleton

The American Truckers Association (ATA) has been waffling on their support for an anti-texting bill crafted by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), but recently decided to endorse the legislative initiative.

This isn’t very surprising since the bill hasn’t reached the Senate floor for a vote, so there’s plenty of time to implement exemptions the trucking industry has been angling for since the bill – officially known as the Avoiding Life-Endangering and Reckless Texting by Drivers Act – was introduced by Sen. Schumer.

What exemptions? The trucking industry relies heavily on electronic communication devices in their trucks to relay directions and commands to the drivers. They’re probably looking for ways to ensure those devices stay in the trucks without much alteration. It’s unclear how far the proposed legislation will go in terms of restricting these devices for interstate trucking work, if at all. There is already an exemption in the bill for texting “in case of an emergency.”

I hope the trucking industry focuses their efforts on moving towards voice-activated communication devices as opposed to lobbying Congress for special exemptions to devices which produce basically the same level of distracted driving as texting. The truck drivers still have to look down to type in directions and implement commands from headquarters. That takes their eyes off the road and puts them, along with all of us on the road, in danger.

I appreciate the ATA’s endorsement of the anti-texting bill, but let’s hope they are truly committed to truck safety and not merely trying to look good in front of the general public and trying to work their way around the restrictions in the back rooms of Congress.

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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Our firm has written a special FREE report on distracted driving, which includes extensive information on texting while driving. Be sure to take a look.

Even with states taking action, a federal ban has been bandied about on Capitol Hill. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has legislation which would deny states a percentage of federal highway funds if they don’t implement a texting while driving ban.

Most people concede texting while driving is something that needs to be restricted. Nevertheless, there is one group of drivers who don’t support such major action – truckers. Many truck companies have computers and handle-held devices in their vehicles in order to communicate with drivers and provide directions. They contend this type of technology should be exempt from any federal legislation.

However, the evidence is not in favor of the trucking industry. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute videotaped drivers who use the computer technology in the cab of their trucks and found they’re at 10 times greater risk of crashing, nearly crashing or wandering from their lane than truckers who did not use those devices, according to the New York Times.

In Virginia (VA), Old Dominion Freight Line is in the midst of a legal battle stemming from a major accident where their truck driver was using a hand-held device and smashed into a motorcyclist. If stories like this continue to emerge, truck companies may not be able to escape federal texting regulation and could be forced to remove, or dramatically alter, their on-board computer devices.

As an injury lawyer who regularly represents people seriously hurt in car/truck accidents, I’m for whatever helps decrease the incidences of these types of accidents. The damage trucks can inflict on people is disturbing and drivers needs to remain alert at all times when they’re behind the wheel.

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.

PA

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