Winter Weather in West Virginia Contributes to Truck Wreck
By Rick Shapiro, Trucking Accident Attorney
The New Year brought serious winter weather to West Virginia (WV), along with a flurry of automobile accidents (pardon the pun). One of the wrecks featured a soft-drink truck slamming into the side of a tanker truck,according to the Herald-Dispatch.
There were four accidents in total and both sides of Interstate 64 (I-64) were affected. Fortunately, no serious injuries were reported.
West Virginians will have to get used to slippery roadways and challenging weather conditions since temperatures are expected to remain low and snow showers will continue through the first weeks of 2010. This means drivers will be forced to combat black ice and other treacherous road conditions.
Black ice is especially volatile for a truck driver since their range of vision restricts the ability to see black icebefore they drive over it. This exposes 18-wheelers, tanker trucks, tractor-trailers, etc. to the possibility of spinning out and causing a major wreck, which could result in serious injury to not only the other drivers on the road, but the trucker as well.
To illustrate the challenges of driving in winter weather, here is a video of a fire truck having a very difficult time operating on an icy road…
If you wind up losing control of a truck after hitting a patch of black ice, here are some tips from Ryder…
- Depress the clutch fast
- Look at the left mirror only
- Steer and counter-steer as fast as you can to get back in front of the trailer; keep fighting it until you regain control.
Truckers also need to be vigilant of how their vehicles are affected by the winter weather. Watch out for ice build up on the outside mirrors, antenna, and the top of your windshield. Under Federal Motor Carrier Safety regulations, truck drivers subject to interstate commerce Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations have special duties to exercise extreme caution in winter weather such as ice and snow. If the conditions are too dangerous for safe operation, truck drivers must pull off the highway at a safe location and not continue operating.
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 ourcase 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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January 4, 2010
Posted in: Virginia (VA) Trucking Injury/Accidents Topics
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