Articles Posted in Trucking Accidents

Ten days ago, tragedy struck when a Jacksonville woman driving south on US 17 in Fleming Island was struck by a tractor trailer.  After being struck, the woman’s vehicle left the highway and impacted a support piling for the pedestrian walkway that spans from Pace Island to Black Creek.

The driver of the semi truck left the scene of the collision.  He was later pulled over by a Clay County Sheriff’s deputy who witnessed the collision.  The driver was arrested for leaving the scene of a crash resulting in a fatality.  The semi driver claimed he was unaware that the collision even happened.  Florida Highway Patrol relays that the semi driver was changing into the woman’s lane when the collision occurred.

Given the manner in which this collision occurred, it may have been due to the car being located in the driver’s blind spot.  The woman’s car was to the right of the semi driver and next to his trailer.  This puts the car in the classic location of a blind spot for the truck driver.

Due to the size of a tractor trailer, there are significant blind spots.  The height of the tractor adds to the problem as the driver and the mirrors make seeing a small car that is next,  and close, to the tractor on its right side very hard to see.

In order to prevent these types of collisions, defensive driving is a must.

In 1994, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) established a program related identifying “no zones” to educate the public on safely sharing the road with large commercial vehicles.  “No zones” are areas to avoid as they present blind spots where truck drivers may have a difficult time seeing you.   Advice for avoiding “no zones” includes:

-do not linger on the side of a semi truck, especially the right side, either speed up or slow down to get yourself away from a blind spot;

-when passing a semi truck, pass on the left side, again due to the larger blind spot on the right side of the truck; and

-stay far behind a semi truck as they cannot easily see you, semi trucks do not have rear view mirrors (as all that semi drivers would see in a rear view mirror is their trailers).

For their part, truck drivers switching lanes to their right also have a protocol for safety.  First, they are advised to signal lane changes at least five seconds in advance of their turn.  Next, they are to check their mirrors and to use a fender mounted mirror to provide maximum visibility.  Before turning, the driver must lean forward and over to look into the blind spot to make sure there are no cars in their right side blind spot.

Finally, truck drivers are advised to allow six seconds between the truck and the nearest vehicle they are following.  In this manner, the driver can safely stop and does not have to perform a sudden lane change to avoid rear ending another vehicle.  Such a sudden lane change usually does not allow time for properly checking for vehicles in the blind spot.

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The discovery of what federal investigators are calling an illegal commercial driver license scheme – that helped more than 600 people get Florida commercial drivers’ licenses without proper training – has raised new concerns about unqualified truckers on the highways of our state.

Many of the students in the scheme were Russian-speaking immigrants living in New York, Illinois, California and Virginia, according to federal-court documents.

Investigators say most of the drivers found out about the commercial license training through a now-defunct website — russiantruckingschool.com — and then traveled to Florida to obtain licenses to use back in their home state, according to federal court documents.

Authorities said it only took a few days to get a license through the school and usually cost each person between $2,000.00 and $5,000.00.

In July, United States Attorney, A. Lee Bentley, III, announced an indictment against four men with conspiracy to aid and abet the unlawful production of Florida drivers’ licenses and commercial drivers’ licenses (“CDLs”). If convicted on all counts, each defendant faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison.

The alleged scheme raises a number of concerns about truck accidents caused by these unqualified drivers and the liability of the carriers and employers hiring them.  As Jacksonville trucking accident lawyers, we have seen many instances in which trucking companies put drivers on the roads who should not have been there in the first place.

The evidence of the federal investigation is shocking due to its scope. The alleged scam involved more than 600 invalid commercial drivers’ licenses (CDLs) issued in Florida — to Russian-speaking truck drivers who did not receive appropriate training.

Apart from this scam, we already face a multitude of problems with unfit truck drivers. Many of the drivers who cause truck accidents on the roads of Florida have legitimate commercial licenses but may be unfit to drive due to other reasons. These include:

Drunk Driving – a trucking company has a responsibility to check a driver for past offenses involving alcohol or drugs and federal regulations set out strict drug and alcohol testing rules and regulations for employees who drive commercial trucks and buses that require a commercial driver’s license.

Distracted Driving – cell phone use, texting, interacting with passengers and even surfing the internet have all resulted in unnecessary and avoidable trucking accidents.

Driving while Drowsy – As many as one in five accidents are caused by drowsy driving and driving hours longer than allowed and untreated sleep apnea are big issues in the trucking industry. Trucking companies are responsible for making sure their drivers take mandated breaks, stay within allowed maximum driving hours and do not have untreated conditions that can cause safety issues.

Speeding – Truckers are under a lot of pressure to make deliveries on time and may put their foot on the gas in an attempt to catch up. At a higher rate of speed there is less time for truckers to react to other drivers and road conditions. Speeding can also lead to potentially fatal blow outs of heavy truck tires. Between 2009 and 2013, heavy trucks and buses were responsible for 14,000 fatal accidents. According to government figures, 223 of those fatalities were related to heavy truck tires that failed.

Two catastrophic truck accidents in less than a month on I-16 near Savannah, Georgia, not far from the Florida line, earlier this year highlighted the dangers posed by big rigs. Each crash claimed the lives of five people on the Interstate.

Written by David Macaulay Continue reading