In addition to operating their trucks and tractor-trailers in a careful and safe manner at all times while on the road, truck drivers are also responsible for ensuring that their truck’s equipment.
truck accidents Archives
Faulty Brakes in Semi-Truck Accidents Can Cause Deadly Results.
When large trucks, including semis, big rigs, and tractor-trailers, are not equipped with reliable and well-working braking systems, serious accidents can result that lead to traumatic debilitating injuries or death.
What are the Primary Causes of Trucking Accidents?
According to the New Mexico Department of Transportation, an accident involving a semi-truck or other large vehicle occurred every 4 hours in 2016, the most recent year for which data is available.
Do Truck Drivers Get Background Checks?
Semi-trucks can weigh up to 80,000 pounds (compared to about 4,000 pounds for the average vehicle) and often carry heavy or even hazardous cargo. It makes sense that drivers don’t want just anyone behind the wheel of these large and dangerous commercial vehicles.
You should be cautious of truckers experiencing burnout
Each day, countless truckers wake up and don't feel like getting on the road. It's not that they're sleepy or have a fear of driving, but instead that they're just experiencing burnout.
The editor of the academic journal Burnout Research notes that there are three different stages truckers go through before they begin to experience disillusionment with their jobs.
Who can you sue if you're struck and injured by flying debris?
How many times have you been driving down the road behind a truck with loose debris hanging off its trailer? If it flies off, it's likely that it ends up strewn about the streets. It might even strike your car and cause damage. In some rare cases, this can cause you to suffer injuries.
Who's subject to hours of service regulations?
When truck accidents occur, perhaps one of the first things law enforcement will ask as part of their investigation into what occurred is to review the driver's logbook. This is especially the case in more serious types of incidents where another motorist may suffer either serious injuries or die.
A $165 million award is reconfirmed in a fatal I-10 crash
A Las Cruces Appeals Court panel reaffirmed a lower court's decision to award $165 million in a 2011 wrongful death case on Tuesday, Feb. 6. The settlement had been awarded to the husband and the parents of a then 22-year-old mother and the couple's then 4-year-old daughter who were struck and killed by a FedEx driver.
Underride guards can prevent fatal truck accidents
In 2011, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducted a study whereby their researchers took passenger cars and crashed into the rear portion of semitrucks in a simulated safety exercise. What was discovered by doing this is just how effective the trucks' underride guards, or metal bumpers, can be. In most cases, they protected motorists from becoming trapped under the tractor-trailers in rear-end crashes with them.
Why do trucks jackknife and what happens if I'm struck by one?
Although the prospect of ice on the roadway causing a tractor-trailer to jackknife in New Mexico is small, it's not out of question that a trucker might lose traction and subsequent control of his truck for another reason.
The most often cited reasons truck accidents occur
During the past few years, federal Hours of Service laws have been passed regulating the amount of hours truckers can travel break-free. Another requirement that has become mandatory is truckers keeping track of their drive times on a electronic log.
The plight of brain injury victims in New Mexico
Throughout New Mexico, there are many reasons different individuals have come to face traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). There are some that have been victims of abuse at the hands of their spouses, others that have suffered TBIs in combat as soldiers or while being tackled on the football field and then there's those that have suffered blunt force trauma in the course of car or truck accidents.
Compensation after a semitruck crash involves finding the cause
Being struck by a semitruck is a particularly troubling situation that can lead to significant changes in your life. In some crashes, innocent victims are left trying to learn how to live life with a disability. The impact of the semitruck on your vehicle might lead to you suffering from a brain injury. This might be a minor issue, such as a minor concussion. It can also be a much larger issue if you have global brain damage.
Semi trucks require room to stop and maneuver
When you drive on the roadways in New Mexico, you have to be aware of what other drivers on the roads are doing. This is especially true if you are driving around semi trucks. These large vehicles have special considerations that you must think about when you drive because an accident with a big rig can easily devastate your life.
An overview of the "no-zones" around a semi-truck, Part 1
All motor vehicles have, to some degree, "no-zones" (or blind-spots for passenger vehicles). These no-zones are responsible for a substantial portion of traffic collisions, including injuries and fatalities. No-zones are even more dangerous around semi-trucks because of their sheer size and speeds at which many accidents occur (i.e. on the highway). This post will go over how to identify two of the no-zones.