Preliminary Truck Crash Data For 2009 Released
Preliminary statistics on 2009 tractor trailer crashes have just been released. The Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts: Early Release is based on crash data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), as well as preliminary total vehicle miles traveled (VMT) data from the Federal Highway Administration.
Among the highlights:
- Of the 286,000 police-reported crashes involving large trucks in 2009, 2,987 (1 percent) resulted in at least one fatality, and 51,000 (18 percent) resulted in at least one nonfatal injury.
- Single-vehicle crashes made up 20 percent of all fatal crashes, 16 percent of all injury crashes, and 35 percent of all property damage only crashes involving large trucks.
- Almost two-thirds (64 percent) of all fatal crashes involving large trucks occurred on rural roads, and just over one-fourth (26 percent) occurred on rural and urban Interstate highways. […]
Posted in Truck Accidents.
$6.5 Million Awarded in Deadly Tractor Trailer, Pick-Up Truck Crash
Tractor trailer driver and farm at fault for fatal accident
Two years after a 32-year-old woman was killed when a tractor trailer rear-ended the pick-up truck in which she was riding, her family has been awarded a $6.5 million award in their wrongful death lawsuit, reports the Courier-News.
On Halloween, 2008, the East Dubuque, Illinois woman, her husband, and their 3-year-old son were on the way to Goebbert’s Pumpkin Patch when a tractor-trailer rear-ended their pick-up truck, killing the wife instantly. Her husband suffered a broken spine, facial fractures, and respiratory failure and their son suffered two broken legs, head injuries and lacerations.
The lawsuit alleged the driver of the tractor-trailer was operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs, driving over the speed limit and failing to keep a proper lookout. It was learned the owners of the tractor-trailer, […]
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$65 Million Verdict In 2007 Tractor-Trailer Crash Upheld By Appeals Court
Tractor trailer company found at fault for young woman’s permanent injuries in crash
Considered to be one of the largest in Polk County, Florida, a $65 million verdict for a woman injured in a 2007 traffic crash was upheld by the 2nd District Court of Appeals, reports The Ledger of Lakeland, Florida.
In 2007, the 19-year-old was driving her Dodge Neon when she was struck by a tractor-trailer at an intersection. An eyewitness to the accident testified the young college student had the green light.
A typical fully loaded tractor-trailer can weigh close to 80,000 pounds, while an average passenger automobile weighs only 3,000 pounds. Due to this size disparity, and the basic laws of physics, any collision between a commercial truck and another vehicle is likely to result in serious, even fatal, injuries. If you, or a loved one, has been injured in a commercial trucking accident, […]
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Businesses and Western Governors Press to Increase Truck Weight and Size Limit
Increase would cause drastic spike in truck accident fatalities
More than 150 companies, including Kraft, Coca Cola and MillerCoors, are lobbying Congress to increase the weight limit on trucks traveling interstate highways, The Wall Street Journal reported on August 16.
The companies would like to increase weight limits from 80,000 to 97,000 pounds, or almost 20%.
At the same time, a coalition of Western state governors is asking Congress to allow more doubles and triples – multiple tractor trailers hitched together, that can span up to 120 feet – on the federal highways in their states. Current law limits trucks on the interstate to no more than 53 feet in length.
When it comes to accidents, there is a strong correlation between the size of the truck and the severity of the accident. A study done by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute showed that a truck weighing 80,000 pounds is 50%-100% more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than a truck weighing 50,000 to 65,000 pounds. […]
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Tagged Trucking Legislation
Man Dies From Injuries Suffered In Tractor-Trailer Accident
Tractor-trailer accident: A Pennsylvania man has died from injuries he suffered when his pick-up truck crashed with a tractor-trailer in New Jersey, reports the Gloucester County Times. The passenger truck flipped on its side coming to rest against an abandoned building.
A typical fully loaded tractor-trailer can weigh close to 80,000 pounds, while an average passenger automobile weighs only 3,000 pounds. Due to this size disparity, and the basic laws of physics, any collision between a commercial truck and another vehicle is likely to result in serious, even fatal, injuries. If you have been injured, or a loved one has died, in a commercial trucking accident, you need the experienced lawyers of Munley, Munley & Cartwright to protect your rights.
The 59-year-old-driver and his passenger had to be cut from the 1997 Ford F-150 pick-up. They were then airlifted to Cooper University Hospital in Camden where the driver was pronounced dead from severe head injuries he sustained in the crash. […]
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