Posts tagged "truck accident"

Earlier this week, we discussed a trucking accident that tragically killed a California family. The crash happened after a semi-truck failed to slow down to avoid stopped cars sitting in heavy traffic. That truck hit the family's cars at full free-way speeds of 75 miles per hour.

According to the wrongful death suit, driver fatigue was a big factor in the wreck. This post will look at some ways in which this issue could affect the case.

Federal safety rules require truck drivers to get plenty of rest so that they can stay alert on the roads. Before driving, truckers must have 10 continuous hours of off-duty rest time. Rested drivers can then spend 14 hours of "windshield time" behind the wheel before they have to take another 10 hours to rest and recover. These rules exist to prevent fatigue-related problems like impaired judgment or slowed reaction times.

After a California family died in a horrific trucking accident last month, the family's surviving loved ones filed a wrongful death suit against three truck companies and their drivers. Among other allegations, the suit claims that one of the drivers violated federal safety rules and that a safer driver could easily have prevented the fatal wreck.

This trucking accident occurred in September while the family was driving across country to move home to California from the east coast. The husband was driving one car while his wife rode with their two sons in a second vehicle.

As discussed in the previous post, a common sleep disorder called sleep apnea affects a significant minority of truck drivers, creating an imminent hazard on our roadways. If left untreated, sleep apnea causes chronic fatigue, which can lead to fatal drowsy driving truck accidents.

Sleep apnea is treated by setting those with the condition up with a CPAP machine. The sleeper wears a mask over their nose and mouth while sleeping and the machine pumps air through a tube into the sleeper, which prevents their airway from closing and keeps them asleep to get needed rest.

A common sleep disorder has also been found to be common among semi-truck drivers and can lead to preventable drowsy driving accidents. A recent news piece on WCNC tells the story of a fatal semi-truck accident and explains that the truck driver who caused the accident had struggled with sleep apnea for years.

Sleep apnea is a condition when the back of the throat closes while a person is sleeping. This cuts off breathing and causes the sleeper to wake throughout the night, which disrupts necessary deep sleep and causes chronic fatigue.

A California man lost his life in a four-vehicle collision on Monday morning. The chain-reaction crash occurred on State Highway 12 just west of the Solano County line. The fatal accident involved three passenger vehicles as well as semi truck that was hauling a bulldozer. The bulldozer had been used to fight wildfires in the area over the weekend.

According to an article in the San Jose Mercury News, the man who lost his life was driving his Ford westbound when he crossed over the center line into the oncoming lane of traffic. His car was struck head-on by the semi truck. The collision knocked the Ford back into the westbound lane where it struck a Toyota minivan that had been following the Ford.

When large vehicles like trucks, buses and trains are involved in a motor vehicle accident, the resulting consequences can be devastating. Just such a devastating fatal accident occurred last Friday after the driver of a semi-truck slammed into a moving Amtrak train at a remote railroad crossing.

The California Zephyr was struck after the driver of the big-rig slammed on his brakes, skidding 320 feet before ramming into the moving train.