Overturned Tractor Trailer in Baltimore County Catches Fire, Injures Driver

            Last night, a tractor trailer overturned on northbound Interstate 83 in the Parkton area of Baltimore County.  The large truck started to leak gasoline onto the roadway and caught fire.  The driver of the truck suffered serious injuries in the wreck and was taken to Shock Trauma.  Doctors do not believe his injuries to be life threatening.  As a result of crash, I-83 north was closed for several hours while crews removed the tractor trailer and cleaned up the fuel.

            

            As we often blog about, accidents involving tractor trailers are some of the worst and most serious accidents on the road.  The large size of tractor trailer trucks and the amount of power that they have contribute to the severity of injuries when they are involved in accidents.  Semi-trucks and tractor trailers can cause extensive property damage, catastrophic injuries, and death when not properly maintained or driven by negligent drivers.  The most common cause of truck accidents is driver fatigue.  Oftentimes, truck drivers are forced to drive long shifts to meet a deadline and will not take a break to rest because they want to get to the destination on time.  Another common cause for truck accidents is the size of the truck making it next to impossible for the driver to be able to see cars in its blind spot.

            

            Injuries resulting from truck accidents can be devastating.  However, many times injured victims are unable to recover enough money to cover the damages.  It is obvious to look to the negligence of the truck driver and motor carrier as the cause of the accident, but the shipper of the load cannot be forgotten as another possible liable party.  One way to impose liability against a shipper is for negligent selection, which means that an employer can be subject to liability for its failure to exercise reasonable care in selecting a competent and careful contractor.  Motor carriers of nonhazardous materials are required to carry only $750,000 in single limit coverage, however, many times injuries sustained in a truck accident far exceed that amount.  Therefore, it is important to seek recovery from all who are involved including the truck driver, the motor carrier, and the shipper of the load.  Keep in mind though, that the shipper will not always be liable in a truck accident, but should always be considered.

If you or a family member have been injured or killed in a truck accident and would like to consult an experienced Maryland personal injury attorney for free, contact our office at (301) 854-9000 to schedule an appointment at one of our office locations in Baltimore or throughout Maryland or visit us online at http://www.portnerandshure.com/Auto-Accidents/Truck-Accidents/

Deadly Head-On Collision with Trash Truck in Beltsville, Maryland

         Early this morning, a Chevrolet Impala crashed head-on into a trash truck on Edmonston Road near Old Baltimore Pike.  The driver of the car and one of the passengers unfortunately did not survive from the injuries sustained, while another passenger suffered critical injuries and two others suffered non-life threatening injuries.  The truck driver also sustained critical injuries in the crash, but they are not believed to be life-threatening.

            This accident, like most accidents involving trucks, shows the terrible damage that can occur as a result of the size and power of large trucks.  Initial reports appear to show that the accident occurred as a result of the car crossing over the double yellow lines.  It is still unknown what exactly caused the driver of the car to cross over the lines into oncoming traffic and if the truck driver is at fault in any way.

Truck accidents, including those involving trash trucks, often result in devastating injuries and catastrophic damage, but truck accident cases are often complicated and require attorneys who have many years of experience representing clients injured in truck accidents.  The size and weight of trash trucks and other large commercial vehicles make them very dangerous when on the road.  Truck accidents often involve several other cars, thereby making it very important for someone involved in a truck accident to hire an experienced attorney.  Injuries resulting from truck accidents can be devastating and many times injured victims are unable to recover enough money to cover their damages. 

If you or someone you love has been injured in a trash truck accident or sustained an injury as a result of any type of truck accident in Maryland, and would like more information, please call us at (301) 854-9000 to schedule an appointment at our Greenbelt office or one of our other office locations throughout Maryland.  You can also visit us online at: http://www.portnerandshure.com/Auto-Accidents/Truck-Accidents/

Catching Zzzzzzs Behind the Wheel, an Overlooked Phenomenon in Maryland

           While drunk driving and distracted driving get all the attention, drowsy driving is also becoming a major issue and could even be more dangerous.  According to research conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, more than one in five fatal crashes involve driver fatigue.  Drivers are educated on the effects of drunk driving and texting while driving, but rarely ever is drowsy driving discussed.  One reason for this could be because it is difficult to prove that an accident occurred because the driver fell asleep.  There is no blood alcohol to test, no field sobriety tests to conduct, and no phone records to check.

            The biggest problem with drowsy driving is that if a driver is tired, they will often power through it, thinking they will be able to stay awake.  Driving while fatigued is very dangerous and significantly impacts driving performance.  Research shows “on average you have to be out for two to four minutes to realize you were just asleep, whereas it only takes two or three seconds for something catastrophic to happen if you are asleep at the wheel.”  The AAA study found that even people who sleep six to seven hours a night are twice as likely to be involved in a crash compared to those who sleep eight or more hours.  The real danger zone is when a driver gets less than five hours of sleep.  Officials at the Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine note that driving performance begins to decline beyond 16 hours awake.  “When you get to 20 hours without sleep, you are performing as would somebody with a blood-alcohol limit [of 0.08 percent, the legal limit for driving under the influence in Maryland].”

            The age group most at risk for drowsy driving is those between 16-25 years old.  Teenagers are often sleep deprived because they are forced to balance school work, extracurricular activities, and part-time jobs.  Some research shows that half of all drowsy driving related crashes involve a teenager.

            Commercial drivers, such as tractor trailer drivers, are another at-risk group for fatigued driving due to long hours and very little time to rest.  Sleep deprivation is a leading cause of truck accidents, and sometimes, it is not only the fault of the driver, but also the truck company for forcing their drivers to work long hours without any break.

            Some states have passed fatigued-driving laws and some car manufacturers (BMW and Mercedes Benz) have started including technology in vehicles that detects a drowsy driver and tells them to stop and take a break.  “[Drowsy driving] is an issue that deserves the same level of attention…as alcohol, speeding and seat-belt use,” says Brian Tefft of the AAA Foundation.

            For more information on drowsy driving, check out the University of Maryland Medical Center’s website: http://umm.edu/programs/sleep/patients/drowsy-driving.  Interested parties can also visit www.drowsydriving.org for more information.

            If you or someone you love has been injured in an accident caused by the negligence of another driver, including truck drivers who have fallen asleep behind the wheel, please call us today at (301) 854-9000 to set up an appointment at one of our office locations located throughout Maryland for a free case evaluation or visit us online: http://www.portnerandshure.com/Auto-Accidents/Truck-Accidents/