Truck Wrecks Archives | DENENA | POINTS

Car cuts off Big Rig causing 4 Vehicle, 3 Truck SW Freeway Crash

Just before midnight on Wednesday, a car pulling out in front of flatbed truck led to a major 4 vehicle crash involving 3 trucks. The collision occurred in a construction zone on the Southwest Freeway of Houston near the Beechnut exit.

The impact caused the driver of the flatbed to lose control of the truck, which then crashed into the rear of an 18-wheeler. Then a pickup truck hit the tractor-trailer too. The flatbed truck driver was hospitalized in stable condition due to injuries from the 4-vehicle collision. (khou.com, 5/22/14) The thoughts and prayers of our Harris County truck accident attorneys are with the injured flatbed driver and his friends and family as he recovers.

Slow Down: Drive with Patience and Care in Construction Zones

The Texas legislature enacted a new law last year to protect TxDOT workers due to the rash of injuries and deaths occurring in work zones because of speeding, impatient, and distracted drivers. Impatient driving can be deadly driving, as demonstrated by a recent fatal crash in Longview where a pickup truck driver passing a slower truck slammed head-on into a car with deadly force.

We realize that sudden slow-downs due to traffic bottlenecks caused by construction zones can be frustrating. But trying to force your way through without slowing down can easily lead to a crash that brings your journey to an abrupt halt altogether.

Almost 85% of the people who die in construction zone crashes are the impatient or negligent drivers. Where the drivers cause fatal accidents to others, they often find themselves arrested afterwards, which happened to the driver in the fatal Longview wreck.

About 45% of all highway construction zones are the sites of crashes. And in Texas last year, more than 3,500 people sustained serious injuries and over 100 died in TxDOT work zone wrecks. So drive carefully, slow down, and stay alert as you head through those highway construction zones. Work zone crashes are 100% avoidable if drivers take extra care.

Contact the Harris County Truck Accident Attorneys at Denena Points, PC if You or Your Loved Ones were injured in a Big Rig Wreck

We believe that needlessly injured accident victims deserve strong advocacy and protection of their rights against negligent drivers and the powerful insurance companies that seek to minimize the value of their losses. Our Texas Board certified personal injury attorneys could help you hold those drivers and insurance companies financially accountable for your needless injuries and losses from a crash.

Could rules limiting trucker hours prevent other FedEx – bus wrecks?

Fatigue among long-haul truck drivers has been recognized for years as a contributing factor in many commercial truck crashes. Drivers doze off momentarily behind the wheel and then veer out of their lane off the road or into incoming traffic. Our Houston truck accident injury lawyers realize that sometimes drivers wake in time to get the vehicle back on course. But not always.

Did Driver Fatigue Contribute to the FedEx Truck and Bus Crash in California?

Driver fatigue could be one possible cause behind Orland, California fiery crash of a FedEx truck into a chartered bus carrying high school students to visit a college. The tragic crash killed 10 people, including 5 students, and injured at least 30 others. The fire spread quickly and people were trapped in the wrecked motorcoach bus and unable to get out in time. The FedEx truck reportedly was pulling two trailers when it crossed the center median to collide with the bus.

The NTSB is investigating, and there are many possible causes they must consider including driver medical conditions, driver intoxication, driver distraction, and driver fatigue, as well as mechanical failure. The NTSB investigates major accidents to learn lessons it can apply nationwide by making safety recommendations intended to prevent similar accidents from happening in the future. (Richard Clough and James Nash, Bloomberg News Business Week, 4/11/14)

One Trucker Fatigue Countermeasure

We point out that highway “rumble strips” are one measure designed to alert fatigued drivers that they’re heading off course. But not every highway has them. The Houston truck accident injury lawyers at Denena Points, PC note that generally only stretches of road considered at high risk of such accidents based on past crash data end up with the rumble strips. And heavily loaded trucks are tricky to quickly maneuver. An attempt to correct an errant course could end in a jackknifed trailer or a rollover crash.

With two trailers like the FedEx truck was hauling, the danger and the difficulty are doubled. The loaded truck is twice as heavy and much more difficult to maneuver. Quick turns or swerving motions could send the back trailer into a jackknife that might even strike the truck cab. But companies wanting to move freight rapidly to its destination are turning more frequently to double and even triple trailer combinations.

Another Countermeasure in the Form of a New Law Limiting Drivers’ Hours

The FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) is the agency responsible for ensuring safe trucking practices. The agency says that each year truck driver fatigue directly accounts for over 750 deaths and 20,000 injuries. And about 98% of the victims of collisions with the commercial trucks are the occupants of the other vehicles.

In July, the FMCSA announced a new regulation long awaited by safety advocates: a law further limiting the number of hours long haul truckers may drive in a week. Some rules limiting driving hours have been in effect for years, but truck drivers have been known to fudge their log books and many trucks still don’t have automatic equipment that records the number of hours driven.

The new rules reduce the maximum average workweek for truck drivers from 82 to 70 hours, and allow those who reach the 70-hour maximum to begin driving once again after they have rested for 34 consecutive hours. That rest period must include two nights of sleep between the hours of 1 and 5 a.m. The rules also require drivers to take a 30-minute break during the first 8 hours of a shift, but do not change the prior 11-hour driving limit and 14 working hours limit per day. (The extra 3 hours in the 14 are so that the drivers can supervise proper loading and unloading of cargo.)

Truck drivers who continually work long daily and weekly hours have been linked to higher risks for crashes, chronic fatigue problems, and serious chronic health conditions, including obesity. Our Houston truck accident injury lawyers point out that the new safety rules are expected to save at least 19 lives and avoid 1,400 crashes and 500 injuries per year.

The New Rules Carry Large Fines for Violations

Truck drivers and trucking companies caught breaking the new rules could face maximum penalties on each offense. For instance, trucking companies and passenger carriers that let drivers exceed the new limits by over 3 hours might be fined $11,000 per violation. The individual truck drivers could be fined up to $2,750 per offense.

Unfortunately, history has shown that safety violators of all types don’t generally change their behavior until the costs of the risks impact their wallets. The new law doesn’t make as a big a change in actual truck driving practice as you might expect, and really only impacts the relatively small percentage of long haul truckers whose routes tend to keep them on the major highways most of the time. But for that small percentage, and the numbers of other drivers on the roads with them, the increased potential for safe driving could save their lives and help to avoid tragic, fiery crashes like the one that just happened in California between the FedEx truck and the bus carrying high school students.

Continue to the linked article to read about some safety gaps in motorcoach buses like the one involved in the fiery California FedEx truck collision.

Is truck driver fatigue to blame for East Freeway big rig wreck?

Our Houston truck accident injury attorneys have been writing recently about truck driver fatigue. A spate of recent accident and a lawmaker’s call for more stringent oversight have brought the ongoing problem into the public eye once again. And Wednesday’s big rig wreck during the morning commute on the East Freeway shows that the problem endures n Houston, shipping hub of the United States.

The driver of an 18-wheeler lost control of his vehicle on the East Freeway near Gregg. A picture of the accident scene shows the big rig overhanging I-10 while caught up on a guardrail. The nasty wreck slowed morning rush hour traffic to a crawl and sent the truck driver to a hospital with serious injuries. (KTRK abclocal.go.com, 2.5.14)

Last July, a new law took effect that reduced the number of hours that long haul truck drivers could drive per week. If a driver drove 60 hours per 7 days or 70 hours per 8 days, he or she was now required to take 2 consecutive nights’ rest rather than one before getting back behind the wheel.

To those of us who work the more usual 35- to 40-hour workweek, that hardly seems excessive. In fact, it seems almost guaranteed to leave one feeling dazed and sleepless. Yet trucking industry officials decried the new law, claiming it lowered productivity and profits. The Houston truck accident injury attorneys at Denena Points, PC suggest that thee industry officials might consider that the new law probably also lowers financial liabilities for 18-wheeler wrecks caused by truck driver fatigue. We’re fairly certain that these officials do not drive 6 or 70 hours per week.

Serious accidents caused by truck driver fatigue don’t just injure people in smaller passenger vehicles. As this accident clearly reveals, the truck driver himself might be seriously injured or even killed. One of our Board Certified personal injury attorneys at Denena Points, PC used to be a truck driver himself. We know the risks. The trucking industry does not do enough to protect its drivers, and it asks its drivers to risk their lives for the profits of the companies by driving overly long hours.

Contact us if you’re a driver or the family member of a driver who’s been injured in a big rig wreck. We offer an entirely free and confidential initial legal consultation. Call us at 713-807-9500 or reach us anytime through our online contact form. Put our 14 years of successful experience helping injured clients and their families financially recover after serious truck wrecks to work for your benefit. Call us today.

Gathering the Evidence after a Serious Crash Injury from a Heavy Truck

The average, fully loaded 18-wheeler weighs around 80,000 pounds, or 25 times more than your car. So after a serious crash with a heavy commercial truck, the occupants of a passenger vehicle might have life threatening or fatal injuries.

When you’ve been injured in a wreck with a semi truck, you suffer heavy physical, emotional, and financial burdens in the aftermath. Funerals must be conducted for those who didn’t survive the crash. You might spend months in bed trying to recover from your injuries. Hospital bills and other medical expenses pile up. And meanwhile you and other accident victims are unable to work. The pain and trauma makes it difficult to move forward with your life and to take the legal steps necessary to hold those responsible for the accident financially accountable for your injuries and losses.

At the law firm of Denena Points, PC, our Board Certified Houston truck accident attorneys understand. Our goal is to shoulder the legal burdens for you and help you make a full financial recovery so that you can put your energy into your physical and emotional recovery.

Multiple Parties might be at Fault in the Wreck: You need to Identify Them All to Win the Full Financial Compensation You Deserve

18-wheeler accidents are complex. Multiple factors likely contributed to the final crash scene. And your accurate identification of all of the parties responsible for causing the crash, as well as their proportionate shares of the blame, is essential to your chance of making the full financial recovery you deserve after the crash injury.

The parties responsible for your pain and loss don’t have to pay you anything unless you take steps to file suit against them and you also adequately prove every aspect of your claim, including the actual monetary value of all of your injuries and losses. Proving the value of your damages can be tricky. It’s essential not to over-inflate your claims. You could benefit from the services of an experienced, Board Certified Houston 18-wheeler accident attorney as you valuate the damages from the wreck.

You must also begin your own thorough investigation of the crash and the accident scene. That investigation could uncover additional parties, like negligent cargo loaders or truck route planners, who might be financially liable to you. If you don’t get a skilled accident attorney on the case for you right away, you could be cheating yourself out of the chance to win full financial compensation for your injuries. If your opponents’ accident investigation is more thorough than yours, they might find evidence to shift the blame to a third party you didn’t even name to your lawsuit. Then they walk away without paying you anything.

At Denena Points, PC, our 14 years of experience with Houston heavy truck accident cases enables us to locate, secure, catalog, and clearly present strong evidence to support your claims. We understand the best way to approach a truck accident investigation, and know how to get the photographs and measurements from the scene that can help establish fault in the case. The measured distances between skid marks and impact points can be very important for instance in showing when or if brakes were applied. Bits of evidence from the scene like shredded tire rubber can be important, and we know how to get the necessary forensic tests done to establish contributing causes to the wreck. We could obtain first responders’ reports, and locate and interview witnesses to the crash to get their information, as well as any surveillance video or photographic evidence that might have captured the accident sequence. Sequestering and examining the vehicles involved might also yield essential clues.

You need to Properly Secure the Evidence in Your Case

You also need to act quickly to secure and preserve the integrity of any evidence from the accident scene or the vehicles involved in it. It’s not enough to have found evidence: it also must be relevant, admissible in court, carefully preserved, and convincing enough that a jury will understand and agree with your claims.

Accident scenes evolve quickly. Authorities are under pressure to get the scene cleared and traffic moving again as soon as possible. In the aftermath, some evidence can be lost or destroyed. And in the chaos, negligent truckers might have the opportunity to remove or hide key pieces of evidence.

Every minute lost in indecision about hiring an attorney for your case could lead to additional pieces of evidence being lost or destroyed. The wrecked vehicles will end up in salvage yards, and some parts might be removed or sold. Witnesses start becoming confused about what they actually saw. They may forget critical details almost at once. Surveillance videos might be taped over within a matter of hours or days.

So time is an essential element when it comes to winning your case. Remember: the defendants don’t have to prove anything in court. They only have to cast enough doubt on your claim to get it thrown out. The legal burden of proof in the matter rests entirely on you.

Contact the Law Firm of Denena Points, PC when You need Strong, Experienced Attorneys to help You win Your Case

Don’t delay: get the legal help you need to build a string and convincing case and win a full financial recovery for your injuries. Call the Board Certified Houston truck accident attorneys of Denena Points, PC at 713-807-9500 for a free and confidential initial legal consultation. Or just schedule your no obligation consultation by filling out our simple online contact form.

We will aggressively work to protect your interests, gather the evidence you need, and build a strong and convincing case for you. Let our years of dedicated experience winning truck accident injury claims on behalf of our clients put the in-depth legal knowledge and practical experience you need behind your case.

Winning Your Truck Crash Injury Claim against Big Insurance Companies

You might not know that the average truck liability policy carries a value more than 50 times that of your average car insurance policy. This is because commercial trucks, with their huge mass and enormous momentum, can cause such catastrophic damages in a crash. In collisions with 18-wheelers, typically other vehicles are crushed and drivers and passengers face life-threatening injuries. Many victims do not survive truck accidents. Our Houston truck accident attorneys have seen too many accidents where the victims suffer horrific underride accidents.

The big insurance company that covers the truck, when faced with an 18-wheeler accident claim that could result in millions of dollars in liability, begins to aggressively prepare a defense strategy to try and find ways to avoid at least some of that huge cost.

The companies that insure trucks know the high statistical probability of serious big rig accidents. They have highly paid professional actuaries and detailed computer models that keep them apprised of these probabilities. And so the big insurance companies maintain senior teams of investigators and insurance claims and defense specialists always at the ready. When an accident happens, these teams can appear on the scene almost immediately to begin their investigation. This is usually well before the hapless victims have even begun to think about hiring attorneys of their own.

The common purpose of the insurance defense team members is to save their employer money. They do this by finding ways to shift the blame for the accident to the victim. Our Houston truck accident attorneys mention that the State of Texas follows the doctrine of “modified comparative negligence.” This doctrine allows defendants to escape all financial liability for a crash if they can show that the victim was at least 50% responsible for causing the accident and his or her own injuries.

The trucker and his insurance company then don’t have to pay you a cent. That’s their goal. They’re very good at it. They’ve had years of practice.

Insurance Adjuster Pressure Tactics after a Serious Truck Accident

To achieve their goal, an insurance adjuster may approach you trying to elicit admissions of fault and statements about the accident. Removed from their original context, even innocent statements might be twisted to mean just about anything.

That insurance adjuster also might try to convince you that your claim has no merit and that they’ll be able to show that you’re at fault for the accident. Then the adjuster will offer you a quick and easy way out of danger: just sign a release form. If you are shrewd enough to refuse to sign and to stand by your claim, then the adjuster might offer you a quick cash settlement.

Once you accept a settlement offer, you have released your legal right to sue for any further financial compensation. You can be sure that any settlement offer you receive without the counsel of your own attorney represents but a fraction of the true worth of your claim. So don’t accept a settlement offer before you obtain the advice of your own Houston truck accident attorney. He will know the true worth of your claim and can help you safeguard your rights and interests in the matter.

Don’t Make the Mistake of Trying to Represent Yourself in an 18-Wheeler Accident Injury Claim

Over our years going head-to-head against the big insurance companies in truck crash cases, we have yet to hear of anyone successfully representing themselves against a trucking company and its insurer. This is because 18-wheeler accident cases are highly convoluted, include a large number of contending factors, and involve highly technical matters of evidence. You simply won’t have the experience to successfully address all of the legal hurdles you must face in order to win a fair financial compensation award. And your inexperience could lead to costly mistakes.

To win your claim, our Houston truck accident attorneys emphasize that you must prove 4 essential elements of civil liability and damages against each of the negligent defendants you’ve named in your action. You’ll need to clearly prove the roles of each of the defendants in causing your accident injuries. And you must also adequately prove the existence and fair monetary value of each of your claimed items of damages. Valuation of damages is a complex art. And you will face fierce opposition from defendants who don’t want to pay you what they owe for the losses they’ve caused you.

With a determined opposition team arrayed against you, you’ll need the services of an accident attorney who knows when to be aggressive, when to let clear proof speak for itself, and how to combat the sometimes underhanded tactics you’ll face from the defensive side. Knowing the law is not enough. You need someone with the experience and practical training to correctly apply the laws to the unique facts and circumstances of your specific case.

Contact the Texas Board Certified Personal Injury Attorneys at Denena Points, PC when You need Able Legal Help

The Houston truck accident attorneys at Denena Points, PC know how to secure the evidence you need to prove your case. We can use that evidence to pressure your opponents into offering you a fair settlement for your injuries. And if they won’t settle and insist on a trial, we could use that evidence to convince the juror of the value of your claims.

We have the experience, ability, and knowledge to meet your opponents tactic for tactic, and to prepare a strong counterattack for every attack on your claim. We’ve been successfully resolving truck crash injury and wrongful death cases for years. We’ll do everything legally within our power to help you win the full financial recovery you deserve.

You need the accident compensation money to get back on your financial feet and to make you and your family financially whole again after a serious crash. Don’t waste your one chance to claim the compensation you need to heal financially following your accident. The Houston truck accident attorneys at Denena Points, PC have worked to build a solid reputation for staunch client advocacy, thorough case investigation and preparation, skillful settlement negotiation, and convincing trial presentation that our clients and opponents both respect. Put our reputation and experience to work for you.

Contact us today for your FREE initial legal consultation. Reach us at 713-807-9500 or through our convenient online contact form to schedule your free consultation.

Financial Recovery after a Major Truck and Car Pileup in Kemah

Monday morning around 8, two 18-wheelers and three passenger vehicles were involved in a serious crash on Highway 146 near FM 518 in Kemah. The 5-vehicle pileup resulted in closure of all northbound and southbound lanes. One of the vehicles rolled over after striking one of the big rigs. An account of the pileup mentioned that 6 people were hospitalized with injuries, at least one of them in critical condition.

The hearts and prayers of our Harris County truck accident injury lawyers are with the victims of this serious wreck in Kemah. Their lives have been changed by possibly severe injuries and destroyed vehicles, and now they face the long process of recovery as well as uphill battles to obtain the financial compensation they need to pay medical expenses and replace their wrecked cars and trucks.

If the Truck that hit You is Self-Insured, You might face an Uphill Battle for Your Financial Recovery

When you or your loved ones are injured in a serious crash with one of the big rigs, you not only face the pain of serious injuries and mounting medical bills, you might also face aggressive opposition to your claim for financial compensation from the trucker and trucking company at fault for the accident.

Because of the massive damage that can result when an 80,000-pound cargo truck crashes, trucking companies by federal law must carry high dollar liability insurance policies. Those policies might be worth more than 50 times the value of your passenger vehicle policy. Some of the trucking companies meet the federal requirement by self-insuring their trucks. Basically, they file some forms, and then set aside a portion of their assets and/or buy a surety bond to provide a sufficient amount of coverage.

When you face a self-insured trucking company, your road to financial recovery after a serious accident becomes a challenging obstacle course. The Harris County truck accident injury lawyers at Denena Points, PC emphasize that any compensation you receive has to come out of the company’s assets, rather than from an insurance company. The company and its employees have strong incentives to resist your valid claim: any compensation payments to you could cut into profits, bonuses, pay increases, and amenities of the job. If the financial liability is large enough, the company might even have to make layoffs to remain financially viable.

The Obstacles to Recovery You might need to Overcome

The trucking company employees therefore have all the motivation they need to stall your claim, lose or alter evidence, harass you, threaten you, threaten witnesses, and work to find ways to shift the blame for the accident onto you to deter you from your claim. And the types of ethics rules that govern the insurance industry in handling claims don’t bind the trucking company employees one iota.

To win your claim against a self-insured trucking company, you’ll need the able help of an aggressive and experienced Harris County truck accident injury lawyer who can protect your rights and interests. Your attorney can shield you by handling all contacts with the trucking company for you. And your attorney can begin legal action against the company if it initially refuses to negotiate fairly and responsibly regarding your claim.

Contact the Board Certified Harris County Truck Accident Injury Lawyers at Denena Points, PC when You need Able Legal Representation

We have 14 years of experience successfully resolving complex accident injury and wrongful death claims against trucking companies and also against the big insurance companies. One of our Board Certified attorneys has a background in the trucking industry that gives us an inside edge in knowing how truck accident cases and the trucking companies work.

Call us for a FREE initial legal consultation at 713-807-9500 or just fill out our online contact form to schedule your free consult. Put our experience and dedication to work for your benefit.

Large Hole in Pavement Blamed for Friday’s Major I-30 Crash

A detailed news account from Royse City reports that the first ambulance to respond to the major I-30 crash at the overpass construction zone got stuck in the large hole and couldn’t get out. A wrecked SUV and a concrete highway barrier blocked it in, and the lack of road shoulders due to construction prevented traveling out alongside oncoming traffic. So emergency workers called another ambulance and transferred the 7 injured patients from the Royse City crash into that vehicle.

The Royse City Police Chief, Jeff Stapleton, indicated that it was very lucky that the crash from the large hole in the pavement didn’t result in life-threatening injuries. Our I-30 crash injury lawyers agree; given how many large vehicles crashed on I-30 that morning and the foggy conditions, it’s a wonder the results of the wrecks weren’t far worse. Our thoughts and warm wishes for quick recoveries are with all of the injured victims.

Police confirmed that the three-vehicle crash just after 7 a.m. on Friday was caused initially by a small car hitting the large hole in the pavement of westbound I-30’s outside lane near Erby Campbell Blvd. Then the car struck a concrete highway barrier and was hit by a tandem tractor-trailer truck. The truck apparently also ran into the hole before striking the car and had a tire blow out. The rear trailer of the truck ended up smashing through the concrete highway divider and an oncoming SUV hit it.

Before that 7 a.m. wreck, a 13 vehicle crash at the Lake Ray Hubbard Bridge on I-30 involved six tractor-trailer trucks and 7 or 8 passenger vehicles. That chain reaction crash occurred around 3:30 a.m. in the fog and wrecked additional sections of the highway barrier. That earlier wreck resulted in the arrest of a driver for intoxication. (Jim Hardin, Royse City Herald-Banner, 1/15/14)

As the Royse City report indicates, clearing the scenes of the accidents and getting traffic moving again was complicated not just by the severity of the accidents and the many vehicles involved, but also by the damage to the highway and the presence of the construction zone.

I’ve noticed several construction areas lately where deep holes from construction are right alongside moving traffic lanes with barely a row of cones to give warning. I’ve found a stretch of Belt Line Road in Dallas and some of the construction involving LBJ Freeway particularly problematic. It’s not hard to picture a vehicle trying to negotiate fast-moving traffic slipping into these holes and wrecking.

It’s understandable that traffic workers don’t want to block more lanes and slow traffic more than necessary. But the I-30 crash injury lawyers at Denena Points, PC emphasize the lesson of the Royse City crashes, which indicate that a wreck resulting from the construction zone hazards blocks traffic longer and more seriously than additional safety precautions might.

Learn how to Cope with a Serious Injury Accident: Download our FREE Report. 

 

Texas Child Pedestrian Deaths in Trucks’ Blind Spots

Texas has the highest percentage of pedestrian fatalities each year of the U.S. states, and a large proportion of the victims are children. Each year, Texas accounts for around 40% of U.S. pedestrian fatalities, even though our state only accounts for between 5% and 10% of all accident fatalities. In addition to the about 4,000 pedestrian fatalities each year, there are tens of thousands of serious injuries that can leave permanent disabilities and financially ruin families.

Many of the pedestrian fatalities among young children happen in parking lots and driveways, where children are ordinarily thought to be safe from traffic. But these accidents often occur when children get into vehicle “blind spots” and get run over when drivers backing out can’t see them.

A study of passenger vehicles revealed that they had rear “blind spots” that extended from 7 feet in length and could hide a handful of children to 50 feet in length that could hide about 60 children (or two classrooms full). The blind zones for commercial vans, box trucks, and 18-wheelers are even larger. (http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/car-safety/car-safety-reviews/mind-that-blind-spot-1005/best-and-worst/0304bli0_best-and-worst-rear-blind-zones.htm)

Of the more than 3,000 fatal truck-related accidents each year in the United States, 35% of these are linked to the truck drivers’ blind spots. When you’re in a truck’s blind spot and the driver doesn’t know you’re there he might accidentally:

  • Make an abrupt, short stop that causes you to collide with the rear of the truck;
  • Merge into your lane right on top of you; or
  • Make a wide turn right in front of you, possibly trapping your vehicle against a retaining wall, tree, or signpost.

Commercial trucks weigh up to 20 times more than a passenger vehicle, and perhaps 1,000 times more than a young child. So it’s no wonder that in truck-related accidents, it’s the pedestrians or occupants of the passenger vehicles that suffer the serious or fatal injuries more than 70% of the time.

Commercial truck drivers are held to a higher safety standard than ordinary passenger vehicle drivers and they usually exceed this standard. But where they fail to exercise proper caution and regard for your safety, they should be held accountable for the high costs of their negligence.

If you or someone you know was injured in a Texas truck-related accident, contact a Board Certified personal injury attorney today that has extensive experience with truck accidents and injuries. By taking legal action without delay, you and your family could recover the monetary damages you need to cover your hospital bills, lost wages, medications, pain and suffering, and much more.

Contact the experienced Board Certified personal injury attorneys at Denena Points, PC for a free, no obligation initial legal consultation to discuss your case and evaluate your eligibility for a full financial recovery. Reach us anytime through our online contact form or contact us direct at 713-807-9500.

Electronic Stability Control and its Effect on Heavy Truck Crashes

The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) estimates that Electronic Stability Control (ESC) systems on tractor-trailer trucks prevent 4,659 crashes, 5,909 injuries, and 126 heavy truck crash deaths each year. Our Houston 18-wheeler accident attorneys point out that heavy trucks are particularly susceptible to loss of vehicle control and resulting crashes and rollovers on curves, during lateral direction shifts such as lane changes, and on turns and ramps. In fact, the chance of a heavy truck crash occurring on a curve is 4.7 times greater than on a straight road. So the issues of electronic stability control and its effect on heavy truck crashes are of key importance to road safety.

Because of the high toll in lives, injuries, property damage and productivity loss caused each year by wrecks that occur when a truck becomes unstable, the government has mandated ESC systems on heavy vehicles. The Houston 18-wheeler accident attorneys at Denena Points, PC note that the U.S. NHTSA has also invested in research to try and find ways to mitigate the danger of trucks becoming unstable and causing the drivers to lose control of the vehicles.

In May, the NHTSA released a detailed report (Tractor Semitrailer Stability Objective Performance Test Research – Yaw Stability) based on a series of tests regarding tractor-trailer instability on the road. The research focused on truck stability when negotiating ramps, during lane changes, in obstacle avoidance maneuvers, when braking, and when negotiating curves. The tests looked at loaded and unloaded heavy truck conditions, different road surfaces, and at tractors alone and in combination with trailers to pinpoint the situations most likely to lead to a crash or a rollover.

Some of the NHTSA Research Findings Regarding Tractor-Trailer Instability

  • It wasn’t necessary for a truck to be fully loaded for the driver to have difficulty controlling the massive vehicle. Crash data revealed that tractor-trailer trucks were experiencing loss of control crashes when loaded with as little as 5,000 pounds of cargo. And our Houston 18-wheeler accident attorneys emphasize that some types of cargos, like liquid tanker cargos, could be even more likely to unbalance a truck when only partly full. For example, the liquid in a partially empty tanker might slosh around heavily on turns or curves and unbalance the truck.
  • The physical size and mass of a tractor-trailer truck make it less sensitive to quick lateral steering inputs and so slower to respond to lane change directions or obstacle avoidance maneuvers.
  • More over-steering accidents, yaw instability events, and spinouts were observed on dry, high friction road surfaces than on lower friction surfaces.
  • In situations where the truck’s lateral limits were approached gradually, a stability control system’s ability to exert control over the engine was sufficient to maintain the truck’s lateral stability. Where the lateral limits were approached more rapidly, our Houston 18-wheeler accident attorneys mention that the ESC system needed to exert control over both the engine and the truck’s foundational brakes to maintain lateral stability.

How ESC Systems Work to Help Prevent Heavy Truck Crashes and Resulting Injury

ESC systems are designed to mitigate over-steering or under-steering conditions that lead to loss of vehicle control and potential crashes and rollovers. When it detects over-steering or under-steering, the ESC system will selectively apply the brakes to generate a yawing moment that helps the driver maintain vehicle control. Heavy vehicle ESC systems also incorporate Roll Stability Control (RSC) that automatically reduces engine torque, decelerates the vehicle, and applies the foundational brakes. Our Houston 18-wheeler accident attorneys at Denena Points, PC remark that the RSC systems can also help reduce the rearward amplification of trailer oscillations in double and triple trailer combinations.

Learn More about the Unique Complexities of Tractor-Trailer Crashes and What to do if You’re Injured by One

Click the book icon on this web page to download your free copy of our informative report.

14 Important Truck Accident Fast Facts You Want to Know

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With the increasing congestion on our Texas and Houston area roadways as truck and passenger vehicle traffic continues to grow along with the economy, serious crashes with heavy commercial trucks are a daily occurrence. Click the link to read about a recent deadly truck accident in Texas. Our Houston truck accident attorneys provide these 14 important truck accident fast facts you want to know to help increase your safety and alertness to danger on the road.

  1. According to the U.S. NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) 12% of all 2011 fatal traffic crashes involved heavy commercial trucks. Specifically, tractor-trailer trucks and similar vehicles accounted for 3,757 deaths on U.S. roads that year. The NHTSA classifies heavy trucks as those that weigh (unloaded) more than 10,000 pounds. Our Houston truck accident attorneys note that when loaded, these heavy commercial trucks might weigh 80,000 pounds or more.
  1. The average annual number of tractor-trailer trucks involved in fatal U.S. traffic accidents has decreased to about 3,500 from an average of more than 5,000 in the years from 2004 to 2008. But Texas still holds the top spot for the number of fatal heavy truck accidents (and most other types of fatal accidents too), followed by Florida and California. Heavy commercial truck traffic is increasing in Texas due to the boom in fracking extraction of oil and gas and to Houston’s place as the number one port for U.S. import/export traffic.
  1. Tractor-trailer trucks pulling one semi trailer are the most common type of heavy truck to be involved in fatal traffic accidents, accounting for around 60% of all fatal crashes with heavy commercial trucks.
  1. The Houston truck accident attorneys at Denena Points, PC report that about 80% of fatal truck accidents happen on the highways. 67% occur in daylight in rural areas. Almost 85% happen in “normal” weather conditions. And over 80% happen on dry roads. This indicates that most accidents probably tend to happen when drivers are feeling confident of their surroundings and might be speeding or paying less active attention to the roadway.
  1. Under federal regulations, 40 tons or 80,000 pounds is the maximum allowable weight for a loaded heavy truck. But we mention that a certain percentage of truckers and trucking companies overload their trucks to gain the maximum profit from a single delivery. Overloading a truck is not uncommon as truckers try to move more goods with fewer tips and make more money. But the heavier the load, the longer it takes a truck to stop or change direction, and the greater your danger from a crash.
  1. In heavy commercial truck crashes, occupants of the vehicles hit by the trucks account for 72% of the fatalities. The truck occupants themselves, which may include passengers and relief drivers in the sleep compartments, account for only 17% of the deaths. And our Houston truck accident attorneys point out that 11% of the fatalities are pedestrians and bicyclists not occupying any enclosed vehicle.
  1. Tractor-trailer trucks only accounted for 8% of the vehicles involved in fatal traffic crashes. But due to their disproportionate size and weight in relation to other vehicles, they accounted for 12% of the traffic deaths in 2011.
  1. Only 3% of the accidents involving 18-wheelers and similar trucks just damaged property or caused injury. Due to the trucks’ size and weight, our Houston truck accident attorneys emphasize that fatalities tend to result.
  1. More than 70% of fatal truck accidents in 2011 occurred when a truck collided with another motor vehicle in transport.
  1. Between 10% and 15% of fatal tanker truck wrecks involve a rollover accident.
  1. “Straight” trucks (tractor power units with a permanently attached cargo bodies; “straight truck” does not refer to the truck’s orientation for truck socializing purposes) account for a little over 34% of fatal heavy truck accidents. The Houston truck accident attorneys at Denena Points, PC note that dump trucks are classified as “straight” trucks. We also note that almost 45% of straight-truck drivers are paid by the hour rather than the mile.
  1. More than 60% of fatal straight truck accidents were “local” where the truck was within 50 miles of its base. A very large proportion of these were dump truck and garbage truck accidents occurring in urban neighborhoods.
  1. About 72% of fatal heavy truck accidents involve Class 8 vehicles weighing at least 33,000 pounds (this includes heavily loaded dump trucks). Our Houston truck accident attorneys mention that almost 95% of tractor-trailer truck fatal crashes were 18-wheelers weighting 33,000 pounds or more loaded.
  1. In most fatal heavy commercial truck wrecks, alcohol and drug use by the truck drivers are not contributing factors. Failure to stay in the lane (which could be related to driver fatigue or distraction, or unsafe lane changing) accounts for almost 11% of these wrecks. Inattentive or distracted driving was the next most common factor at slightly over 6%. Driving too fast, failure to yield, and cell phone use were other commonly cited causes of fatal truck wrecks.

(Sources: Trucks Involved in Fatal Accidents (TIFA) file from the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute: Trucks involved in Fatal Accidents Factbook 2008, published by the Center for National Truck and Bus Statistics in March 2011)

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