Insurance Companies and
Commercial Truck Accidents
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
18-Wheelers Getting More Dangerous
"What we see depends mainly on what we look for" -- John Lubbock may not have written his famous quote while traveling down the interstate; if he did, his view was probably blocked by an overflow of big trucks. In fact, if you have any plans to do any sightseeing in Maine or Vermont during the next 20 years, make sure you watch out for tractor-trailers or "18 Wheelers" creeping into your rearview mirror. President Obama just signed new legislation giving carriers in those two states an extra ten tons of weight capacity -- and there may literally be no way to stop them.
"As trucks get heavier and heavier, we are turning them into killing machines that prowl up and down our interstate highways" said attorney Jarom Tefteller; "the odds are not in your favor when an 80,000 lb. truck slams into your vehicle." Historically, studies have shown that in two-vehicle crashes involving passenger vehicles and large trucks, 98% of the fatalities were occupants of the passenger vehicle [Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety]. Each of these wrecks has devastating effects. One minute everything is fine, and then crash, everything in your life changes forever because someone driving a 18-wheeler was unable to stop before hitting your vehicle.
"The odds for survival get worse as trucks get heavier," said Tefteller; "suspension and braking systems are not keeping up with these increased payloads -- basic physics dictates that it takes longer to stop a truck weighing 60 tons than it takes to stop a truck weighing 40 tons." The national weight limit for freight trucks on interstate highways has been 40 tons for decades. However, with the new legislation, Maine and Vermont now join 20 other states that have increased their weight limits beyond the generally accepted 80,000 pound limit. “This is obviously a statement by the federal government that commerce is more important that family safety. With every increase in weight these trucks become harder to maneuver and take much longer to stop. This means that as the trucks get more profitable for their owners, they become a much more menacing threat to the rest of us sharing the road,” said Tefteller.
After representing families who have lost loved ones as well as people that have lost their ability to walk, talk, or continue working because of catastrophic injuries, Mr. Tefteller stated emphatically that "once you realize the severity of the problems associated with an extra 10 to 20 tons of weight stuck on the back of a truck, it becomes easy to classify these highway trucks as killing machines."
Compounding the problem is that most recent advances in commercial truck braking systems involve manipulating the exhaust backpressure on the truck's engine. At times, heavy trucks are unable to use these systems because several cities have outlawed the use of "engine brakes" due to the abrupt blare created by the exhaust brake retarder. In addition, the more an 18 wheeler uses its engine for braking, the less they have to spend on their whole braking assembly. "Corporations worry more about their bottom line than saving lives" said Tefteller.
Douglas A. Burks / Tefteller Law, PLLC
About Tefteller Law, PLLC --
Tefteller Law, PLLC is a law firm based in Gilmer, Texas, that represents victims and their families that have suffered severe personal injuries including wrongful death, 18-wheeler truck accidents, and accidents at the workplace. The firm has attorneys that are board certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Civil Trial Law as well as Criminal Law. The firm handles a wide-array of legal matters including wrongful death, personal injury, civil litigation, and security/investment fraud. Jarom Tefteller graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BBA and then received his Juris Doctorate at South Texas College of Law in Houston.
2 Die in Multi-Vehicle Accident Near Mineola, Texas
Victims in the three-vehicle collision on Highway 69 north of Mineola have been identified as being from Sherman, Fairview and Alba.
The Texas Department of Public Safety has released identities of the victims of the accident reported to DPS at 9:51 a.m. Tuesday.
The driver of a Honda that was struck from the rear and knocked into oncoming traffic is listed in critical condition at East Texas Medical Center Hospital in Tyler. She is 69-year-old Margaret Miller of Sherman.
The driver of a Ford truck that reportedly clipped the back of the Honda was killed at the scene. The driver of the truck has been identified as 38-year-old Michael West of Alba.
A Camry was southbound and hit the Honda. The driver of the Camry, who taken from the scene in an emergency helicopter, is Angela Ann Shoffstall of Fairview. She is listed in critical condition at ETMC Tyler. A passenger in her vehicle was ejected from the impact and died at the scene. She was 74-year-old Suzan Fincher of Sherman.
Emergency responders were called the scene approximately 9 miles north of Mineola. Witnesses told the Monitor that the driver of the Honda, Miller, was northbound and had stopped to make a left turn into a rest area. They reported that the pickup was behind her and attempted to pass on the right side, clipping the back of the Honda and forcing it into the path of the southbound Camry where it was truck broadside.
A witness to the accident, Tammy Porter of Alba, said she was traveling south on U.S. 69 when she saw a Honda sitting in the northbound lane preparing to turn left into a rest area. Porter said a pickup truck traveling north attempted to go around the Honda on the right onto a grassy area, when it “clipped the Honda and spun it into the Camry” that was in front of Porter’s Jeep, going south. Another witness, Mary Loofbourrow of Baton Rouge, said she looked in her rearview mirror and saw the pickup truck “flipping” through the air, and she turned around to see if she could be of help.
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