If you’ve been noticing fewer commercial vehicles on the road in the past week or so, it hasn’t just been in your head. The annual Roadcheck 72-hour commercial vehicle inspection process placed about 2000 vehicles in Texas out of service.

Roadcheck is a nationwide initiative aimed at boosting roadway safety by taking unfit commercial vehicles off the road. Texas DPS officials, police officers, and various other inspectors performed almost 8000 inspections on commercial vehicles, looking for missing lights, problems with brakes and tires, un-logged driving hours, expired licenses, and various other infractions.

Over a quarter of the inspected vehicles were placed out of service due to an issue with the vehicle that required repairs; 212 more drivers were suspended for various other reasons unrelated to their vehicle itself. Only four drivers were suspended due to alcohol or drug use.

Drivers in Texas are used to seeing 18-wheelers on almost every highway, and the statistics from Roadcheck 2011 serve as a sobering reminder that the trucks can be dangerous. What do you think of the Roadcheck inspection results? Should commercial vehicles undergo more frequent inspections?

Trucking accidents are a far too common threat on the roads in Texas, especially since most trucking accidents occur on rural roads. Many of these accidents are due to defective trucking equipment like poor truck maintenance and equipment defects or failures. Defective trucking equipment can cause serious car accidents which can result in catastrophic injuries, all of which lead to loads of medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

If you or a loved one has suffered from a car accident with a truck due to defective trucking equipment or equipment failure, you need a lawyer to be on your side and represent your interest against these large companies.  The lawyers at the McMinn Law Firm are experienced in trucking and car accident cases and we want to help you obtain the justice you deserve.

Many problems can arise with truck maintenance, such as:

• Steering failure
• Brake failure
• Tire failure or blowouts
• Carrying a load that is overweight or overloaded
• Carrying a load that has been improperly balanced
• Faulty seat belts, seals or holes

Weak trucking equipment can be weakened even more by improperly loaded cargo, leading to possible accidents on the road. Innocent victims need to be represented against trucking companies who hold responsibility for the safety and maintenance of these trucks on the highway. These trucking companies are legally supposed to maintain adequate inspections and maintenance of their trucks on a consistent basis as well as keep maintenance logs to track and assure proper truck operation.

The lawyers at the McMinn Law Firm understand the daily hazards innocent drivers face just by driving on the highways, and we want to be there for you or someone you know who has been affected in a car accident or truck accident.  Defective trucking equipment is a fatal danger on the road, one that is highly preventable, and we will fight to obtain your compensation and justice in a trucking accident case.  Our attorneys will investigate each truck and car accident for every detail and gather all the evidence to determine what led up to the accident. Let the McMinn Law Firm help you so you do not have to go through this whole process alone.

Each year over 750 people die at the mercy of fatigued truck drivers, and more than 200,000 are injured, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. It isn’t only the occupants of the passenger vehicle that are killed in driver-fatigue trucking accidents, around 600 truck drivers die each year in these accidents as well. Driver fatigue contributes to 20-40 percent of all trucking accidents in one year, and 82 percent of truck drivers involved in fatal crashes were men.

Truck driver fatigue is an exhausted, sleepy or tired feeling that a driver experiences while operating a commercial vehicle. It usually stems from lack of daily sleep. Driver fatigue is so dangerous because most drivers can’t even tell how serious their exhaustion is. Symptoms of driver fatigue include:

- Yawning
- Poor concentration
- Sore eyes
- Restlessness
- Drowsiness
- Slow reaction
- Feeling Irritable
- Difficulty staying in your lane

Working conditions may also be a factor contributing to driver fatigue. Some drivers are paid by the mile so they will push to get as many miles in as possible, and some companies place time limits on drivers. The Code of Federal Regulations places laws on Interstate truck drivers working hours in order to combat driver fatigue. Under these laws drivers can drive 11 hours in a work period, but are not allowed to operate their vehicle after 14 hours of being on duty. In between working periods ten consecutive hours of rest are needed for the driver to resume work.

Truck drivers are required to record their driving hours in a log book, however, many drivers falsify their hours so they can travel more without getting in trouble. Recently, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration drafted plans that would require electronic on board recorders in all trucks in order to prevent drivers from lying about their hours. These “black boxes,” will monitor the hours driven, and the hours the truck is resting.

The longer a driver is working the more likely he or she is to be involved in an accident due to fatigue. For instance, for one hour of driving there were 102 fatigue related accidents out of 10,412 and for every 13 hours of driving there were 8 fatigue related accidents out of 32.

Trucking accident cases are very complex and present many issues that are absent from regular car accident cases.  It is always a good idea to retain a truck-accident lawyer to review your case and fight for your rights.

There are over 500,000 18-wheeler accidents every year in the United States. It is estimated that 5,000 persons die annually from these accidents while 131,000 suffer from debilitating injuries, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). More than 14 percent of deaths, and 5 percent of accident-related injuries, result from tractor trailer crashes each year. These accidents are increasing each year due to the pressure for speed and efficiency put on the drivers by the trucking companies. To overcome these pressures drivers have been known to take drugs or consume alcohol to get where they need to go as fast as possible. Drivers are required to stop and rest after a certain number of hours, however, a lot of them don’t and end up falling asleep at the wheel. The Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) conducted research based on 18-wheeler accidents and reported that the most frequent causes of big rig accidents are:

- Aggressive driving
- Cell phone use
- Driver fatigue (20 percent of drivers admitted falling asleep at the wheel)
- Driving over the speed limit (accounts for 20 percent of accidents)
- Equipment failure (brake failure, tire failure, etc …)
- Neglect to inspect the truck
- Failure to safely secure cargo
- Hazardous driving practices
- Intoxication
- Jackknifing (when the truck exceeds a 45 degree angle from the cab)
- Extra long driving shifts
- Neglect to accommodate blind spots
- Road debris
- Tailgating
- Tight schedule

The legal weight of an 18-wheeler is 80,000 pounds which makes for a messy accident when one collides with the average 5,000lb automobile. The time required for one of these big rigs to come to a complete stop, when traveling at 55mph, is 40 percent greater than that of a car. This being known, it is easy to see how an accident involving an 18-wheeler could be catastrophic. Injuries from these accidents such as brain damage, head and back trauma, amputations, burns, and broken bones frequently occur, leaving the victim with large medical expenses, loss of a vehicle, and even a loss of income from not being able to work.

Sadly, many trucking companies train their drivers on what to say after an accident to ensure they aren’t held liable. Directly after an accident it is best to contact a lawyer to help build a case against the person at fault. The lawyer can secure police reports, the truck driver’s records, and maybe witness reports to help you win your case and obtain sufficient health care, rehabilitation, or compensation for lost income.