Illinois Truck Accident Lawyer Blog

A Motor Carrier Transportation Truck Safety study that was conducted recently found that there are certain precautions that drivers can take when on the road with large commercial trucks to help avoid dangerous trucking accidents. The reason that it is so crucial for drivers of passenger cars to be aware and careful around trucks is because it is 15 times for likely for someone in a passenger car to be killed than it is for the truck driver to be killed.

In order to stay safe while on the road with trucks, our Chicago accident attorneys recommend that you always leave more space than you would behind a passenger car. Additionally, make sure to never cut off trucks and do not tailgate trucks. Also make sure to follow the speed limit because speeding is another leading cause of serious trucking accidents, as well as other types of traffic accidents. To read more about safety measures drivers can take to avoid truck crashes, please click on the link. Making an active choice to be cautious and around trucks can result in fewer trucking accidents and safer roads for passenger cars.

A trucking accident lawsuit has been settled in connection with a 2007 trucking accident that resulted in the death of a couple. The trucking accident occurred when a truck driver fell asleep at the wheel and struck an Illinois woman’s vehicle, causing a chain reaction in which the couple was killed along with the Illinois driver. The case required the jury to decide what damages couple's sons should receive, because the trucking company conceded liability early on in the wrongful death lawsuit. The jury awarded $4 million to the couple's sons. To read more about this trucking accident settlement, please click on the hyperlink.

According to Trans Scan, almost half of long-distance truck drivers interviewed admitted to nodding off at the wheel at some point in their career and about twenty percent of all truck-drivers interviewed reported either an accident or near accident due to nodding off at the wheel. Given these high statistics and the extreme danger caused by fatigued truck drivers, it is important for trucking companies to enforce maximum driving hours and have safeguards in place to help keep tired drivers off the road. In addition to the horrible accidents that can result from tired drivers, trucking companies have added incentive to keep their drivers alert because the companies can be held liable for accidents that are caused by their drivers.

A trucking accident lawsuit has been filed in connection with a December accident when a truck driver veered over the center line of the highway striking a passenger car head on. The family of the victim has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in connection with the accident against the trucking company, because it is believed that the company knew of the medical condition that caused the truck driver to black out at the time of the truck crash and kill the victim. According to Justice News Flash, the lawsuit alleges that since the company was aware of the driver’s medical conditions and had previous reports of his driving record, they should have respected these issues and should not have allowed him on the road alone. To read more about this trucking accident lawsuit, click on this link.

Wrongful death lawsuits may be filed against a person or corporation that can be held liable for the death of someone. Each state’s wrongful death claims are controlled by statute, laying out the requirements for filing a suit, but they are usually filed by a close relative of the victim. This is the appropriate recourse when a company is responsible for someone's death. In this case, the trucking company is being charged with wrongful death because they were aware of the driver’s condition that caused the fatal crash. To contact a Chicago wrongful accident attorney, please click on the hyperlink.

A trucking accident that occurred on the Dan Ryan Expressway on February 20th left an Illinois adult and two children seriously injured. The accident occurred when the van they were traveling in blew a tire and crashed into a semi-truck. The man and two of the children were not wearing seat belts at the time of the accident and were ejected from the vehicle, and are all listed in critical condition at local hospitals. According to The Chicago Sun Times, two other adults and one other child were involved in the crash, but luckily they were wearing their seat belts and therefore were not ejected from the car. If you would like to read more about this Chicago trucking accident, please click on the link.

Drivers and their passengers should always wear their seat belts whenever they are traveling in a car. Wearing seat belts have been found to be the best way to reduce injuries in car accidents. As this accident shows, accidents can occur even when you are paying attention to the road and driving cautiously, in the event of a tire blowing out or some other car malfunction. Because these types of accidents are possible, and because even though you may feel that you are a safe driver but you can never know about the other drivers on the road with you, it is crucial to always wear your seat belt. For seat belt safety statistics, please click on the link.

A Chicago trucking accident occurred on February 16th at the intersection of Ogden and Sacramento when a car tried to speed through traffic that was stopped for an approaching fire truck. According to WGN, the speeding car crashed into the fire truck, injuring three people that were in the fire truck. The firefighters had to stop and help the victims at the scene of the accident. To read more about this fire truck accident, please click on this link.

Illinois law requires that all drivers pull to the right side of the road if an emergency vehicle is approaching. This applies to both emergency vehicles that are behind or in front of the driver. In addition to this being the law, it is very important to always yield to emergency vehicles because they are trying to get somewhere quickly and if cars do not yield, an accident is likely.

The family of a man who was killed in a trucking accident has been awarded a $3.6 million settlement for their wrongful death lawsuit. According to About Lawsuits, the fatal trucking accident occurred in June of 2005, when the driver was crushed to death after a cradle of propane cylinders fell on top of him. The court found that the trucking company was negligent in allowing four layers of propane cylinders, when only three layers were safe. Another driver for the company testified that the company allowed for this dangerous load because they wanted to get the cylinders loaded into the truck as quickly as possible, and that the driver that was killed had no idea that these safety precautions were ignored. To read more about this tragic accident and the settlement, please click here. According to The Times Reporter, the trucking company is planning on appealing the verdict citing Motor Carrier Safety Regulations as their reason for fighting the case, specifically that the safety issue in question is supposed to be under the truck driver’s watch and is the driver’s responsibility. To read more about the trucking company fighting this claim, please click here.

It is important to remember that trucking companies can often be found liable for trucking accidents. It is important that companies take all appropriate safety precautions to keep their drivers and trucks safe for the road and to keep the number of trucking accidents to a minimum.

An Illinois man was killed when he was involved in a fatal trucking accident on February 10th, in which 50 vehicles were involved. According to WPXI, the trucking accident involved 30 tractor-trailer trucks and 20 cars and is believed to have been caused by the dangerous weather conditions in the area at the time of the accident, and started when one truck jack-knifed causing a domino effect on all the vehicles behind the truck. At this point it is known that at least 18 people were injured, but no more is known on the extent of the injuries. To read more about this multi-vehicle crash, please click on this link.

It is extremely important to remember that winter weather conditions can make the roads a much more dangerous place to travel. Even slight weather can greatly effect the conditions of the road and drivers ability to control their vehicle. Please always be aware of the road and extra cautious when driving in icy, snowy or even rainy conditions, and always drive a slower speed if necessary and leave plenty of room between you and other vehicles.

A trucking accident lawsuit has been filed by the family of a trucker who was killed this past October when the coal truck he was driving crashed. The trucking accident occurred when the truck went off the road, into a ditch, hit a tree and then rolled over. According to The Oak Ridger, the trucking accident lawsuit names the coal company as the Defendant, after investigations revealed that the independent contract driver that hired the trucker had not provided initial mine training and that the engine brake accelerator on the truck has not functioning properly at the time of the crash. The wrongful death lawsuit seeks $17 million dollars in damages. To read more about this tragic accident, please click on this link.

This type of trucking accident is completely preventable, and it is the responsibility of trucking companies to make sure that their trucks are completely safe and up to speed and that their drivers are prepared for the road. Trucking companies can be held responsible for their vehicles and drivers if it can be found, like in this case, that the trucking company was acting negligently in fulfilling the duties they owe to the driver. It is important for all employers, including trucking companies, to be able to ensure a safe and reliable environment for their drivers to work in.

The family of the victim of a trucking accident has settled their wrongful death lawsuit. The trucking accident occurred almost two years ago when a dump truck crossed the center line of the highway it was traveling on and crashed into a school bus, killing one teenager and injuring 10 other children. The lawsuit alleged that the dump truck driving was driving too fast on a curve, which caused the tragic trucking accident. According to the KY Post, the state lowered the speed limit by ten miles per hour following this accident as well as another fatal accident that occurred less than one month later. To read more about this trucking accident, click on this link.

Recently, a increase in the speed limit for truckers has been put into effect, with the intention that allowing trucks to travel at the same speed as other vehicles would be safer overall for all of the drivers. This law has been very controversial because while the uniform speed could have benefits, allowing large trucks to be traveling at a faster rate of speed could easily be very dangerous as well. While the law is new, it just went into effect at the beginning on this year, it is difficult to determine what the actual result will be. To read more about this new law and the different views on its enactment, please click on this link.

A trucking accident in Effingham occurred when a train crashed into the side of a garbage truck on February 8th. According to WJBD Radio, a Dietrich man was driving a garbage truck and attempted to cross train tracks, but did not have enough time to safely cross the tracks and the garbage truck was struck by a train. The driver of the truck was thrown from the truck and suffered severe personal injuries but luckily was conscious and alert when emergency vehicles arrived. To read more about this trucking accident, click on this link.

In this accident there were no gates at the crossing to alert drivers when a train was coming. When there are no gates at the crossing it is important to take extra care and be extra cautious before crossing a train track in order to avoid an accident. Please click on this link for some safety tip and information about train tracks.

Each year many crashes occur and lead to many deaths and many dangerous road spills. According to a compiled list of trucking crash statistics, in 2008, over 4000 fatal large semi-truck accidents were reported resulting in even more deaths than accidents. Close to 130,000 non-fatal accidents were reported in 2008. In that same year over 2,500 collisions involved Hazmat spills. To read more trucking accident , statistics please click on this link.

Given the high number of trucking accidents it is crucial to take steps to try to reduce these accidents and the dangers associated with them. Fatalities are so high in these types of accidents because of how big the trucks are compared to cars that the accidents often involve. The road spills can be very dangerous to people in the surrounding areas as well very difficult to clean up, often causing the road where the trucking crash occurred to be shut down for great lengths of time. Given the dangers that arise from these accidents, it is very important for truck drivers to be very cautious and for other drivers to also be alert when driving around large trucks. Hopefully, the recent bann of text messaging for truck drivers while operating their vehicles will reduce the number of injuries and deaths that occur on our roadways.

An Illinois woman was killed in a terrible trucking accident in Champaign County that occurred on February 5th. The trucking accident occurred when the pick up truck in which the victim was riding crossed the median of I-74 and crashed head on into a semi-truck that was traveling in the opposite direction. The semi-truck then crashed into another passenger vehicle. According to PJ Star, the only person that died in the accident was the passenger of the pick up truck that originally struck the semi-truck. To read more about this terrible accident, please click on this hyperlink.

The winter months can cause dangerous driving conditions, so it is important to always make sure to be extra cautious when driving when it may be either snowy or icy. It is always best to drive slower when the roads are icy because it can be very hard to maintain control if your vehicle hits a patch of ice.

Earlier this week the federal government passed a ban which forbids truck drivers (as well as bus drivers) from text messaging while driving. This ban goes along with the trend that many states are following that ban text messaging while driving in passenger vehicles. The reason for these bans going into effect is because how many car and trucking accidents have been directly linked to drivers not focusing on the road while being distracted from their cell phones. The intent of these bans is to cut down on the number of accidents that are caused by distracted drivers.

According to USA Today, this recent ban does not address passenger vehicles and only sets a federal ban for operators of vehicles carrying at least eight passengers. While many people feel that this is a definite step in the right direction, advocates of the texting ban feel like the federal government needs to go a step further. While many states individually ban passenger vehicle texting, there is no federal law against texting while driving on a passenger vehicle level. Some Senator advocates propose taking away up to a quarter of a state’s federal highway funds to states that do not impose a texting ban.

Texting while driving is a very serious problem and many car and trucking accidents are caused daily by this distraction. These avoidable accidents can be prevented by making sure not to use your cell phone for texting while you are driving, regardless of whether or not a law exists banning it where you are driving. In the city of Chicago, a texting ban went into effect at the beginning of this year. If you would like more information on this recent federal trucking texting ban, please click here.

A trucking accident occurred a couple of weeks ago in which four people were fatally injured. The fatal trucking accident occurred when a tractor-trailer was driving too fast given the current weather conditions, slid across the highway and crashed into a bus. According to The Washington Post, the bus driver and 3 of the bus passengers, which were residents of a special needs home, were killed and six more passengers were injured in this terrible accident. At this point it is unknown whether criminal charges will be filed or if the family of any of the victims will be filing wrongful death suits. To read more about this accident, please click on this link.

It is very important for drivers of both trucks and passenger cars to always remember to drive at a speed appropriate for the weather. When the weather is snowy and icy, drivers may need to drive much slower than the posted speed limit and want to make sure that they drive at a speed in which they can always maintain control of their vehicle. The added danger with ice and snow is that not only can it be more difficult to see what is around you but the road itself may become icy and dangerous to drive on. If the weather seems to be too unsafe for driving, or if you feel uncomfortable driving in the conditions, please do not drive until the weather clears up and if you need to drive be extremely cautious. Cautious driving can greatly reduce the number of car and trucking accidents and hopefully safe lives.