Truck Accidents

Published on: July 15, 2014

After a Wal-Mart truck crashed into Tracy Morgan’s van injuring 3 people and killing one, Lawrence O’Donnell covered the issue of “fatigued truck drivers” on his show last night

Around 4000 people die and more than 100,000 people are injured every year in truck accidents.

Fatigue is one of the most common reasons why truck accidents happen.

Before crashing into Tracy Morgan’s van, the Wal-Mart truck driver didn’t sleep for 24 hours. The National Transportation Safety Board said that the driver was 13 hours into his shift at the time of the accident and the limit is 14 hours. However prior to the start of his shift, the truck driver commuted from his home in Georgia to the Wal-Mart facility in Delaware.

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Published on: June 20, 2014

8 people suffer personal injury in an accident between a car and a garbage truck in Brooklyn, NYC

By GGCRBHS&M

A garbage truck tried to avoid a car which had run a red light and crashed into an open deli injuring 8 people last week in Brooklyn. The accident happened at the intersection of Dekalb Ave and Bedford Ave. The driver of the Metropolitan Recycling garbage truck had the green light and was driving through the intersection when he tried to avoid a black sedan which had ran the red light. He lost control of his vehicle and crashed into an open Deli located at the corner of the intersection. The deli belongs and is operated by a family who lives in the apartment above it. Two of the family members were working in the Deli while the rest of the family was asleep just above the bodega. 8 people were injured in the accident including the two drivers. The deli and the building are severely damaged.
Read more in the NY Daily News

Published on: June 19, 2014

Elderly pedestrian suffered serious personal injury after being struck by a Tour Bus in Greenwich Village, Manhattan

By GGCRBHS&M

A 74 year old woman was dragged under a tour bus yesterday in New York and suffered critical injuries to her head and legs. The woman was crossing Seventh Ave at 14th Street when a CitySights NY tour bus struck her while turning =South onto Seventh Ave.

This is the second time this year that a pedestrian was struck by a tour bus. Last January, Alexander Shear, 73, died after being struck by a Tour Bus on the Upper West Side of Manhattan (see previous blog)

Published on: June 11, 2014

The house passed an amendment that would prevent the FMCSA from increasing minimum interstate motor carrier insurance levels

By GGCRBHS&M

In the event of a truck accident, interstate motor carriers need to have enough insurance to cover the harm that they may have caused. Therefore all such carriers are required by law to be insured to a minimum level. The current minimums, set in 1985, are $750,000 for general freight, $5 million for the most dangerous hazmats and $1 million for other hazmats. Following a recent report to the Congress demonstrating that minimum insurance requirements for interstate truckers were too low, the FMCSA started to work on a new rule.

However yesterday, the U.S. House approved an amendment that would stop the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration from changing insurance minimums. The amendment is a long way from becoming law but it highlights opposition to the agency even considering a change in the minimums.

A man died in a truck accident in the Bronx, NYC, after a manhole cover flew through his windshield

By GGCRBHS&M

Jose Duran was driving his truck on the Cross Bronx expressway when a manhole cover crashed through his windshield striking him in the head. He lost control of his vehicle and crashed into another tractor trailer. No one else was hurt. Duran was declared dead upon his arrival at the hospital.

8 people suffered personal injury in an accident between a bus and a truck in the Bronx, NYC

By GGCRBHS&M

A MTA bus crashed into a truck this morning on Bruckner Blvd at Bryant Ave injuring 8 people, 2 of them seriously. The city bus was crossing left to right when it crashed into the bus which had stopped in the right lane. Read more in the New York Daily News

Bus accidents are on the rise in 2014: from January to March 2014 there were 1832 bus accidents in NYC compare to 1418 in the first 3 months of 2013.

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Published on: May 22, 2014

White House and US DOT honor Daphner Izer who started Parents Against Tired Truckers after her son and 3 friends were killed by an overly-tired trucker who fell asleep behind the wheel

By GGCRBHS&M

Daphne%20Izer%20and%20Anthony%20Fox.jpg After her son Jeff was killed in a truck accident 20 years ago, Daphne Izer started Parents Against Tired Truckers. She dedicated herself to protect others from becoming casualties of fatigued truck drivers and created a national standard for the use of Electronic Logging Devices. A few days ago Daphne was honored as a “Champion of Change” by the White House and the US Department of Transportation.

To prevent abuses that can lead to dangerous truck accidents the FMCSA proposes a Rule that will protect drivers from coercion by carriers, shippers, brokers and other industry party

By GGCRBHS&M

Truck accidents are more likely to happen when truck drivers are being harassed or coerced to drive in unsafe conditions. For years, unscrupulous dispatchers have been threatening truck drivers with economic penalties such as the loss of their job for refusing to operate under illegal conditions. Often drivers are being pressured to work past the limits of the hours of service rules or to drive trucks with mechanical problems. The new Coercion Rule proposed by the FMCSA prohibits carriers and others from coercing a driver to violate the commercial regulations. The proposal also includes procedures for drivers to report coercion. The penalty for violating the Rule can go up to $11,000 per occurrence. Carriers and brokers can also have their authorities revoked.

The Rule was posted in the federal register and the public has 90 days to comment on this Rule.

Read more in Go By Truck News

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Published on: May 14, 2014

Fracking activities in the US are contributing to a dramatic increase of truck accidents and deadly crashes in drilling areas

By GGCRBHS&M

Crashes involving trucks from drilling projects are on the rise. An Associated Press analysis of traffic deaths and U.S. census data in six drilling states shows that in some places, fatalities have more than quadrupled since 2004 – a period when most American roads have become much safer even as the population has grown.

Read the complete article here

Published on: May 7, 2014

28 year old motorcyclist dies after being struck by a truck in Uptown, Manhattan

By GGCRBHS&M

An accident between a truck and a dirt bike lead to the death of the motorcycle operator yesterday in East Harlem. 28 year old Shamel Jefferson was riding on an unregistered and uninsured dirt bike in the left lane on third Ave when a truck cut in front of him and struck him causing his death.