Truck accident attorney Bellingham Tag

Bellingham Child Killed in Truck Accident: Drugs and Alcohol Involved in Crash

As reported by kgmi.com, a Bellingham child was tragically killed yesterday in a collision between the car he was riding in and a truck that was heading north on Highway 9, south of Nooksack. According to a report by the State Patrol, the truck crashed into a vehicle that was driving south after the driver had pulled off the road and then entered back onto the roadway in the path of the northbound truck. The driver of the vehicle was injured but the truck driver was not. Troopers say drugs and alcohol were a factor in the crash.

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Semi-truck vs Motorcycle Crash Sends Motorcyclist to Hospital

As reported by Whatcom News over the weekend, first responders were dispatched to the scene of a semi-truck versus motorcycle crash in Blaine, Washington at the intersection of Alderson Road and Blaine Road. The accident – that happened on May 14 – caused the temporary closure of Blaine Road between Alderson Road and Bay Road while rescuers extricated the motorcyclist from underneath the front of the semi-truck. North Whatcom Fire and Rescue and Whatcom County Fire District 7 crews used hydraulic jacks to lift the truck’s front axle to remove the patient. The patient was then transported to PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center via advanced life support (ALS) protocols due to his leg injury.

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How to Avoid A Truck Accident with Defensive Driving Tips

Large trucks are responsible for transporting our goods and they travel all across the country to get the job done. Drivers in passenger vehicles should be extra cautious when driving near a large truck because the consequences of getting into a motor vehicle accident with a truck are serious and potentially deadly. The best way for passenger vehicles to reduce the risk of getting involved in a truck accident is to understand the ways that large trucks maneuver on roadways and to practice defensive driving.

If you are the victim of a truck accident, contact a local truck accident attorney to discuss your legal rights. The accident lawyer will assess your accident and injuries and may be able to represent you to help you negotiate or win an appropriate settlement.

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When a Commercial Truck Causes an Accident: Failure to Secure a Load

We need large commercial and semi-trucks to deliver our goods to market and they crisscross our nation’s roads and bridges in order to fulfill our needs. This means that passenger vehicles share the roads with large trucks every day. With the obvious size difference at play, accidents between passenger vehicles and commercial trucks can be deadly.

There are many causes of commercial truck accidents but today we are going to talk about truck accidents caused by failure to secure a load.

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Most Common Types of Large Truck Accidents

Anyone who’s been in a motor vehicle accident involving a large truck knows how scary it is. Small vehicles don’t stand much of a chance against big rigs and that means a much higher likelihood of disability or death for small vehicle passengers. According to IIHS.org, 4,136 people died in large truck crashes in 2018 alone. Of these deaths, 67 percent were car and other passenger vehicle occupants, and 15 percent were pedestrians, bicyclists or motorcyclists. One thing that has increased during the pandemic is the need to get food and household staples to grocery stores and that means more trucks on the roads and a higher risk of large truck accidents than normal.

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Most Common Causes of Commercial Truck Accidents

There are way less cars on the road right now because of Coronavirus stay at home orders across the country. We know that car accidents overall are way down as a result, which is a positive benefit. Commercial truckers, however, are busier than ever bringing goods to market so the public can access groceries and other necessary supplies. While they are not competing with as many cars on the road as normal, commercial truck accidents will continue to be a risk. We won’t know commercial trucking accident statistics during COVID-19 restrictions until some time after we are through this so for now, let’s look at recent commercial truck accident statistics to get an idea of their common causes and where and when they are most likely to happen.

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Chickens Running Around 1-5 After Semi-Truck Accident

About 4 a.m. on Monday, February 11, a large tractor-trailer hauling live chickens crashed on I-5 in Olympia, Washington. The accident happened near the exit to U.S. 101 where the truck hit the jersey barrier and knocked down a street light. The driver was not injured.

Three southbound lanes and two northbound lanes were blocked as state troopers conducted the crash investigation and crews cleaned up the scene. The crash made a slow morning commute worse as there was ice and snow on the roadway.

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I-5 Semi-Truck Rollover Accident Near Slater Road Snarls Northbound Traffic

After reports of a semi-truck with 53-foot trailer driving ‘erratically’ northbound on the I-5 about 6:20 a.m. this morning, it rolled over on its side near the Slater Road exit. The rollover accident snarled traffic for four miles for hours with the truck almost fully blocking both lanes as emergency crews responded to the scene.

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Distracted Driving: Commercial Motor Vehicles

Promoting safe operation of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) and reducing the number and severity of crashes on U.S. roadways is critical to the mission of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). In 2009, FMSCA released crash data that indicated that 41,059 people were killed in road crashes in 2007 (FMCSA, 2009a). Of these fatalities, 12 percent (4,808) involved large trucks. On the bright side, this represented a net decrease in fatalities, down 7.5 percent from 1998 to 2007, but there are nevertheless issues around distracted driving that are keeping the numbers as high as they are.

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What Caused my Truck Accident and What Do I Do Now?

A truck accident lawyer will help you sift through the details of your trucking accident because determining the cause and liability can be very complicated. It is vital to understand the major reasons for trucking accidents and the relationships between the driver, owner and recipient and how they are connected to the truck, trailer and load. An attorney specializing in truck accidents can help reveal the particulars of your trucking accident and determine if you have a valid claim to present.

What are some of the common causes of truck accidents?

1. Driver error before and during the trip.

2. Truck drivers are 10 times more likely than other factors to cause an accident according to a study by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The study found that the action or inaction of the truck drivers caused 88% of all trucking accidents.

3. Factors leading to driver error include drug use, fatigue, distractions, inattention, speeding and unfamiliarity with the road. The biggest factor is fatigue and sleep deprivation often seen among long haul truckers.

4. Equipment problems/mechanical failures are the second highest cause of trucking accidents.

5. Defective tires (manufacturer).

6. Defective steering (manufacturer).

7. Defective side or rear lighting (manufacturer).

8. Brake failure caused by overuse or poor adjustments.

9. Tire blowouts caused by wear.

10. Improper securing of load.

11. Improper trailer attachment.

12. Transmission failure.

13. Weather conditions.

14. Road design.

15. Traffic signal failures.

Determining who is responsible for a trucking accident is complicated, but there are federal laws and regulations governing the trucking industry that provide standards for drivers, owners and trucking companies that can help determine liability. Federal law stipulates that a company owning a trucking permit is responsible for any truck accident that occurs with its name displayed on the vehicle, whether the driver is an employee or independent contractor.

What do I do if I am involved in a truck accident?

1. Call a certified truck inspector (typically a member of the reconstruction division of the state police). Federal and state regulations require an inspection on any commercial truck and trailer involved in an accident before it is removed from the scene. The purpose of the report is to reveal the condition of the main mechanical parts of the truck and trailer and is separate from the police report of the accident.

2. Hold onto stored data. Similar to the “black boxes” used to store data in aircraft, the trucking industry uses boxes to record information such as the speed of the truck at the time of impact, patterns of speed, when brakes were applied and how long the driver was on the road without a break.

Large trucks are only involved in 3% of injury causing motor vehicle accidents but, sadly, in the last twenty years truck accidents have increased by 20%. Trucking accidents tend to cause much greater damage and injury due to their size.

If you were the victim, truck driver or owner of a truck involved in an accident causing injury, please contact a personal injury attorney specializing in truck accidents today! The attorneys at Bellingham’s Tario and Associates, P.S. are ready to help.