Category: Truck Accidents

Because of its location near interstates 40, 75 and 81, Knoxville sees its fair share of commercial trucks. You are likely to encounter a few of these vehicles every time you leave home. If a truck’s brakes fail, your life may be in danger. 

Because tractor-trailers may weigh as much as 40 tons, a collision with one may result in serious injuries. Brake failure is one of the frequent contributors to trucking accidents. Here are four reasons a truck’s brakes may not work properly. 

1. Inadequate maintenance

Truck brakes work through friction, which wears them down over time, so truck drivers must regularly inspect brakes for signs of damage. If there are any, the driver should replace worn-out components before continuing with the trip. To save time and money, truck drivers may push back essential vehicle maintenance or skip it entirely. 

2. Inferior components

When working on truck brakes, mechanics must use the correct components. Still, many aftermarket parts do not have the same longevity as those from the original equipment manufacturer. If a driver installs inferior mechanical components, the truck’s brakes may not perform correctly. 

3. Unbalanced loads

While many commercial vehicles can carry thousands of pounds of cargo, drivers must balance loads carefully to avoid stopping interference. If a trucker proceeds with an unbalanced load, the truck’s stopping distance may increase considerably. Even worse, an improperly balanced load may cause brakes to fail altogether. 

4. Operator error

Stopping a semitruck is different from stopping a passenger vehicle. That is, there are a few different ways to reduce a truck’s speed. If the driver uses improper braking techniques, the truck’s brakes may go out. 

If you have sustained a serious injury in a collision with a semitruck, you may be able to pursue compensation from the driver who caused the accident. While a few factors may have contributed to the crash, you probably want to investigate whether brake failure was to blame. 

A good deal of disagreement may exist over exactly how far the responsibility that a driver in Knoxville has to the passengers in their vehicle. Many might argue that when an adult agrees to travel as a passenger in another’s vehicle, they accept any risks that may result from their decisions. Others may say, however, that it remains the responsibility of the driver of the car to ensure that every precaution is taken in order to see to a passenger’s safety. That can include everything from avoiding diving at excessive speeds to ensuring that passengers wear their seat belts. 

Even some as simple as people ignoring the latter can produce devastating results. This fact was on full display in an accident that recently occurred on Highway 10. Two people (one from Hartsville, the other from Lebanon) were killed after the vehicle they were traveling in was struck by a semi-truck. Authorities say that neither was wearing a seat belt when the collision took place. While an investigation into the accident is still ongoing, a preliminary report states that the driver of the vehicle the women were traveling in pulled out on to the highway in front of the truck. They also sustained serious injuries; the driver of the semi escaped injury. 

Given that the accident victims in this case were adults, it might be argued that they were responsible to ensure their seat belts were fastened. The driver, however, may come under scrutiny for choosing to pull out in front of an oncoming vehicle. Victims in cases such as this one may not initially wish to seek a liability claim, yet ultimately the costs of accident leave them with little choice. Those needing to do so may want to first consult with an experienced attorney. 

Truck accidents are an unfortunate occurrence on Tennessee roadways. With the increase in trucks on the roads, it is bound to happen regularly. However, when a truck accident occurs, even if it is not an injury accident, it still causes issues for everyone else on the roads. This is especially true if the truck is carrying hazardous materials. 

A good example of how such an accident can bring traffic to a standstill is what happened to a tanker truck on December 15, 2019. Right before 5:00 a.m., reports came in that a tanker truck had turned over in the median on I-40 after a crash. The truck did not completely flip over, but was rather leaning into the median, which prevented the driver from moving it any further. There were injuries in the accident, which involved another vehicle, but there were no updates on the severity or current status of the individuals involved. 

The main issue with this accident was not the large truck blocking the roadway as it was not across all lanes, but rather that it was carrying hazardous materials. If a spill were to happen, it would completely close the roadway for quite some time. 

To fix the accident, road crews had to carefully remove the truck from the median and get it back onto the road without causing any further damage or spilling its contents. This was a precarious process that took crews hours to accomplish. During this time, officials closed I-40 at I-640 heading west of the accident scene. 

An accident with a large truck is a scary situation even if it only involves minor injuries and property damage. The risks are quite high for catastrophic injuries and even death, especially in an accident involving a truck carrying hazardous materials. 

Source: WATE 

Among the many concerns that Tennessee residents must contend with on the roads is the danger posed by large commercial trucks. Fatigued drivers can be a serious problem given the number of long and lonely hours that truckers spend behind the wheels of their rigs. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued a rule that was designed to reduce fatigue among truckers in an effort to reduce accidents and improve safety. 

Called the Hours of Service rule, this law caps the number of hours that a trucker may work in a given day or week, how many of those hours may be spent driving versus doing other activities, when breaks should be taken and how long those break periods must last before work is allowed to resume. 

Fleet Owner recently reported that the government has now issued a new set of guidance that some might fear could blur the lines here a bit. In short, commercial vehicle drivers may now be allowed to use their trucks for personal purposes. The amount of time they spend driving trucks for personal use is not to be factored into their capped number of drivable working hours in a day or week.

This means that a trucker theoretically could end up spending far more hours behind the wheel of a semi truck or other large vehicle than many people would like to think. It also may open up a lot of questions about liability if an accident were to happen when a trucker was officially off duty but operating a commercial vehicle.

Unlike many jobs in which employees can punch the clock at the end of a long day, Tennessee truck drivers must often push exhaustion to the limit. It almost seems as if today’s truckers have given the duty of hard work an entirely new meaning. Trucker fatigue has been a point of concern for years — and is a problem that is in dire need of change within the industry.

Most industries undergo some level of change, along with changes in the economy. Business Insider comments on the ways truck driving has changed over recent years, speculating on why the field has seen a drastic drop in the number of employees. While falling pay and an increase in driving costs have both contributed to the plummeting number of drivers, BI also brings to attention driver compliance, an issue that results in driver fatigue. Where does one draw the line between violating regulations and preserving employee health? When employers give drivers an unrealistic set of expectations, the safety of everyone on the road could be at stake.

As USA Today shares, one Los Angeles truck driver had a typical workday of 16 straight hours; unfortunately, he is not alone. Trucking companies commonly demand long hours and time away from home, leading to employee dissatisfaction and health concerns. Some companies even place the burden of truck repairs on the employees rather than addressing it through the company itself. USA Today also mentions the disturbing fact that some employers fire truckers when they become too exhausted to continue. Providing a scope into the lives of more than 300 drivers, USA Today found that companies frequently break federal safety laws that limit work shifts to 11 hours on the road per day. It is clear that the trucking industry’s problem regarding employee exhaustion is often linked to the violation of safety regulations.  

Some Tennessee drivers might not think twice about it, but the job of a truck driver is often no easy task. In addition to extended periods of time on the road, tight schedules and limited food options, truckers must grapple with perhaps the biggest challenge of the job: the truck itself. These road giants are powerful, making them both efficient and dangerous. How common are truck accidents, and what are some of the typical causes of crashes? 

One 2014 report from CNBC expressed concern over the rising number of truck accidents in the country. According to the report, fatal truck crashes happen 11 times a day on average, claiming over 4,000 lives each year. There are roughly 100,000 nonfatal truck crashes that happen annually — a number that has steadily risen since 2009. And while many might assume that reasons for crashes simply trace back to poor driving habits, CNBC reveals the unsettling truth that countless truckers are pressured to deliver goods within strict timeframes, causing them to rush on the road. CNBC also criticizes the industry as a whole for not making speedier efforts to get safety technology devices installed in trucks. 

Strict deadlines are only one of a long string of reasons why truckers experience horrific crashes. Findlaw sheds light on the driving habits of all others on the road, noting that a common cause of truck crashes involves a passenger vehicle driver’s underestimation — or overestimation — of a truck’s abilities. Some drivers mistakenly believe that a truck can break as quickly as a passenger vehicle; this is hardly the case. Other drivers make poor decisions to pass a semi-trailer truck when it is not safe to do so. Findlaw also points to inadequate trucker training, unrealistic schedules and unsafe speeds as other causes of acccidents in this industry. Learning more about the safety of the trucking industry itself can help one better prepare in the case of an unfortunate incident.     

It can be difficult for those outside of the trucking industry to understand the hard labor involved in daily shifts. For countless Tennessee truck drivers, a regular day can mean long, grueling hours on the road — complete with pressing schedules. Although a position in truck driving can bring many benefits to the table, are truck drivers becoming too drowsy to drive? 

Millions of Americans climb behind the wheel without sufficient rest. CMV Driving Safety, a resource for safer and more productive trucking, dedicated an article to truck driver drowsiness and the ways it can make a major impact on the average employee. According to CMV, one in four commercial motor vehicle drivers in the country suffers from sleep apnea. Moreover, truck driver drowsiness and fatigue has to led to a crippling number of accidents every year. While some might assume the solution is to simply get more rest, CMV points out that the situation can become more complex than a night of lost sleep; driver drowsiness can stem from the choices a driver makes throughout the day, among other circumstances. CMV goes on to offer additional information and educational platforms regarding truck driver fatigue in the nation.

The answer to a drowsy driving problem may differ depending on the individual, but car enthusiast magazine Roadshow showcased one automaker’s innovative take on this widespread problem. According to Roadshow, Ford has invented a special cap to detect drowsy driving; this “Safe Cap” contains a detection system that can alert truckers when rest may be in order. The hat emits different signals when it detects a driver falling asleep, ideally resulting in a necessary break. Even though the invention may see years before it reaches potential production, this technology reflects a growing concern regarding drowsy driving in the trucking industry. 

If you have ever seen or heard reports about a serious accident involving a semi truck or other large commercial vehicle in Tennessee, you may wonder what can be done to prevent these crashes from happening. Integral to finding ways to prevent crashes is to understand what may cause them in the first place. 

A study conducted jointly by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration focused on identifying causes of large truck collisions in which injury or death had occurred. Two types of causes were identified, one being a critical event that made avoiding the accident impossible and the other being a critical reason which was essentially the immediate cause of a crash.

The top three critical events were identified as a trucker rear-ending another vehicle, losing control of a rig or running out of drivable lane. Together these events were attributed to 83 percentof the crashes that were included in the study. When it came to critical reasons, three percent were identified as environmental, ten percent were identified as vehicle problems and a whopping 87 percent related to the trucker drivers themselves. The driver factors ranged from over compensating, fatigue, distraction, excessive speed, poor decisions and more.

If you would like to learn more about the types of factors that may contribute to serious truck accidents and how to seek help after such an incident, please feel free to visit the tractor trailer crash page of our Tennessee personal injury and truck accident website.

Drivers who operate vehicles while under the influence of alcohol or drugs in Tennessee may well be one of the dangers on the road you fear the most. This is understandable indeed and then if you consider that an impaired driver might be a professional truck driver behind the wheel of a massive semi truck or other such vehicle, you might be even more worried.

It is due to the extreme risk this situation poses that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration created what it calls the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. The clearinghouse itself is basically a database repository for testing and other information to be stored about truck drivers’ drug and alcohol testing and any possible violations associated with them. There is a set of procedures that individuals or companies that employ truckers must follow to prevent allowing impaired drivers on the road.

All persons applying for a commercial driving job must pass a drug and alcohol screening test. If they refuse to take the test, they will not be allowed to be hired for a driving position. Employers must also review clearinghouse records to be informed of any potential issues such as recent drunk driving convictions, for example. Once hired, the employers must review their records in the clearinghouse every year.

If you would like to learn more about how you or a loved on might get help after being involved in an accident involving a potentially impaired truck driver, please feel free to visit the drunk or drugged trucker page of our Tennessee personal injury website.