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Truck Accidents

Drowsy truck driving, the risks and the solutions

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. 

 

 

Categories
Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents

Man with three prior DUIs kills woman in crash

People in Tennessee may often hear about how tough the penalties for impaired driving have become. While it may well be true that the consequences for people convicted of driving under the influence offenses might be harsher than they were decades ago, some may believe they are not strong enough as too many people continue to die in accidents in which a drunk or drugged driver were involved.

An example can be see in the recent death of a woman in an accident caused by a driver who has been convicted of not only one or two previous DUI offenses but three. The fatal crash marked the man’s fourth impaired driving offense and also found him with drug paraphenalia in his vehicle and a stolen license plate. In addition, the man is said to have been operating the vehicle without either a valid driver’s license or automobile insurance.

The wreck happened just before 7:00 a.m. when the alleged impaired driver maneuvered the sport utility vehicle he was driving into the oncoming lane of traffic, hitting another SUV directly head-on. Another person was seriously injured and the at-fault driver left the scene of the crash but was apprehended later. He has been charged with multiple offenses including aggravated assault and aggravated vehicular homicide.

People who experience accidents caused by such recklessness may find talking to an attorney in Tennessee a useful way of learning how they might be compensated for their injuries and losses.

Source: WJHL.com, “Woman killed in Kingsport crash; Wanted man charged,” February 23, 2018

Categories
Truck Accidents

Study evaluates truck crash causes

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.

Categories
Motorcycle Accidents

Motorcyclists face increased risk in accidents

Anyone who has ever ridden on a motorcycle in Tennessee knows the joy of being on two wheels and the feeling of freedom that may accompany the experience. Unfortunately bikers and their passengers also must be keenly aware of the increased risk they face relative to people in passenger vehicles if they are to be involved in a motor vehicle accident.

Science Daily indicates that the Canadian Medical Association Journal recently published research that shows exactly how much greater the risk of injury or death is to a motorcyclist than to someone in a regular car. A biker is three times more likely to be hurt in a crash than a driver or passenger in a car. When it comes to the chance of dying, that increases by five times for a person on a bike compared to a person in a car. Costs associated with accident injuries are also greater for bikers than for passenger car occupants and drivers by as much as six times.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2016 alone motorcyclist deaths accounted for more than 14 percent of all vehicular fatalities in the state of Tennessee. In Knox County, biker deaths accounted for 18.5 percent of the county’s total deaths in vehicle crashes.

Between 2012 and 2016, a total of 667 people on motorcycles were killed in collisions across the state. Of those, 36 were killed in Knox County. Records also show that the number of bikers killed increased significantly in 2016 over 2015 both statewide and in Knox County on its own.

 

Categories
Drunk Driving Accidents

Push to eliminate drunk driving deaths

Any person in Tennessee who has ever known someone who has been killed due to the negligence of a drunk driver understands the senselessness of these accidents. Despite some improvements in the past several decades, too many lives continue to be lost in drunk driving crashes. Finally, some are starting to push for yet even tougher actions in order to prevent more of these deaths.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine recently published data that shows strong researched-based support for the fact that after consuming alcohol, a person’s cognitive functioning begins to decline far sooner than when their blood alcohol content reaches 0.08 percent. In fact, such reduced abilities are seen when BAC levels reach 0.05 percent. That is nearly half of the current legal limit at which a person may be arrested for drunk driving.

With this in mind, the organization is calling for states to amend their laws and lower the 0.08 threshold to 0.05 percent. This would mean that a driver may be considered drunk and able to be arrested at a much lower BAC level. The goal of this change is to not only reduce but to completely eradicate crashes in which alcohol is a factor. 

WebMD explains that additional efforts are sought to support this goal. These include making the sale of alcoholic beverages more controlled so as to prevent minors from obtaining alcohol. Increasing taxation on beverages may raise prices and therefore making it slightly harder or less enticing for people to want to afford alcoholic beverages.

 

Categories
Motorcycle Accidents

Are Tennessee’s roads getting any safer?

If you are one of the many people in Tennessee who has watched the evolution of automotive technology in recent years, you might assume that the advances being made are able to help lead to a reduction in motor vehicle accidents. Certainly this is part of the goal of the improving safety features and other elements in vehicles however it seems that progress in saving lives is not yet being seen.

According to records released from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Tennessee experienced a significant increase in the number of people killed in automobile crashes from 2015 to 2016. In 2015, there were 962 vehicular fatalities statewide. In 2016, that number rose to 1,041. The same trend was seen in Knox County where motor vehicle deaths jumped from 54 in 2015 to 70 the following year.

Excessive speed and alcohol consumption continue to be two factors that are identified as contributors in many fatal accidents. In 2016 alone, 183 people statewide lost their lives in wrecks in which speeding was a factor. Another 223 people were killed by drunk drivers. In Knox County, over the five years from 2012 to 2016, 159 people died in speeding-related crashes and 77 people died in alcohol-related accidents. Many other fatalities happen in wrecks in which large commercial trucks are involved as 120 people in Tennessee died in these incidents in 2016 alone.

This information is not intended to provide legal advice but is instead meant to give Tennessee residents an idea of the ongoing risks they and their loved ones face on the roads often due to the negligence of other drivers.

Categories
Truck Accidents

Substance testing for truckers

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.

Categories
Drunk Driving Accidents

Drunk driver smashes into disabled vehicle

It would seem reasonable that people in Tennessee believe that drunk driving is not as much of a problem today as it has been in the past. With all of the public awareness and education campaigns throughout the year and especially during holiday times, drivers should know that operating a motor vehicle after consuming alcohol is something they should not do. Unfortunately there are too many people who fail to believe this it seems as they continue to engage in this dangerous behavior.

An example of this can be seen in a recent wreck that took place in Murfreesboro just last month. Reports indicate that not only was the driver at fault for the crash believed to be intoxicated but he also refused to comply with law enforcement officers by performing field sobriety test actions or providing a breath or blood sample for the purposes of testing his blood alcohol content.

Reports indicate that two vehicles were stopped facing each other so that a set of jumper cables could be connected between them to enable the one disabled vehicle to be started. One of the drivers was standing between the cars when the drunk driver plowed into the vehicle that was stranded. This left the person in between the cars injured. The impaired driver is now facing multiple criminal charges including vehicular assault.

Tennessee residents who are injured due to the negligence of a driver who refuses to put away keys after driving might want to talk to an attorney to see how they may seek compensation.

Source: WGNS Radio, “DUI and Vehicular Assault Charges Filed – Suspect released from jail on bond as victim heals,” February 7, 2018

Categories
Car Accidents

Can autonomous cars eliminate crashes?

Perhaps the single most touted benefit of fully autonomous vehicles is improved public safety. Tennessee residents are told that this improved safety should come to them in the form of fewer accidents. Some may wonder if this is possible. Others wonder if it could ever be possible to eliminate all car accidents.

As explained by Scientific American, a self-driving vehicle’s ability to avoid or prevent an accident from happening relies on two basic things. One of these is effective technology that can accurately detect potential hazards. With this information, the vehicle may then adjust accordingly to avert a crash from taking place. The other is the ability to proactively consider the actions of another vehicle whether autonomous or human-driven and then respond appropriately.

The fact of the matter is that there remain challenges in both of these areas. Environmental factors such as fog or light may prevent a self-driving car’s sensors from operating properly or from reading a situation accurately. Additionally, it seems a daunting task to think that a software program can be created for a self-driving car which covers all possible actions that a human driver may take. If a particular action is not included in the software, the autonomous vehicle may not be able to take corrective action and avoid a crash. These factors have contributed to multiple wrecks including autonomous vehicles already.

This article is not intended to provide legal advice but is instead meant to give Tennessee residents more information about the nature of the risks they face on the road even with improving technology.

Categories
Car Accidents

Recognizing signs of emotional trauma

When people are involved in a car accident in Tennessee, they may be most worried about the physical injuries they incurred. Sometimes, though, emotional injuries remain long after physical wounds have healed. It is important to recognize signs of emotional trauma so people know when they need to seek help.

Emotional trauma can come in many forms. According to FindLaw, someone may often feel overwhelmed or lonely or might become irritable or moody. Some people feel fatigued or have nightmares and trouble sleeping. A person’s behavior may also change. Some people become socially withdrawn and others might develop compulsive habits. All of these are signs that a person has suffered from emotional trauma after the car crash.

Some people might think that this emotional trauma only arises after serious collisions. HelpGuide.org says that people can feel traumatized after the incident if they feel there was nothing they could have done to stop it. If people did not have time to prepare for the impact or if it occurred suddenly, people may also develop emotional trauma. This is because the severity of the collision is not one of the factors that make it traumatic. Instead, a person’s emotional experience determines how someone processes the event.

Sometimes a person may realize that he or she is not recovering from emotional trauma. People may realize they have flashbacks or nightmares about the collision or that they feel emotionally distant from their friends and family. Other people might find that they are relying on drugs or alcohol to get through their day. In this situation, it is a good idea to find professional help.