Atlanta Injury Attorneys Blog

Several factors could have been involved in the long delays caused by a truck accident that occurred earlier this week on northbound I-75 in Cobb County. Tanker trucks, which often carry hazardous materials, are some of the most potentially dangerous vehicles on the road. When rain and slippery roads are added to the mix, there is a real potential for major problems and the sort of serious injuries I see in my practice as a Gwinnett County truck accident lawyer.

In this situation, the tanker truck was carrying a load of 9,000 pounds of propane. The tanker truck was reported by the Atlanta-Journal Constitution to have hydroplaned while traveling on the wet highway. It then struck the median, collided with a tractor trailer and tipped on its side. In fact, the initial accident set off a chain reaction accident that involved an auto and a second 18-wheel truck.

Amazingly, there were only minor injuries from this accident and there was no propane leakage. This is truly miraculous. The very real dangers in this situation and the potential for serious and catastrophic injuries cannot be understated. Everyone involved is quite lucky that there the biggest problem was property damage and lane closures which caused a mess for those trying to travel that day.

In this situation, the driver that caused the wreck was cited. Presumably, the truck was driving too fast for the circumstances. Hydroplaning is often the result of speed and wet conditions. If the conditions require a truck to slow down, the driver must take this into account and reduce speed to avoid the sort of accident that occurred in this situation.

The United States Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has many regulations that govern the operation of commercial vehicles, such as tanker trucks. Under the federal rules, which apply also to Georgia's roads, drivers must use extreme caution in hazardous conditions. Code of Federal Regulations section 392.14 requires "[e]xtreme caution in the operation of a commercial motor vehicle ... when hazardous conditions, such as those caused by snow, ice, sleet, fog, mist, rain, dust, or smoke, adversely affect visibility or traction. Speed shall be reduced when such conditions exist."

Trucks are very heavy vehicles and passenger vehicles share the road with them every day of the week throughout Georgia. As I write about in my eBook on trucking accidents, there are many rules and regulations that govern trucking operations.

Trucking accidents can be serious, if not fatal. Thus, it is very important that those injured learn about their legal rights as soon as possible after an accident that involves a commercial vehicle or truck. Not only are there duties and obligations with which the driver must comply, but the operator or motor carrier company may also be involved. But only an expert can really help with all the potential parties who might be held responsible for a victim's injuries.

As a Gwinnett County, Georgia truck crash lawyer with offices throughout the Atlanta area, I represent victims involved in truck accidents who have sustained injuries in all surrounding cities and counties, including Duluth, Fulton County, Grayson, Gwinnett County and more. Please contact our law firm for a free confidential consultation at our main Gwinnett County law office, or at our offices in Decatur, the Perimeter and Buckhead.

As a Georgia truck accident lawyer, I know it is critically important for the public's safety that truck companies and drivers follow the rules that govern how long a driver is permitted to stay on the road, among many other important guidelines. Serious truck accidents, injuries and even deaths are often caused by driver fatigue.

What many might not know is that there are both federal and Georgia state guidelines on precisely how long a driver can be on the road. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is responsible for enforcing the regulations that provide clear guidelines as to the length of time that truck drivers, such as those driving 18 wheelers, are allowed to drive. These regulations are intended to make sure that drivers do not get into their trucks and out on to the nation's highways when they are fatigued and are intended for the public's safety.

The provisions for hours of service are found in Part 395 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. This agency is part of the United States Department of Transportation.

Drivers of large tractor-trailers are limited to how long they may drive. The hours-of-service regulations apply to drivers of commercial motor vehicles. There are many specific ways to determine whether a vehicle is a commercial motor vehicle.

In general, under the federal laws, a commercial motor vehicle is a truck or a tractor-trailer that is engaged in what is called interstate commerce and has an actual weight or a weight rating of 10,001 or more pounds or carries hazardous waste in a quantity that requires a hazardous waste placard. Other commercial vehicles include those that carry a certain number of passengers.

Hours-of-service regulations focus on when and how long a truck driver is permitted to drive and the total number of hours that a driver can work before that driver is no longer permitted to drive. There are certain maximums that apply to this which are called the 14-hour duty limit, the 60/70-hour duty limit and the 11-hour driving limit. The 60/70-hour duty limit is based on a seven or eight day period and restricts the total number of hours a driver has driven or worked in these time frames. The 60/70-hour rule is quite detailed and is found in sections 395.3(b) and (c).

There are some exceptions, but in general tractor-trailer drivers are only allowed to be on duty for 14 consecutive hours and once they have reached this time limit they must not drive again for another 10 consecutive hours. The 14-hour limit includes lunch or nap breaks. In addition, a truck driver cannot drive more than 11 hours during that 14-hour time frame. Once this limit has been reached, the driver must take off for another 10 hours.

This is an important issue in driver fatigue truck crashes. In an injury case involving a large truck that would be governed by these regulations, it is important to find out how long the driver has been driving. As an experienced trucking crash lawyer, I learn this by securing driving logs and other information from the truck driver, the trucking company and its records.

Trucking accidents can cause very serious injuries or death. As a Gwinnett County, Georgia truck accident attorney with offices throughout the Atlanta metro region, I handle truck accidents and truck injury cases in all surrounding cities and counties, including Duluth, Fulton County, Grayson, Gwinnett County and more. Please contact our law firm for a free confidential consultation at our main Gwinnett County law office, or at our offices in Decatur, the Perimeter and Buckhead.

As an Atlanta car accident attorney, it is always heartbreaking to learn of a tragic death in our area. Saturday evening a head-on collision occurred while a vehicle traveled westbound on Martin Luther King Jr. drive at the intersection of Westlake Boulevard. In this Fulton County truck accident -- the truck driver had no warning of the impending crash as he drove southbound on an Atlanta street.

According the report published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the westbound vehicle driven by Justin Moss, crossed over into the oncoming lane and crashed into a truck. Mr. Moss who was an Atlanta resident and 18 years of age, was driving the westbound vehicle and was identified by the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office. He was pronounced dead on the scene of the accident.

Two others were injured in this accident. A passenger in Mr. Moss' vehicle was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital in critical condtion. The driver of the truck that was struck by the westbound vehicle, was also taken to Grady Memorial in critical, but stable condition.

Head on collisions are among the most dangerous of all motor vehicle accidents. Even with the introduction of air bags, which we do not yet know were in the vehicles involved in this accident, many Americans are killed or catastrophically injured in these dangerous collisions every year.

And no population is more vulnerable to death on the road than teens. The Department of Transportation launched an effort several years ago to improve the safety of teen drivers since motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death of those between the ages of 15 - 20 years of age.

We do not yet know whether alcohol or other factors were a part of this tragic accident.

Important safety news this week from Toyota as it issues a major recall for one of its most popular trucks. As an Atlanta and Atlanta truck accident lawyer and Atlanta metro area motor vehicle accident lawyer, I want readers of the Atlanta Injury Attorneys Blog to be informed about this recall and to take action if they own one of the recalled trucks.

The recall involves about 51,000 Tundra trucks. The potential problem? The rear drive shafts must be inspected for a component that could break.

Although to date, no truck accidents or injuries have occurred, one slip yoke has failed and there is a risk of catastrophic personal injury with a drive shaft problem in other trucks with parts that were created at the same time as the failed part.

According to Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc., only 0.5 percent of these trucks potentially have the faulty slip yoke. This problem occurred in the casting of the part at the foundry process. The company is aware of one slip yoke failure. There are no reports of accidents or injuries related to the condition at this point.

Toyota is no stranger to potential defects in their vehicles and their handling of recalls in the recent past. From gas pedals that were believed to stick and cause accelleration dangers, to floor mat defects, the company has been inundated with negative press and slammed with a big bill of nearly $50 million from the federal government for the way they handled the recalls. The company has also been named in numerous law suits for these defects and recalls.

Toyota will inspect your Tundra and replace the defective part at no cost to owners. In addition to the problem with the Tundra, a separate recall has been issued for more than 300,000 RAV4 and Highlander vehicles to correct an airbag issue from 2007-2008 model years. Owners should consult the Toyota website or call their local dealer to get their cars inspected.