18-Wheeler Truck Accidents Dean Law Firm Attorneys Houston Texas

18-Wheeler Truck Accidents

In 2007, the US Department of Transportation recorded that Texas has the highest rate of fatalities in 18-wheeler truck accidents. The roads of the United States witness over 500,000 truck accidents each year. Truck wreck deaths nationwide often top 5,000 annually.

Because of these terrible statistics, the trucking industry is one of the most regulated commercial industries in the United States.

Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies DO NOT have the manpower and resources to strictly enforce these strict regulations. The trucking industry knows this. Every day the rule breakers are hauling overweight loads and sending out overworked and undertrained drivers on our roadways. When the trucking industry rule breakers gamble that they won't get caught, they gamble with our lives.

When Dean Law Firm represents victims of truck wrecks, its attorneys work to enforce the trucking industry rules and regulations. When Dean Law Firm wins for its clients, the rule breakers have been exposed and, hopefully, the conduct of the trucking company and driver will change. To hire an attorney who understands the regulations of 18-wheeler accidents and can properly enforce the rules for negligence on the roads in Texas, please contact the Dean Law Firm to get the settlement you deserve.

What is Distracted Driving?
Posted by: Christopher Dean
October 28, 2011

What is Distracted Driving?

There are three main types of distraction:

Visual - taking your eyes off the road
Manual - taking your hands off the wheel
Cognitive - taking your mind off what you're doing

Distracted driving is any non-driving activity a person engages in that has the potential to distract him or her from the primary task of driving and increase the risk of crashing. While all distractions can endanger drivers' safety, texting is the most alarming because it involves all three types of distraction.

Other distracting activities include:

Using a cell phone
Eating and drinking
Talking to passengers
Grooming
Reading, including maps
Using a PDA or navigation system
Watching a video
Changing the radio station, CD, or Mp3 player.

Driver distraction could present a serious and potentially deadly danger. In 2009, 5,474 people were killed in U.S. roadways and an estimated additional 448,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes that were reported to have involved distracted driving. Distracted driving comes in various forms, such as cell phone use, texting while driving, eating, drinking, talking with passengers, as well as using in-vehicle technologies and portable electronic devices. Even with the CSVA cracking down this week with their "Operation Safe Driver Campaign Mobilization", there is still heavy researched facts of Distracted Truck Driving that include:

20 percent of injury crashes in 2009 involved reports of distracted driving. (NHTSA).
Of those killed in distracted-driving-related crashed, 995 involved reports of a cell phone as a distraction (18% of fatalities in distraction-related crashes). (NHTSA)
In 2009, 5,474 people were killed in U.S. roadways and an estimated additional 448,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes that were reported to have involved distracted driving. (FARS and GES)
The age group with the greatest proportion of distracted drivers was the under-20 age group - 16 percent of all drivers younger than 20 involved in fatal crashes were reported to have been distracted while driving. (NHTSA)
Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. (Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
Using a cell phone use while driving, whether it's hand-held or hands-free, delays a driver's reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent. (Source: University of Utah)

Negligent Trucking Companies
Posted by: Christopher Dean
October 03, 2011

If the driver of a trucking company causes an accident as a result of negligence, the company can be held responsible. The defendants in a truck accident injury case can include:

-The truck's driver
-The owner of the truck or trailer
-The person or company that leased the truck or trailer from the owner
-The manufacturer of the vehicle, tires, or other parts that may have contributed to the cause or severity of the accident
-The shipper or loader of the truck's cargo

In the past, trucking or leasing companies would often deny responsibility and attempt to pass the blame to the victim. Trucking Companies use to hire the drivers as independent contractors from the truck owner, instead of hiring them as employees to get around the liability. If an accident occurred, the trucking company would be able to claim that the driver was not an actual employee and therefor they were not responsible for the accident.

Now federal law has changed this, any company that owns a truck permit is responsible for all accidents involving a truck with the name of the trucking company displayed on the vehicle - regardless of whether the driver is an employee or independent contractor. Trucking companies can also be held responsible for negligence, including

Failure to:

-properly monitor truck driver safety
-check log books and require accurate entries
-enforce limited driving hours
-maintain the truck and parts
-provide proper training to drivers
-hire safe drivers
-conduct background checks