Posts tagged Trucking Accidents

• Federal Regulators Miss Chance to Lower Truck Accidents

  Michael Phelan | December 20, 2007 4:23 PM | 0 CommentsRichmond, VA Category: Tractor-Trailer Accidents
  

  Driver fatigue is a leading cause of tractor trailer truck accidents. Consumer advocates sued recently to require the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to lower the current 11-hour driving limit to 10 hours. The requested change would have resulted in one less hour behind the wheel each day. The Teamsters union supports the lower limit. Alas, the Bush Administration once again...

• Fatal Truck Crash Results in $36.3 million Verdict

  Michael Phelan | December 05, 2007 2:57 PM | 0 CommentsRichmond, VA Category: Tractor-Trailer Accidents
  

  On a clear day in April 2004, a father of eight kids and owner of a plumbing supply company, was driving his Chevrolet Suburban and obeying the rules of the road. At the same time, a driver of a Swift Transportation tractor-trailer drove 65 mph across three sets of rumble strips designed to warn of an approaching stop sign, ran the stop sign, and crashed into the Suburban, killing the father. ...

• Truck Accidents Caused By Driver Fatigue

  Michael Phelan | July 25, 2007 3:08 PM | 0 CommentsRichmond, VA Category: Tractor-Trailer Accidents
  

  About 100 people die each week in truck accidents. Despite this alarming statistic, the Bush Administration once again succumbed to pressure from lobbyists (this time the American Trucking Association) and, in 2005, adopted new rules permitting tractor trailer truck drivers to drive 11 hours per day. Safety experts and insurance industry analysts challenged the new rules on grounds that the...

• The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Admin.: Six Years Later, the Roads are No Safer from Truck Crashes

  Michael Phelan | March 13, 2007 4:07 PM | 0 CommentsRichmond, VA Category: Tractor-Trailer Accidents
  

  A study released by two truck and highway safety advocacy groups showed that U.S. fatalities from truck accidents have remained consistent at 100 per week from 1999 (when the federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration was created) through 2005. This week, families of truck crash victims are lobbying Congress and the Bush Administration to create stricter safety rules. The advocacy groups seek...

• Federal Motor Carrier Safety Admin. Has History of Ignoring Safety Warnings

  Michael Phelan | February 23, 2007 9:15 AM | 0 CommentsRichmond, VA Category: Tractor-Trailer Accidents
  

  After completing its investigation of the tragic bus fire that killed 23 elderly Hurricane Rita evacuees, the National Transportation Safety Board on February 21st called on the Federal Motor Carrier Motor Safety Administration to promulagate stronger safety regulations for buses and large trucks. The FMCMSA is charged with reducing crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving large trucks and...

• Three People Killed in Fiery Tractor Trailer Truck Crash on Interstate 66

  Michael Phelan | February 01, 2007 9:51 PM | 0 CommentsRichmond, VA Category: Tractor-Trailer Accidents
  

  At 3:50 a.m. Tuesday morning, a tractor trailer traveling west on I-66 in Fairfax crashed into the rear of a Jeep Wrangler, knocking the Wrangler into a Volvo. The Wrangler and Volvo burst into flames. The driver of both the Wrangler and Volvo plus a passenger in the Volvo were killed. This brings to 61 the total number of people killed on Virginia highways in 2007. While the State Police...

• 15 Passenger Vans="Death Traps"

  Michael Phelan | January 19, 2007 1:00 AM | 0 CommentsRichmond, VA Category: Tractor-Trailer Accidents
  

  A 15 passenger bus (commonly referred to as a 15 passenger van) is designed to seat 14 passengers and a driver. The design of these buses is a standard cargo chassis with an extended full-size body that has been equipped with passenger seating. These buses have been sold by GM, Ford, and Chrysler under various names:1. Chevrolet Express 35002. GMC Savana G35003. Dodge Ram Van/Wagon B35004. ...

• Improper Loading Causes Tractor Trailer Truck Crash

  Aubrey Ford | January 05, 2007 6:46 PM | 0 CommentsRichmond, VA Category: Tractor-Trailer Accidents
  

  An 11 month old baby was killed and her two siblings and mother were were injured when the tractor trailer truck in which they were passengers overturned. The children and their mother were taking a road trip with their father who was hauling magazines stacked on pallets. Unfortunately, the magazines had been loaded improperly. When the truck slowly entered a curve, the mother heard a loud...

• Virginia Legislators Are Inconsistent in Trying to Reduce Insurance Rates

  Staff Writer | February 13, 2006 2:11 PM | 0 CommentsRichmond, VA Category: Head & Brain Injuries
  

  I put myself through law school by selling Harley Davidson motorcycles in Virginia Beach, Virginia. At the shop, I would regularly hear riders complain about restrictions and helmet laws. They even wore tattoos that said "Live Free or Die". However, motorcycle helmet laws continued to be enforced and provide safety protection for riders. This past week, we saw a Virginia delegate continue to...

• Does Virginia's Attorney General Still Want to Limit Our Rights to a Trial by Jury?

  Staff Writer | February 13, 2006 2:04 PM | 0 CommentsRichmond, VA Category: Automobile Accidents
  

  Today I saw the announcement that Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell will begin to regularly appear on a popular conservative website so that web surfers can blog with him on a weekly basis. In going to the site, they catagorize this announcement as "straight talk from the internet's first elected blogger". My relationship with Attorney General McDonnell goes back to 1991 when he first ran...