There are more trucks because more people are buying more things. Pretty much every item for sale in the Tampa Bay area, from a new car to a candy bar, spent some time on a big rig. Furthermore, largely because of the lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic, regulators now routinely overlook weight limits in this area.

Large truck accidents usually cause catastrophic injuries, such as serious burns and head injuries. The average hospital bill usually exceeds $50,000 in these cases. There are other economic losses as well, mostly lost property and lost work productivity. Furthermore, these victims deserve compensation for their noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering.

This compensation is available, but insurance companies don’t simply give this money away. Instead, a Tampa truck accident lawyer must fight for it.

What Causes Truck Accidents?

Poorly-maintained vehicles and operator fatigue are two of the leading causes of truck accidents in Florida.

Long haul truckers routinely put more than 100,000 miles a year on their rigs. Therefore, some mechanical wear and tear is inevitable. Making matters more complicated, large trucks have lots of moving parts. A breakdown in any one area, such as a bolt which has vibrated loose, could have disastrous consequences.

Truck drivers have a higher duty of care than noncommercial operators. So, they arguably have a duty to undergo state inspection-type reviews several times a year, as opposed to once a year. Normally, however, truckers only perform walk-by inspections, at most.

Operator fatigue is a serious problem as well. In order to make money on each trip, truckers must stay on the road as long as possible. Fatigue and alcohol have basically the same effect on the body and brain. In fact, driving after eighteen consecutive awake hours is like driving with a .05 BAC level. That’s above the legal limit for commercial operators in most states, including Florida.

Sometimes, the time of day is more important than the amount of sleep. Most people are naturally drowsy at certain times, such as late at night, no matter how much rest they’ve had recently.

First Party Liability

If a mechanical problem or another traffic law violation substantially causes a wreck, the tortfeasor (negligent operator) could be presumptively liable for damages. Additional evidence on this point includes the nature of the problem and the length of time the problem existed.

Fatigued driving is not against the law, at least in most cases. So, if drowsy driving caused the wreck, the victim/plaintiff must normally use the ordinary negligence doctrine. The duty of care requires truckers, and all other drivers, to be reasonably well-rested before they get behind the wheel. Fatigue, like alcohol, impairs both judgement ability and motor skills.

Third Party Liability

Truckers are legally responsible for damages in these situations. Frequently, the shipping, transportation, or other company that owned the truck is financially responsible for damages.

The respondeat superior rule applies if the tortfeasor was an employee who was acting within the scope of employment. Florida law defines these key elements in broad, victim-friendly ways. For example, even if the truck driver was an unpaid volunteer, like a church volunteer, the driver was probably an “employee” for negligence purposes.

Vicarious liability theories like respondeat superior are very important in truck accident claims. The aforementioned injuries are so serious that, in many cases, truck drivers don’t have enough individual insurance coverage to fully compensate victims. Respondeat superior gives these people an additional source of recovery.

Work with a Diligent Hillsborough County Lawyer

Car crash victims are usually entitled to significant compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney in Tampa, contact Mark H. Wright, PLLC. You have a limited amount of time to act.

Resource:

fmcsa.dot.gov/safety/data-and-statistics/large-truck-and-bus-crash-facts-2018

Some of these injuries include serious burns and head injuries. Diesel fuel and ordinary gasoline burn at different temperatures. Additionally, due to the size of a fully-loaded large truck, even the most sophisticated restraint system cannot possibly absorb all the force in these wrecks.

These wrecks are usually complex, and not just because of the serious injuries they cause. Frequently, an out-of-state shipping, transportation, or other company is financially responsible for damages. So, only an experienced Tampa personal injury attorney should handle these claims. Victims who go with an inexperienced lawyer often end up settling for less money than they need and deserve.

Solid evidence is usually the key to a successful truck accident claim. Increasingly, electronic evidence is critical in these claims, particularly in certain types of cases.

Event Data Recorder

An EDR is a lot like the black box flight data recorder that commercial jets carry. Almost all vehicles on the road, whether they are commercial or noncommercial, have an EDR. Typically, these gadgets measure and record information like:

• Vehicle speed,
• Steering angle,
• Brake application, and
• Engine RPM.

Any one of these numbers could help victims obtain maximum compensation in a truck crash claim. This compensation usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering.

Unfortunately, this critical evidence is not always available. Florida has very restrictive vehicle data privacy laws. Therefore, attorneys must usually convince judges to issue court orders before they can inspect and download EDR data.

That’s assuming the EDR is available at all. Usually, insurance companies destroy totaled vehicles within a matter of days. If that happens, any physical evidence the vehicle contained, including the EDR, is lost.

To prevent that from happening, attorneys send spoliation letters to insurance companies. These letters create a legal obligation to preserve any potential physical evidence, including the EDR, for a future trial.

Electronic Logging Device

EDRs are often significant in any kind of truck crash. ELDs provide important evidence in drowsy driver claims.

There is a direct relationship between operator fatigue and the risk of a crash. Driving after eighteen hours without sleep is like driving with a .05 BAC level. That’s above the legal limit for commercial operators in Florida.

Before the ELD mandate took effect, truck drivers usually keep track of their HOS (Hours of Service) in paper log books which were easy to fabricate. ELDs are connected to the truck’s drivetrain. So, while the vehicle is in motion, the internal HOS clock is ticking. In other words, ELDs provide essentially bulletproof evidence of fatigued operation.

There are technical issues. Large truck ELDs are extremely sophisticated and delicate devices. A lawyer needs much more than a laptop and a screwdriver to access the data they contain. This data is virtually unassailable in court. If the device was working correctly, a computer is never incorrect or biased.

Reach Out to a Savvy Lawyer

Electronic evidence could make or break a truck crash claim. For a free consultation with an experienced Tampa truck accident lawyer, contact Mark H. Wright, PLLC. Home, virtual, and hospital visits are available.

Resource:

ccjdigital.com/business/article/14940101/driver-shortage-to-keep-capacity-tight-in-2021-and-beyond

The new rule—which is expected to go into effect sometime in September—is the result of the trucking industry pressuring the current administration to relax the current requirements and provide more flexibility so that truck drivers themselves can decide when driving is or is not safe; even though statistics indicate that fatigue continues to pose a significant safety issue on the roads.

The Current Rule

In order to understand the practical impact that this will have on everyone’s safety on the roads, it is important to understand what the current requirements are.

Federal law currently limits the number of hours’ commercial truck drivers can drive on the roads; whereby:

• They can work up to 14 hours per day (recorded using electronic logging devices connected to the truck’s engine)
• During this time, they can drive for up to 11 hours (if they are carrying property/cargo), with an extra two hours (thus 13 total) in adverse conditions, and must take a 30-minute break during the first eight hours in order to continue
• After working a 14-hour day (during which they drove for 11 hours), they must follow this by taking at least 10 hours off before going back on duty
• Drivers using the sleeper berth provision must take at least eight hours in the truck’s berth plus a separate two consecutive hours in the berth and/or off duty
• Drivers who operate within a 100 air-mile radius of their work location, where on-duty work time does not exceed 12 hours, are not required to record their driving time and therefore use electronic logging devices because it is assumed that they return home when off-duty (known as the “short-haul exception”)

The New Rule

The new rule makes the following changes; it:

• Introduces flexibility into the 30-minute break rule by allowing drivers to take the break after eight hours of consecutive driving while they are on-duty (in other words, it essentially eliminates the required 30-minute rest break)
• Modifies the sleeper birth exception by allowing drivers to take at least seven instead of eight hours in the truck’s berth and a minimum of at least two hours inside or outside of the berth, as long as the two periods total at least 10 hours (while also not counting against their 14-hour work window)
• Adds on another two hours for drivers to drive during adverse driving conditions (thus allowing for a maximum of 16 consecutive hours on duty instead of 14)
• Extends the distance for drivers who do not have to record their driving time and use electronic logging devices from those who drive within a 100 air mile radius to those who drive within a 150 air mile radius from their work location if their work shift does not exceed 14 hours instead of 12 (i.e. it significantly expands coverage of the “short-haul exception”)

Currently, at least 20 percent of truck accidents are due to truck driver fatigue, and the new rules will be elimination breaks, splitting up time off, allowing truck drivers to drive for more time in adverse conditions that include highways covered in ice and snow, and adding more trucks on the road who are capable of evading hours of services rules altogether because they are exempt from logging driving time. This will allow truck drivers to drive longer, as they wish, in order to meet schedules, and risk becoming even more fatigued, leading to more deadly truck accidents on the roads.

If You’ve Been Hurt in A Florida Truck Accident, Contact Tampa Truck Accident Lawyer Mark H. Wright

Getting into an accident with a truck can be absolutely deadly, mandating that there be strict requirements on the road in order to reduce driver fatigue, which is still one of the leading causes of truck accidents. The hours of service rules should be altered to become more stringent, not more relaxed, in order to save lives. If you or a loved one has been in an accident with a truck driver, contact dedicated Tampa truck accident lawyer Mark H. Wright today to find out how we will fight aggressively to protect your rights.

Resources:

fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/2020-05/HOS%20Master%20050120%20clean.pdf

everycrsreport.com/reports/R46276.html#_Toc35508799

safety.blr.com/workplace-safety-news/transportation-safety/hours-of-service-motor-carriers/FMCSA-amends-hours-of-service-rules/