ECM Data is Critical in a Truck Accident Investigation
It's not uncommon for those of us writing on this site to advocate for independent investigations after serious 18-wheeler accidents. Some see that as common-sense advice, but more than once we've been asked: "What will another investigation do that police don't already take care of?" I understand the skepticism, but decades of work in this...
Electronic Data is Vital Evidence in a Commercial Truck Accident Case
Perhaps you've heard that your phone, smartwatch, or home personal assistant are spying on you. I can't really speak to what degree any of that is true or just paranoia, but it obviously reflects the fact that we're all constantly surrounded by technology that in one way or another leaves a record of what we...
The Media Is Missing Serious Accidents: What Is to Be Done?
In the course of litigating cases over the last few years, my staff and I have incidentally come across more and more crashes that the news media isn't reporting on. These aren't just minor fender benders, but major crashes where people died or suffered serious injuries due to commercial vehicles or drunk drivers. That's not...
Are Authorities Jumping the Gun in the Fort Worth 18-Wheeler Crash that Killed 4 People?
By now most people in the Dallas-Fort Worth area have heard about the I-35W crash that occurred Monday, September 11, which claimed the lives of Susana Longoria, Kiara Barker, Jasmine Jones, and Chase Mapes. The crash also left two people hospitalized. If you missed the story, here's what officials say happened: At around 9:00 p.m....
What is Outlaw Trucking?
Over the years we've dealt with hundreds of 18-wheeler accidents where truck drivers were operating negligently—sometimes illegally—when they hurt innocent people. While we researched those cases we encountered the term outlaw trucking, used in commercial driver forums to describe "glory days" of looser regulations and an easier time breaking the rules for greater personal profit....
5 Ways to Ruin Your Truck Accident Case
When people are hurt in a truck accident, they know that the law empowers them to seek compensation even if they don't know the nuts and bolts of how that's done. What they may not realize is that there are many ways that an accident victim can damage their case before they ever begin the...
Hurt in a Crash with a Faulty Underride Guard? Let’s Sue.
A semi-trailer's underride guard (also called a Mansfield bar or a Rear Underrun Protection System) is a crucial piece of safety equipment. Its purpose is simple: When a smaller vehicle crashes into the back of an 18-wheeler, the bar keeps it from traveling underneath the trailer—at least that's what should happen. Unfortunately the guards fail...
The Legislative and Regulatory History of Underride Guards
Underride guards have been a mandatory piece of safety equipment on commercial trucks since the 1950's, but simple as they may seem the rules behind their use and design have had some odd twists and turns over the years. In this article we'll look at that history, what the future may hold, and what that...
More Regulation Isn’t Going to Shut Down Trucking School Scams
August 11th, 2015, federal and California State officials said that at least 100 commercial truck drivers paid up to $5,000 each in bribes to state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) employees for fake California commercial drivers licenses (CDLs). Immediately following the news and after further investigation, the DMV revoked over 600 CDLs that they found...
Violations Found During the Roadside Inspection Blitzes Are Nothing to Brag About
Admittedly, truck safety inspections are one of those topics (like tax law, insurance coverage, and federal regulation) that doesn't stir up a lot of excitement. Enforcing truck safety regulations is something that largely takes place outside of the general public's consciousness, but that doesn't make it unimportant. The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) is a...
Is This The Worst Truck Company in Texas?
Last week, I told my boss, attorney Michael Grossman, "I think I may have found the worst trucking company in Texas." It's a bold claim to make to a man who has litigated truck accident cases longer than I've been alive. However, when he looked through what I found, he couldn't help but agree that...
Waiving Hours of Service Rules for Hurricane Ian Relief Doesn’t Mean Those Rules Shouldn’t Exist
During the initial phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) relaxed hours of service rules to ensure an uninterrupted supply of goods during the crisis. This led some in the trucking industry to suggest that the waiver meant that rules weren't necessary in the first place. Their thinking went, "If...
What Evidence Do Police Miss When Investigating Commercial Vehicle Crashes?
I've spent a good portion of my decades-long career pushing back against the myth that a police crash report is the final word on any collision. The most obvious reason not to place too much faith in police reports is that they don't conclusively establish fault for a crash. In other words, everyone is free...
A Look Back at How Spectacularly Wrong a 1982 Truck Accident Study Predicted the Future
New data bombards us, regardless of what we do. Given what I do for a living, I see a constant stream of truck accident data and studies. While I read, digest, and comment on this data, federal regulators make new laws based on the same studies, and responsible trucking companies use them to devise new...
Why Is a Trucking Magazine Bragging About Poor Out-of-Service Rates?
Perhaps there isn't a stranger sight than someone bragging about mediocrity. That's what an author in Land Line Magazine did recently when discussing the results of International Roadcheck 2021. For those unfamiliar with International Roadcheck, it's a coordinated enforcement effort between officials in the United States, Mexico, and Canada to ensure that the commercial trucks...
Can We Retire the Myth of the Truck Driver Shortage?
Have you heard that a shortage of truck drivers exists and it's only getting worse? According to the American Trucking Association (ATA), the American trucking industry finds itself in need of 61,000 drivers. To make matters worse, within 7 years, that number could balloon into hundreds of thousands of truck drivers short of what the...
TXDOT Report Shows the Fallibility of Experts
I'm not in the business of making mountains out of molehills. However, there are times when I read something that exemplifies many larger trends, and this is one of them. Not a day goes by when someone (usually in a position of authority) laments that people don't trust experts (people like them) like they used...
What Are the 5 Deadliest States for Truck Drivers?
While many people worry about the dangers that tractor-trailers pose to them on the highway, few consider that they aren't the only ones at risk in accidents with large vehicles. In fact, nearly 700 truckers die every year on our nation's highways. This makes driving commercial trucks one of the more dangerous occupations in the...
Semi-Autonomous Truck Convoys Appear Unnecessarily Dangerous at First Glance
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) made headlines at its recent Analysis, Research, and Technology Forum. The trucking industry regulator rattled many in the trucking industry with its aggressive forecast for driverless commercial vehicles deployment. Most of the hoopla surrounded FMCSA's projection that fully autonomous trucks will hit the road sometime around 2030. Even...
Why Do West Texas Oilfield Companies Keep Hiring Dangerous Truck Drivers?
"How do we bring the number of Texas oilfield trucking fatalities down?" Media outlets raise issues such as speed limits, road maintenance, and truck upkeep, which all play a role in the problem: What no one wants to discuss is that the biggest factor in whether an 18-wheeler causes a deadly crash is the quality of the truck's driver.
