A fatal truck accident on a Los Angeles area freeway highlights a type of safety hazard we also see in Atlanta, Georgia. In the predawn darkness last Friday, a passenger vehicle struck the rear of a disabled tractor trailer parked in a traffic lane on I-5 at Burbank, California, killing…
When a tractor trailer from Alabama crossed the median on I-65 in Kentucky last week and struck a passenger van head-on, it killed 10 devout Mennonites en route to a wedding. The truck driver also died in the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating why the tractor…
Truckers have a tough, dangerous job. While my trucking accident law practice in Atlanta, Georgia, is often focused on representing folks in smaller vehicles who are on the receiving end of highly unfavorable physics in collisions, I also represent some truckers. Two news stories this week highlight one of the…
Today I received the February issue of Trial magazine, which includes my article, When the Trucking Company Goes Under.” It’s based on a seminar paper I presented in San Francisco last summer. I’ve copied it below. Bankruptcy is on the rise for both companies and individuals, so don’t be surprised…
In the Georgia legislature, two proposed bills would crack down on texting while driving. Both have been sent to a study committee. HB 938 would prohibit the use of wireless telecommunications devices for sending or reading text messages while operating a motor vehicle. A conviction would be punishable by a…
Today the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration banned text messaging by interstate truck drivers during operation of a commercial motor vehicle. Virginia Tech’s Transportation Institute released a study last July that found that when truckers text, they are 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash or near…
As a trucking safety trial attorney in Georgia, I spend a lot of time with truck drivers, either representing them when they get badly hurt, suing them when they badly hurt someone else, or interviewing them as witnesses. Based on personal experience, I’ve thought about posting a review of truck…
Since I represent victims of catastrophic trucking accidents in Georgia, I tend to deal with some pretty bad stuff. A friend from high school days who occasionally glances at this blog asked me a few days ago, “are there ever any positive outcomes for any of the cases you represent?”…
As a Georgia trucking accident attorney, I expect accidents involving truck drivers who are extremely fatigued, cheating on their driving hours, distracted, or impaired by medications or by amphetamines used to stay awake. I expect mechanical and maintenance issues. I just don’t expect interstate truck drivers to be drunk behind…
I first learned of a fatal log truck accident in the Savannah area last week when a Savannah newspaper reporter phoned me for background information on log truck regulations in Georgia. Police investigators in Garden City, Georgia, found 24 safety violations on a log truck that lost its load of…