Trucking is a major industry in this country, bringing in billions of dollars for the companies who hire over-the-road truck drivers. The U.S. Census Bureau's 2008 Service Annual Survey reported that trucking transportation revenue was $233.8 billion dollars. In order to keep making such incredible amounts of profit, sometimes trucking companies put profits over people, which can lead to practices that qualify as trucking company negligence.
Additionally, truck drivers drive sometimes hundreds thousands of miles each year throughout the United States. The tractor-trailers they drive are often carry thousands of pounds of cargo. The vehicle alone weighs more than 10,000 pounds. As a result, they can be highly dangerous on the roads. Every 16 minutes a person is killed or severely injured in a collision with an 18-wheeler, tractor-trailers or semi-trucks. There are approximately 500,000 trucking accidents a year, with about 5,000 of them causing fatalities. One out of every eight traffic fatalities involves a truck.
Because of the size and weight of these semi tractor trailers, when they hit something the results are often catastrophic and deadly. These accidents may be caused by a manufacturing or product defect with the truck, the trailer or its component parts. Accidents can be caused by faulty maintenance of the truck or trailer, by a negligent or unqualified truck driver, or by a whole host of other things. One area that must be thoroughly evaluated, but sometimes overlooked, as the cause of trucking accidents is the behavior, culture, policies or procedures of the trucking companies who own the tractor or trailer and /or employ the driver. At The Law Office of Gretchen Myers, P.C., we know how to handle truck accident injury cases that involve these types of trucking company negligence and liability issues. For more information, please contact us today to schedule a free initial consultation in our St. Louis office.
Additional Trucking Company Negligence IssuesThe hours of service that a truck driver is allowed to drive every day is limited by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, or FMCSA. The purpose of the hours of service regulation is to try and make sure that when you are on the highway you are not encountering a driver who is sleeping on the job and jeopardizing you, themselves and anyone else who is on the road around them. Some trucking companies ignore when this happens or even require the driver to disobey these hours of service rules so that orders will reach their destiny on time. Companies who behave this way are causing their drivers to be a danger to everyone on the roadway. Attorney Gretchen Myers has experience exposing these practices and holding trucking companies accountable for their actions.
Trucking companies are also responsible for maintaining their fleet of vehicles. Otherwise, they may become dangerous, runaway 18-wheelers. Semi tractor trailers today are very technologically advanced and require routine maintenance by experienced mechanics to remain safely on the road. The truck driver is required to do a routine inspection of his vehicle before the start of every day and at the end of the day in an effort to catch problems before they become dangerous. Additionally, trucks need engine checkups, brake checks, and tire evaluations, among other things, so that they are maintained in safe working order. If a trucking company decides to skimp and save money by not performing appropriate maintenance and inspections, it will eventually mean the loss of someone's life or livelihood. Negligently hiring and/or failing to properly train a driver may make them an unqualified driver, for which the trucking company is responsible and liable. The company must do thorough background checks regarding past jobs and driving violations. Additionally the company is responsible for providing training once hired to insure that anyone they place behind the wheel of this mammoth machine can drive it safely, carefully and cautiously. The driver’s life and yours may depend on it.
If you have been involved in an accident with a truck and believe it is due to the negligence of a truck driver or a trucking company, do not hesitate to hold them responsible for their actions. Make them stop these dangerous practices and save someone else's life in the process. Contact us today to explore your legal options if you have been harmed as a result of trucking company negligence.