Atlanta Injury Law Blog

A few days ago, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration published a final rule adopting the provisions of its 2007 interim final rule, increasing the maximum driving time from 10 to 11 hours per day, out of 14 hours on duty. According to a report by Jill Dunn on e-Trucker.com, the FMCSA and American Trucking…

A trucker speeding on a rain-slick expressway caused the fiery chain reaction in a tunnel on I-5 just north of Los Angeles last year. The location on I-5 is near my son’s college apartment, so I have been by it many times. However, the case also has a local angle in metro Atlanta. According to…

In today’s  Atlanta Journal-Constitution includes there appears a tragically true story by Steve Owings, whose son was killed by a speeding tractor trailer on cruise control six years ago. In the wake of his son’s death, Steve and his wife founded Road Safe America Knowing Steve’s motivation to make the roads safer for everyone, I’m taking…

Today’s issue of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution includes an article by Steve Owings, who founded Road Safe America after his son was killed by a speeding tractor trailer on cruise control six years ago. Having met Steve and learned of his motivation to make the roads safer for everyone, I’m just going to copy his article…

A collision between a tractor trailer and a fire truck in Crisp County, Georgia, killed the Ohio trucker and sent a local volunteer fireman to a hospital last Saturday. The Ohio trucker, 33-year-old Shane Alan Waters of New Madison, Ohio, was killed. Ironically, he was also a volunteer fireman back in Ohio. The cause of…

A tractor trailer driver going too fast to see his way through dense fog Monday morning in Fresno, California killed a young woman on her way to work. According to a report by Jim Steinberg and Vanessa Colón of The Fresno Bee, a big-rig drive Martin Nelson, 22, of Fresno, failed to see stopped traffic…

A big rig driver unable to see his way through dense fog Monday morning in Fresno, California, was going too fast to see stopped traffic through the fog when he struck and killed a young woman . Tractor trailer driver Martin Nelson, 22, of Fresno, failed to see stopped traffic in heavy fog when he…

In my trucking litigation law practice, I all too often see fatal truck accidents that happen in bad weather Despite a federal safety regulation requiring “extreme caution” in hazardous weather, and instructions in the Commercial Drivers License Manual to slow down by at least one-third, truckers under economic pressure from employers, shippers, and sometimes their…

Fatal truck accidents in bad weather are an all too common — and preventable — tragedy that we see in our law practice.  Despite the very clear federal standard requiring “extreme caution” in hazardous weather and pull over if necessary, and guidelines in the Commercial Drivers License Manual to slow down by at least one-third,…

In truck crash litigation we sometimes find judges who fundamentally don’t understand interstate motor carrier law and refuse to learn. Therefore, it is refreshing to read of judges who do “get it,” and who are willing to act forcefully to protect the safety of the traveling public. The U.S. District Court for South Dakota recently…