Truck Accidents and Death

A fatal truck accident in Chesterfield, Burlington County closed the New Jersey Turnpike for several hours in the morning on May 21, 2010. A truck driver was killed at the scene and another truck driver remained in critical condition.

The National Road Traffic Safety Administration issued a report in 2008 detailing truck accidents in the United States.

4,229 people died in accidents involving at least one large truck and 90,000 were injured. This means that 11 people per day were killed in truck accidents and 246 others were injured per day.

Truck drivers involved in single vehicle accidents are more likely to be killed than truck drivers involved in many vehicle accidents. In 2008, 430 truck drivers were dump truck hino killed in a single vehicle accident and 247 truck drivers were killed in several vehicle accidents.

In 2008, 3139 people were killed in a truck accident and they were not occupants of the truck involved in the accident. This accounts for 74% of all deaths due to truck accidents. In other words, the person who most likes to die in a truck accident is not the truck driver, but a driver of another vehicle involved in the accident.

Also according to NHTSA, the most fatal truck accidents occur in rural areas, during the day and on weekdays. In 2008, during the week, 74% of accidents occurred between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. On weekends, 63% of accidents occur between 6:00 p.m. until 6:00 in the morning

The fatal accident in Chesterfield, New Jersey occurred at 1:00 am on the New Jersey Turnpike when a box truck hit a garbage truck with a tandem trailer. The trailer was detached from the garbage truck and the box truck driver was killed when his truck crashed into the trailer. The second accident occurred when a tanker crashed into an axle that fell from a trailer.

Needless to say, a dangerous truck accident. In fact, deaths from truck accidents accounted for 11% of the total number of traffic deaths in the US in 2008.

One step in the right direction to reduce traffic deaths is the recent ban imposed by the US Department of Transportation. In January 2010, drivers of commercial buses and trucks were prohibited from sending text messages while driving.

BY: DANIEL J. O'BRIEN

Mr. O'Brien is the founder and Chair of the Plaintiff's Personal Injury Practice Group at the company. Mr. O'Brien is a partner at White and Williams LLP and has worked at the company for more than 25 years. He has the highest rank on Martin Dale Hubbard Ratings, and has been chosen in a survey of his colleagues as "Pennsylvania Super Lawyer" several times. Mr. O'Brien dedicates 100% of his professional time to representing individuals who have suffered serious and devastating injuries due to accidents. He has extensive experience in handling various cases in various fields including product liability, industrial accidents, building liability accidents, construction site accidents, sports and recreation accidents, motor vehicle and truck accidents and dog attacks.