Kansas City Injury Lawyer Blog

A semi trailer converted for use as a recreational vehicle crashed on a Kansas highway on Sunday, April 1, 2012. Five of the eighteen people on board died in the crash, and the survivors all suffered injuries. The occupants were members of an extended family traveling home to Minnesota after a vacation in Texas. The driver of the semi was a 17 year-old with a restricted Minnesota driver's license. This has led the federal government to seek review of state graduated driver licensing (GDL) laws that would allow a teenage driver to operate such a large vehicle.

The Kerber family was traveling home on Interstate 35 in a Freightliner box truck and Haulmark trailer that had been modified to serve as a recreational vehicle. The vehicle reportedly weighed about 57,000 pounds. Two people, the driver and a 16 year-old, were in the cab of the truck, while the other sixteen rode in the trailer. According to investigators, only the two people in the cab were wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash.

Several of the children were motocross racers, and the family had attended a motocross race in Texas. The trailer had two sections. The front section had living quarters with furnishings and appliances, and the back section stored their motorcycles and equipment. Trailers like this are apparently popular in the motocross community.

Continue reading "Kansas Semi-Trailer Crash that Killed Five People Brings Scrutiny of Graduated Driver Licensing Laws" »

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 2010 data shows an increase in trucking accident-related fatalities last year. U.S. traveling related deaths increased by 8.7% in 2010, reversing a trend that had been set into motion a couple of years ago.

A total of 3,675 people were killed in trucking-related accidents across the country in 2010. That was an increase from 3,380 fatalities in 2009. Approximately 64% of trucking accident fatalities were single vehicle accidents.

There was also an increase in the number of people injured in large truck accidents. These injuries increased by 12% in 2010, to a total of 19,000 injuries. In contrast, injuries in passenger car accidents increased by only 2.5%.

The national statistics have great relevance to Douglas R. Horn, a Missouri truck accident lawyer. Missouri has several major truck routes, including I-70 and I-44. Both highways are highly congested, which is a significant factor in causing truck accidents.

The American Trucking Association has responded to this increase in trucking accident fatalities, and is calling for more research and analysis of the statistics to understand the reasons for this increase. The group has constantly boasted about the improving trucking safety record of the industry, and has used the lower trucking accident fatality rates over the past couple of years to support its opposition to reducing trucking work hour rules. According to the trucking industry, the 11-hour rule is working fine and has actually helped reduce trucking accident fatalities.

AllState Insurance Company has released its "America's Best Drivers Report" for 2011, and the news is mostly good for Kansas and Missouri drivers. Of 200 U.S. cities surveyed for the report, Kansas City, Missouri ranks 22nd, and Kansas City, Kansas ranks 37th. Rankings for cities in Kansas and Missouri are as follows:

AllState based its figures on the number of automobile accidents requiring insurance claims for the 200 largest American cities. Its analysis was limited to claims made through their own insurance policies, but as the second-largest auto insurance company in the U.S., its figures cover a relatively large percentage of accident statistics. The report also only covers accidents in urban areas, leaving accidents in rural areas unaddressed.

Drivers in Springfield, the Missouri city ranking highest in the report, will go an average of 12.2 years between auto collisions, and they are 17.9% less likely to have a collision than the average American driver. AllState offers the following tips to avoid collisions:

- Minimize distractions
- Be aware of road conditions
- Leave a safe distance between your car and others around you
- Steer clear of road rage
- Maintenance matters

Despite advances in safety technology and an overall decline in automobile accidents nationwide, AllState reports that there are an average of 32,000 traffic fatalities per year in the United States. Missouri's high ranking in driver safety is only a matter of comparison. The Kansas Department of Transportation reports 385 traffic fatalities and 21,058 injuries for 2008, the most recent year for which it has statistics. The Missouri Department of Transportation reports 652 fatalities and 20,178 injuries for 2009.

Recent news also demonstrates the need for caution on the roads. The Missouri Highway Patrol reports nine traffic fatalities for Labor Day weekend 2011, the same number as in 2010. The Patrol attributes most of these fatalities to a lack of protective gear, such as seat belts or life jackets in the case of boating accidents. Holiday weekends always seem to bring an increase in accidents on the roads, but the need for care when driving is never-ending.

Continue reading "Missouri, Kansas Rank High on AllState's Safe Drivers Report" »

http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-detail.asp?news_id=74280

Stability control systems, which are so popular in automobiles, can also help prevent truck rollovers. In fact, Missouri truck accident lawyers believe that they could prevent as many as 3,600 truck rollover accidents every year, and save at least 100 lives in the process. The National Transportation Safety Board is now calling on federal trucking safety agencies to implement rollover prevention technologies and systems.

The National Transportation Safety Board is even more concerned about truck rollover accidents since a 2009 Indiana accident that left five people injured. The Indiana accident involved a tanker truck loaded with liquefied petroleum gas, flipped over on a busy Indiana highway, and burst into flames. Miraculously, no one was killed in the accident. But the tanker truck driver and a motorist who got too close to the fireball sustained serious injuries.

The National Transportation Safety Board has completed its investigation into that accident. The Board blames the fact that the tanker truck was at a high susceptibility for a rollover because of its high center of gravity. If the tanker truck had come with stability control systems, it is likely that the driver could have retained control over the tanker truck, thereby preventing this accident.

A tanker truck rollover can have terrible consequences. Very often, these tanker trucks are carrying gasoline and other hazardous materials. In the event of a rollover, these materials can easily leak. People in the vicinity may be at a high risk from exposure to hazardous chemicals. They may also be at a high risk from explosions or fires.
The National Transportation Safety Board is calling on the federal trucking safety agency and the federal pipeline safety agency to work together to implement better protections against truck rollover accidents. This would include mandating stability control systems in all tanker trucks. The Board also wants a review of the design of cargo tank trucks and stronger performance standards for new cargo tanks.

http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-detail.asp?news_id=73563

Research by the Department Of Transportation confirms to Missouri truck accident attorneys that a truck driver's risk of being involved in an accident increases substantially when he has a history of accidents. That isn't exactly a surprise, but it does confirm that employers need to be very careful about screening potential drivers before hiring them.

The research relied on truck driver accident data involving more than 582,772 truck drivers. The data was gathered over a two-year period, and only involved those convictions that increased a driver's accident risk by more than 50%. Some of the interesting findings from the study:

Signal failure, including failure to use signals or improper signals were the leading convictions linked to a truck driver's accident risks, increasing a driver's risk by as much as 96%.

Being involved in accidents increased the risk by as much as 88%. A similar increase was seen for improper passing violation convictions.

Besides these, there were also increased crash risks for drivers with improper turn convictions (84%), improper lane change convictions (80%), improper lane/location convictions (68 %), convictions for failure to obey traffic signs (60%), speeding convictions (67 %), and reckless driving convictions (64 %). Overall, there was an increased risk of accidents by as much as 64% for any conviction. However, the new research contrasted with estimates found in the 2005 report. In that report, there were as many as three convictions that actually doubled crash risks.

One of the criteria by which truck drivers can be categorized is a look at their accident safety history. That includes violations for a range of traffic safety offenses. Trucking companies need to take a closer look at the crash history of potential job applicants, before hiring them.

According to a study by The Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety, seat belt use among commercial truck and bus drivers in the state, is definitely up. The survey conducted in 2010 across Missouri shows that more than 80% of all commercial truck and bus drivers are now buckled up. The last time the survey was conducted was in 2008, when the percentage of commercial truck and bus drivers wearing seat belts was about 73.4%. The study is conducted every alternate year.

Some drivers seem to be much more used to the need for seat belts while driving than others. For instance, drivers of double trailers, bus and boxed trailer trucks showed more improvement in buckling up than drivers of other vehicles. Double trailer drivers wore their seatbelts most often, while dump truck drivers had the lowest rate of seat belt use at 57.5%.

Whenever seat belt usage comes up, most people immediately think about motorists and occupants of a passenger vehicle. Drivers of commercial buses and trucks also need to buckle up at all times, to prevent the risk of suffering serious injuries in an accident. For instance, 18-wheelers are at a high risk of rollovers, especially when a truck driver applies the brakes at high speeds. Besides, these trucks have a much higher chance of flipping over when the vehicle is traveling on a a slippery or wet road. During a rollover, a truck or bus driver can be ejected out the window, causing serious injuries or death.

Incidentally, a Missouri Senate Committee is considering an increase to the fines for seatbelt violators. If Missouri approved the fine increase from $10 to $50, Missouri would have the 3^rd highest fine in the U.S. .

It takes a few seconds to buckle up, but could mean the difference between life and death in a serious accident.

Missouri and Kansas Truck Accident Attorneys will applaud a proposal by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that could soon end with all commercial trucks being required to have speed limiting devices installed on them. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced that it will soon initiate a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, requiring speed limiting devices on all commercial trucks.

The initiative comes in response to a petition signed by the American Trucking Association and several trucking safety groups, asking them to mandate such speed limiting devices on all trucks. Specifically, the petition asks the NHTSA to mandate speed limiting devices on trucks that weigh more than 20,000 pounds. Speeds would be limited to a maximum of about 68 mph.

The American Trucking Association has strongly supported the petition for speed limiting devices, but another industry group, the Owner/Operators Independent Drivers Association has opposed any petition to mandate speed limiting devices on trucks.

As a Missouri truck accident lawyer, I have been very encouraged with some of the recent momentum on truck safety issues. In January, the federal administration announced a ban on texting while driving for all commercial truck drivers, and in December, proposed a ban on all hand-held cell phone use while driving for commercial truckers. As I have recently discussed on this blog, it has also proposed reduced work hours for truck drivers to reduce the number of accidents traced to driver fatigue. This proposal to mandate speed limiters on trucks seems to be another step towards trucking safety. For many years, our trucking safety rules have languished in a state of perpetual stupor, too outdated for modern times, and too out of touch with the realities of increased traffic and highway design. That could be changing.

Last week, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration handed a Christmas gift to trucking safety groups and Kansas City accident lawyers. It issued a regulatory proposal that would reduce the Hours of Service rule requirements for all commercial truck drivers. The proposal also includes more numbers of rest breaks, and as a Kansas City truck accident attorney, I believe that in the long run, the reduced work hours will minimize the number of fatigue-related accidents.

The proposal would require that all commercial truck drivers finish their driving within a 14-hour work window. The proposal would also require that the truck driver complete all on-duty activities within a 13-hour window. The FMCSA has invited public comment on a provision in the proposals that would reduce from 11 hours to 10 hours the amount of daily drive time that a truck driver spends behind the wheel.

It should be no surprise to any Kansas City truck accident lawyer that the American Trucking Associations is opposed to the new FMCSA proposal to reduce work-hour rules for truck drivers. According to the association, the new rules would significantly impact trucker efficiency and productivity.

A limitation on the number of hours that a truck driver can drive consecutively, is a step towards ridding the highways of fatigued and drowsy drivers. The impact of drowsy driving has been in the headlines recently, after a study found that one out of six fatal accidents in the US involves a drowsy driver.

Kansas City truck accident lawyers who had been very encouraged about the Department of Transportation's ban on text messaging while driving for commercial truck and bus drivers earlier this year, have more reason to celebrate. The Department of Transportation has now proposed a complete ban on hand-held cell phone use for commercial truck and bus drivers.

Several media outlets this week are reporting on what is likely to be an early holiday gift to Kansas City's injury lawyers. The legislation is proposing banning commercial truck and bus drivers from using their cell phones while driving. The proposal would prevent drivers from reaching for, holding or dialing a phone while at the wheel. It's not just drivers who would be held accountable for any violations of the ban. Trucking companies and commercial bus companies who employ these drivers, will also be held accountable for any violations. Multiple violations of the cell phone ban could result in a commercial truck or bus driver losing his license.

According to the federal administration, in 2009, approximately 5,500 accident fatalities were linked to distracted driving. According to the government, there are approximately 4 million buses and trucks in the country whose drivers will immediately be affected by the hand-held cell phone ban. The hand-held cell phone ban comes on the heels of a text messaging ban announced earlier this year.

Obviously as a Kansas City truck accident attorney, I would prefer that commercial truck and bus drivers not operate any kind of electronic communication devices while driving, including hands-free sets. There is enough evidence to indicate that the distractions from cell phone use come not from the use of hands to hold the phone, but the actual conversation that you are having with the other person. However, bans on text messaging and hand-held cell phone use by commercial truck and bus drivers is definitely a great place to start.

Driver fatigue has been linked to a fatal truck accident in Bond County, Missouri.

According to police, the accident occurred last Saturday morning when a truck driver on Interstate 70 fell asleep while driving. The tractor-trailer veered off the highway, and struck the victim, 50-year-old truck driver Basil Khamis, who was standing on the shoulder of the highway. Khamis sustained fatal injuries, and was declared dead at the scene. The other truck driver also sustained minor injuries in the accident.

This tragic accident is just another example of how truck driver fatigue continues to impact trucking safety across Missouri. A truck accident investigator, in this case, will look at the driver's logbooks, to determine how many hours he had been driving before the crash. However, manipulation of log books is widespread in the trucking industry. Drivers are paid on an hourly basis, and it's a common practice for drivers to drive beyond the maximum hours they are allowed under federal laws, to earn more money.

Drowsy driving has also been in the news recently after a study found that it is a factor in at least one out of every six fatal car accidents in the country. Tired or fatigued driving is a major accident risk, even when you are driving a small passenger vehicle. When you are at the helm of a massive tractor-trailer that can weigh up to 80,000 pounds, the risks to the safety of other motorists around are magnified.

For Missouri truck accident lawyers, the issue of truck driver fatigue is also linked to the dwindling number of truck stops and truck driver rest facilities in Missouri . Budget cuts have led to the closing down of dozens of truck stops over the past couple of years. This has made it difficult for a truck driver to pull over somewhere safe to rest for a few hours.

Most fatal truck accidents in 2009 in Missouri and nationwide, were caused not because of fatigue, but speeding. That information comes from an analysis of fatal truck accident figures in 2009 by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The agency says speeding accounted for the most number of truck accidents in 2009, contributing to 7.3% of all fatal crashes last year.

The report titled 2009: Historic Truck Crash Declines lays out the top factors in fatal truck accidents last year. The FMCSA recorded a 20.4% drop in truck accidents last year, and the agency has been trying to determine the factors that led to this decline.

According to the analysis, besides speeding, the other main factors in truck accidents last year were failure to maintain lanes, distracted driving, failure to yield the right of way, failure to obey traffic rules, overcorrecting, fatigued driving, following to closely and making improper turns.

Last year marked the third consecutive year of a decline in fatal truck crashes. There was not only a substantial decline in fatalities in truck accidents, but also a decline in the overall number of truck accidents. However, Missouri truck accident attorneys would caution against taking this to mean that there have been great strides made in trucking safety. It's important to remember that this decline in truck crash fatalities coincided with the recession, which also adversely impacted the trucking industry. As businesses and manufacturing took a hit, the freight industry also reeled under the impact. Fewer trucks on the road have meant fewer numbers of accidents.

Whether the drop in numbers can hold up once the economy begins to pick up again and trucking activity accelerates, remains to be seen.

The National Transportation Safety Board has begun an investigation into the bus accident near St. Louis Missouri last week that killed two teenagers.

The two victims were killed in a multivehicle accident involving a semi cab, a pickup truck and two school buses of the St. James School District.One of the teenagers killed in the accident was a 16-year-old girl who was part of a high school band on its way to the Six Flags amusement park in Eureka. The other was the driver of the pickup truck.

The accident occurred on a highway construction work zone.The semi had slowed down at the work zone when it was struck by the pickup truck.That set off a chain reaction collision in which the pickup truck was hit by one school bus, which in turn, was hit by a second one.

Any accident like this that involves multiple injuries deserves close and precise investigation.For now, preliminary investigations seem to suggest the role of driver inattentiveness in the deadly crash.According to the accident report, the driver of the school bus that struck the pickup truck, was being "inattentive," and this contributed to the accident.The accident report also says that the second school bus was traveling too close to the first one.

As a Missouri auto accident lawyer, I must stress that in any accident like this, it's important for people not to jump to conclusions about what happened.Considering that this was a chain reaction, multi vehicle collision that occurred on a highway work zone, and that it involved two school buses, it's very important to get to the bottom of all factors involved in the crash.

School bus safety and highway work zone safety are two issues that the National Transportation Safety Board is especially interested in.The agency has for years now recommended the installation of seatbelts on all school buses.The recommendations have largely gone ignored by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, but it might now be time for the FMCSA to implement that recommendation.

Continue reading "Investigations into Missouri Bus Accident" »

After banning text messaging while driving, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration could turn its attention next to banning other distracting devices in truck cabs. This week, the FMCSA's Chief Safety Officer Rose McMurray, addressed a trucking industry conference, and spoke about her agency's intention to crack down on other forms of distractions in trucks. According to McMurray, the agency is looking specifically at dispatch systems and CB radios that contribute to a great deal of distraction to truck drivers.

Any attempt to ban these devices will have to consider the fact that many of these devices facilitate easy communication between the company and truck drivers and also smoothen the delivery process.

As a Kansas City truck accident attorney , we are noticing a higher incident of semi-truck accidents associated with distracted truck drivers. In fact, the trucking industry has moved more and more towards the installation of computers in trucking cabs. The drivers can log onto these computers to browse the Internet, check e-mail and keep communication going between themselves and the head office. Truckers receive new dispatch orders, and delivery route instructions.

Obviously, on-board computers are a huge distraction to truck drivers. Many truck drivers will be on-line at the same time they are traveling at highway speeds. Truck driver's themselves will tell you that it's not always possible to pull over, in order to log on to the computer. These distractions dramatically increase a truck driver's risk of an accident.

If the FMCSA is serious about minimizing distractions for truck drivers , it should first look at how it can minimize the use of these computers in trucks. However considering how effective and efficient these computers have proved to the industry, it's not likely that the trucking industry will agree to any restrictions on the use of computers anytime soon.

Continue reading "FMCSA Rule Could Restrict Distractions for Truck Drivers" »

As a Kansas City truck accident lawyer, I'm very involved with issues of trucking safety and trucker fatigue. It has concerned me that across the country, thousands of truck drivers are finding their options for parking their vehicles and resting, disappearing fast.

Fiscal cutbacks in many states have led to the closing of truck stops and rest areas, and there were hardly that many to begin with. This means that many truckers, who arrive early at a delivery spot, find they have no place to park their vehicle. A fatigued trucker, who finds no place to pull over and rest for the night is left with two choices - driving in a tired state, or pulling over in an unsafe area.

These choices have serious implications, not just in terms of highway safety, but also in terms of the personal safety of the truckers. In 2007, trucker Jason Rivenburg was killed in an abandoned gas station in South Carolina, where he had parked his truck for the night. Jason had been early to make a delivery, and not finding a place to rest, pulled in at a gas station. He was attacked by a robber, who then proceeded to shoot him to death. Jason's wife, Hope, is spearheading efforts to get a law passed that would expand trucker rest area facilities across the country. The law is appropriately called, Jason's Law. Unfortunately, it seems to be stuck in congressional committees.

Rivenburg is calling on truckers and their families to mount strong efforts to get the legislation passed. Issues of truck stop areas affect truck drivers and their families the most. It is important that truckers call their local legislators to express their strong support for Jason's Law. There's little point harping about violating Hours of Service Rules if we're not willing to provide safe areas for truck drivers to rest before they drive again. Jason's law needs our complete support.

If you have been injured in a car, truck, or motorcycle accident, a thorough accident investigation can make the difference between an average settlement & a recovery that fully compensates you for medical expenses, income loss, and other personal loss.

In fact, photographs and other accident evidence are so important that our law firm offers free investigations. We do not want anything left to chance or to be delayed because I know through experience how significant a comprehensive investigation is to the claim. We can get the upper hand on the insurance companies and this helps to maximize our client's recovery.

Although police officers or highway patrol may have performed an official investigation, we typically can not solely rely upon these reports. Most certainly, the evidence gathered and analysis of a motor vehicle accident must go well beyond, especially a truck accident or other collision involving a commercial vehicle. For instance, photographs and videos of the vehicles, roadway, and accident debris can be very helpful in establishing the force of impact between vehicles.

In the present day, maximizing insurance compensation takes special effort well before the case is presented to the insurance company representative. This is especially true in cases involving injuries to the head, brain, neck, back, or spine. Additionally, bone fractures or trauma to the joints that are disabling.