Trucking Accidents: The Facts and Faces

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Innocent motorists and unsuspecting pedestrians have good reason to fear when an 80,000 pound semi truck looms on the horizon.

Every day, all across America, millions of people get into their vehicles and pile onto our street and highways:

• Teenagers out for a spin with their friends;
  
  
• Parents taking children to school on the way to the office;
  
  
• Workers hurrying to make service calls;
  
  
• Senior citizens running errands;
  
  
• Public safety personnel responding to emergencies; and
  
  
• The drivers of nearly 11 million registered large commercial trucks, pressed by powerful big corporations to deliver their products and goods on time.

It’s a lethal combination.

The sheer size and weight of semi-trucks pose significant threats in themselves. The US Department of Transportation defines “large” trucks as single-unit trucks, tractor trailers, and cargo vans weighing more than 10,000 pounds . . . but a tractor trailer can weigh more than 80,000 pounds. In other words, standard-sized passenger cars on the road often are dwarfed by trucks more than 20 to 30 times their size.

As consumer group Public Citizen told Congress, “There is overwhelming scientific evidence that shows the larger trucks get, the more difficult they are to control, the longer they take to stop, and the more dangerous they are to the motoring public.” One truck safety advocacy group, Road Safe America, puts it this way: The impact of an 80,000 pound tractor-trailer going 70 miles per hour is equal to a car going 360 miles an hour.

When this danger is compounded by high speed, or by a driver who is sleep-deprived and under the gun to deliver, it is no wonder that truck-related crashes have become a major safety problem in the United States.

Nearly 300,000 large trucks were involved in traffic crashes in 2009, the latest year for which data is available. At least one person was killed in 3,215 crashes, and an additional 53,000 truck crashes resulted in thousands of serious injuries. Altogether, nearly 3,500 people were killed and 74,000 people were injured. In the State of Florida alone, more than 180 truck crash fatalities were reported.

Truck crash-related fatalities have declined significantly over the last few years, and fatalities reported in 2009 were the lowest number in nearly 35 years. That’s good news, of course. But in some senses, statistics about large truck crashes are deceptive. Upon closer inspection, the numbers become increasingly alarming.

• Despite the decline in the number of fatal crashes, the number of miles driven by large trucks has increased. In 2009, large trucks represented 10% of all miles traveled while accounting for 4% of registered vehicles in the US – but 7% of vehicles in fatal crashes.
  
  
• Of the fatalities caused by large truck accidents, 70% of those killed were occupants of another vehicle, and 14% were pedestrians, bicyclists or motorcyclists. Only 15% were truck drivers or other truck occupants.
  
  
• The cost of large truck crashes is more than $41 billion a year. The US Department of Transportation estimates that the average per crash cost of fatal truck crashes is $7.2 million; the average cost of an injury crash is $41,000; and a truck crash that causes only property damage costs an average of $18,000.
  
  
• Studies indicate that one 80,000 tractor-trailer truck does as much damage to roads and bridges as 9,600 cars.

As distressing as these statistics are, even greater tragedy is registered in the faces of victims and their loved ones, whose lives have been devastated by large truck crashes.

At a May 4, 2009 hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, here are some of the large truck crash victims and family members who argued for stronger truck safety regulations.

• Tracy Quinichett of Laurel, Maryland, whose pregnant daughter Channing was killed when a large truck lost a tire while being towed on the Capitol Beltway. The tire smashed through Channing’s windshield, in just seconds depriving Mrs. Quinichett of both a precious daughter and an eagerly-anticipated grandchild.
  
  
• Kathleen Ellsbury, a Seattle, Washington physician whose husband Anthony and his colleague were killed in a 2005 crash caused by an overloaded logging truck. At the time of the crash, the truck had already received multiple citations for safety violations.
  
  
• Dawn King, who traveled from Davisburg, Michigan to testify on behalf of her late father, William Badger. Badger was killed in 2004 when a tractor trailer driver fell asleep at the wheel and the truck hurled into Badger’s car.
  
  
• Frank and Michelle Wood, of Falls Church, Virginia, parents of East Carolina University student Dana Wood. Dana was driving with a classmate when their car was struck and dragged 1500 feet by a truck driver who had been on the road for nine hours. He was driving with a suspended license.

Attorneys at Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley have achieved substantial settlements and verdicts for victims and families involved in truck accidents. In several cases, the law firm’s meticulous investigative process uncovered a critical piece of evidence that determined the outcome. One such case involved a van line driver whose fatigue and negligence caused the fiery death of a family whose car was stopped by the side of the road. In other cases, the firm’s ability to fund extensive investigation and protracted litigation has made the difference in seeking the full measure of justice.

Here are just some of the faces behind the facts and figures of Searcy Denney truck crash cases.

• A young wife and mother was killed when she was rear-ended by an 18-wheel tractor trailer truck driven by a distracted, exhausted trucker eager to deliver sod to a highway construction site. Searcy Denney’s pursuit of justice for the surviving family resulted in a $12.5 million verdict.
  
  
• A woman visiting Florida to care for her ailing father was burned to death when the driver of a tanker truck lost control and crushed the woman’s car against a guardrail. The tanker truck, loaded with fuel, exploded into a fiery inferno so intense that only ashes remained. Action against Floval Oil Corporation by Searcy Denney attorneys achieved an award of $13 million for the woman’s husband and $500,000 for each of her children.
  
  
• A motorcyclist on his way home from work had his left leg ripped out and fractured his right leg and hip when he collided with a semi-tractor trailer illegally parked on the wrong side of the road. The truck had neither lights nor any other warning devices. A Searcy Denney attorney obtained a $10 million default judgment against the Canadian trucking company.

(Click here for information about more of Searcy Denney’s truck accident cases.)

If the tragic physical, financial, and emotional consequences of a large truck crash have devastated you or your family, attorneys at Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley can help you understand your rights, sort out your options, and pursue justice. Please fill out our Contact Form, or call us to learn more and arrange a confidential free consultation.