Articles Posted in Truck Accidents

Truck Accidents | November 1, 2016

With fall and winter weather on fast approach, this question is especially relevant. While the trucking industry and its regulators must do all they can to reduce and prevent commercial truck accidents, other motorists should also do their own part to enhance roadway safety. This is just as true in Illinois as it is in other states.

The basic answer to your questions is yes! You and other Chicago-based drivers can do many things to avoid colliding with tractor-trailer trucks. This post will provide readers with just a few tips to help keep all of you safer on Illinois roadways.

Truck Accidents | September 30, 2016

“It appears to be a video of the accident, but it’s going to investigators.” That’s what a captain with the Illinois State Police had to say about a YouTube video that surfaced that apparently shows an accident involving a semitruck and six other vehicles on the Tri-State Tollway in Gurnee.

The video footage is taken from the rear-view of a vehicle that was traveling ahead of a white semitruck. The truck is seen smashing into a row of vehicles backed up near the Grand Avenue exit. Two vehicles are seen going airborne during the crash. Investigators want to get a statement from the person who took the video and are trying to identify that person.

Truck Accidents | February 26, 2016

In 2014, a total of 3,660 people were killed in accidents involving large trucks, like semi-trucks and box trucks. However, the vast majority of the fatalities did not come from the trucks themselves, but from people riding in other vehicles.

A mere 16 percent of those who died were occupants—drivers and passengers—in the trucks. Almost that many were motorcyclists, pedestrians, and bicyclists, coming in with 15 percent. However, a full 68 percent were people who were driving or riding in other passenger vehicles.

Truck Accidents | August 26, 2015

Getting into an accident with a semi-truck is not only injurious, it can be devastating to you and your loved ones. Your physical and mental health are hurt and you have a car that is close to totaled to deal with. The difference in the size of the truck and your vehicle is huge and if the truck driver is distracted or speeding, you can bet that there is going to be someone who is hurt, if not killed. The crash can be catastrophic for you and your passengers.

If you have come into contact with a semi-truck driver while he or she is on the phone, you know that he or she may be weaving in and out of traffic at break-neck speed. How many times have you been driving along the road and come to a stop light, only to have a trucker come up to the same light with his or her breaks squealing?

Truck Accidents | July 23, 2015

On the afternoon of July 10, a former Illinois State Representative died after a semi tractor-trailer collided with his vehicle along a Michigan highway. According to the Michigan State Police, the former representative of the Evanston, Illinois area, H. Woods “Woody” Bowman was traveling in a Cadillac along with his wife between Paw Paw and Kalamazoo, Michigan, when the tractor-trailer slammed into the rear of his vehicle.

The accident occurred in Van Buren County, Michigan, along I-94 near the Mattawan exit. Authorities say the 51-year-old driver of the semi-truck may have been distracted by firefighters who are attempting to put out the blaze in the highways median at the time of the accident. Authorities say the force of the impact between the tractor-trailer and the victim’s Cadillac caused a secondary collision between the Cadillac and another car. The tractor-trailer responsible for the original collision then struck another semi.

Truck Accidents | June 19, 2015

Any collision between motor vehicles can leave victims suffering from injuries. However, when those collisions involve semi-trucks and other commercial vehicles, the results can often be devastating. In some instances, truck accident victims can also suffer catastrophic injuries like the loss of a limb, serious brain trauma and even paralysis.

One truism about modern life is that medical treatments can be enormously expensive for any truck accident victim, regardless of the extent of his or her injuries. Emergency surgeries, MRI scans, hospital stays and rehabilitative therapies are all examples of things that could potentially leave truck accident victims with thousands of dollars in medical bills.

Truck Accidents | June 8, 2013

Many facets of the trucking industry are regulated by state and federal laws. In an effort to reduce truck accident fatalities, lawmakers regulate things like hours of service for drivers, maintenance requirements for semis, health checks for drivers and much more. Congress is currently considering a proposal to make a change to a long-standing regulation concerning the size and weight of trucks allowed to operate on U.S. highways. One organization of independent truck drivers has expressed concern about the wisdom of allowing “supersized” semis on the roads.

Congress has ordered a study of existing highway laws. The study intends to look at many things, including raising the current size and weight restrictions placed on trucks. Large trucking companies have argued for an increase in the allowable size on the belief that larger trucks will help them reduce costs and thus be more profitable. Small and independent trucking companies are concerned that a change could lead to more accidents and would drive many smaller carriers out of business.

Truck Accidents | November 29, 2012

A driver with a commercial driver’s license is required by the Department of Transportation to get a medical physical at least once every two years in order to maintain that license. The requirement is meant to reduce the likelihood of a bus or truck accident being caused by a driver who is not physically fit to operate a large vehicle. In the past, any medical provider from doctors to chiropractors was acceptable in providing the DOT physical. Starting in May 2014, the regulations regarding this physical will change.

The latest federal regulations require that commercial drivers get their biannual physicals from physicians who have been trained and certified by the DOT to perform them. According to a doctor at the Mayo Clinic Health System, this new requirement will help standardize the process and ensure that basic standards are in place to make the physical useful. In the past, it is possible that doctors who did not understand the purpose of the DOT physical would simply issue the necessary medical card, rather than familiarize themselves with the applicable medical standard.