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Personal Injury Lawyer Robert (Tito) Meyer, Las Cruces New Mexico
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18 Wheeler crashes are a big problem in Southern New Mexico. Commercial trucks, semi-tractors with trailers, are common on
our highways and roads in Southwestern New Mexico. The long distance over-the-road drivers and their trucks seem to be half the traffic on Interstates 10 & 25, especially during the winter
months.
In my experience, the most common serious motor vehicle crashes involving 18 wheelers here are on I-10 on windy days and during dust storms. Have you noticed that almost everyone
slows down or stops during a dust storm except many of the 18 wheeler drivers? They just continue at full speed ahead down the road, with zero or no visibility. Whether its because they are
on a tight schedule, late, taking ‘uppers’ to stay awake, or are just reckless, 18 wheeler drivers who barrel along in our dust storms are deadly weapons.
I have represented the
families of numerous people caught in dust storms in our area who were slowing down or had even tried to pull over and stop. They were seriously injured or killed when one or more 18 wheelers
slammed into them from behind, going the regular speed limit, or way over a safe speed for the conditions. When this happens, it often ends up with 6, 8, 10 or more vehicles smashed together in
a tangle of metal and bodies. It is a miracle more people do not die every year.
How many people do die every year and how many 18 wheeler accidents are there? The U.S. Department
of Transportation’s National Highway Safety Administration’s Large Truck Crash Causation Study from September, 2002, has many statistics from year 2000. There were 437,573
“police-reported crashes involving large trucks” in 2000. Almost 5,000 people died in those large truck crashes, and about 100,000 people were injured. Of those killed, the
over-whelming majority, over 4,000 of the 5,000, were occupants of the vehicle other than the large truck. Of those injured, the same is true – about 80% of the injuries were to the
occupants of the other, smaller, vehicle. The 18 wheeler drivers were only a little over 10% of the killed and injured.
The Study says there were over 8 million registered large trucks
in 2000, and they drove almost 208 billion (not million) miles that year. There were almost 15 fatalities per 100,000 of those large trucks, and 1.2 fatalities per 100 million large truck miles
traveled. There were almost 1,200 persons injured per 100,000 large trucks and 94 injured persons per 100 million large truck miles traveled..
So, do these statistics show a
problem? Most of us have heard a saying that goes something like, “there are lies, damn lies, and statistics ....”
The same Study has statistics for motor vehicle crashes in
2000 that did not involve “large trucks”. There were about 217 million registered vehicles which drove almost 2.8 trillion miles that year. There were a little over 19
fatalities per 100,000 such vehicles and 1.5 fatalities per 100 million miles traveled. There were about 1,470 injured persons per 100,000 such vehicles and 116 injured persons per 100 million
vehicle miles traveled.
So, there are a few less fatal and injury crashes per mile traveled with 18 wheelers, but I believe that the problem is that, in 18 wheeler crashes, it is you and me,
the general driving public (not the large truck drivers) who usually get hurt or killed.
By federal regulation, commercial truck companies must have a least one million dollars in liability
insurance for each of their trucks and drivers. You would think that the truck companies’ insurers, if not the truck companies themselves, would take more steps to make their drivers drive
more carefully, given the horrible injuries and deaths, resulting in many dollars in damages for the deaths and injuries. All I can guess is that some of them see the money they pay the families
of fatal victims as just another cost of doing business. Otherwise, they would not motivate their drivers to driver too long, too far, and to ‘cook’ their driver’s logs, to
hide these violations of the regs.
So, what can you do? If you get caught in a dust storm, immediately pull as far off the road as you can. While I cannot give you advice on this,
what I do is turn off the lights on my vehicle once I am far off the roadway. This is so another approaching vehicle does not see my lights and aim for them (and me), thinking I am still on the
road.
If you need to go on a long trip, fly. It is much safer, contrary to our gut fears, than driving. Or, hitch a ride in an 18 wheeler ......
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The information contained in this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice.
You should consult an attorney for individual advice regarding your own situation.
Copyright © 2008 by Robert (Tito) Meyer, Personal Injury Lawyer, Las Cruces NM. All rights reserved.
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