For several hours yesterday, a rollover truck crash on I-5 resulted in the closure of all the southbound lanes, and part of the northbound lanes. The crash occurred between Tumwater and Maytown near 113th Avenue, but affected drivers from Portland to Seattle. The Thurston County Sheriff reported that a second crash - a hit-and-run on [...]
Laws in several states permit the sale and use of recreational marijuana. In another 31 states and Washington D.C., laws allow for medical marijuana. Oregon, Washington, and Colorado—the first states to legalize recreational marijuana—have had a 5.2% overall increase in crashes, according to an IIHS study. We are only beginning to understand the effect that marijuana [...]
It was this pile-up, with five semi-trucks and three cars, that brought attention to an ongoing problem. Photo from Washington State Patrol; police reported no one in the 3 cars or 5 trucks sustained serious injury. This is one of several recent I-90 crashes involving semi-trucks. Reportedly, a semi-truck jackknifed in the westbound [...]
On a warm and sunny September afternoon, a semi-truck driver was gazing out at the Washington countryside when he slammed into the back of a car at nearly 60 mph. The truck driver never touched the brakes. That crash killed Garrett Underland. He was just 15 years old. https://www.coluccio-law.com/garrett-underland/ Andy Sommer was turning down the [...]
By now, you have probably seen images of the terrible collision between a bus and a semi-truck on a New Mexico highway last week. A Greyhound bus carrying almost 50 people was headed west along I-40. A semi-truck headed east on I-40 swerved across the median and slammed into the bus. Video shows incredible [...]
Off-tracking: Rear wheels take a different, shorter path than the front wheels when the semi truck is turning or cornering. We might think of it as "cutting the corner" of a turn. I have seen this before, with a client who was run over by the back wheels of a semi-truck turning the corner. In this case, [...]
Whether you are for or against the legalization of marijuana—and I am not taking a position here— no one can dispute that driving a car after the use of marijuana is dangerous. Which means it's even more dangerous to drive a big rig while under the influence of marijuana. How do you identify a stoned [...]
Micheal Belzer, an economics professor at Wayne State University, recently published a study showing a strong correlation between truck driver pay and road safety. In this article, Truck drivers are overtired, underworked, and underpaid, he explains his findings. The data suggest that economic factors affecting drivers contribute significantly to truck crashes. A link between truck driver pay and safety [...]
The number of road incidents involving driver drowsiness is close to eight times higher than the federal estimate, based on a recent study by AAA. Analyzing data from more than 700 dashcams and 3593 drivers, researchers looked at the 3 minutes prior to a crash. By tracking eyelid closures, they found that 9.5% of all crashes involved drowsiness. [...]
It is undisputed: there is a commercial truck driver shortage across the U.S. The Trump administration is pushing forward on a pilot program that would allow people as young as 18 years old to drive commercial trucks. The pilot program will train young people with military experience; it is laying the groundwork for lowering the minimum [...]
