On behalf of Rooney Law Firm posted in Trucking Accidents on Friday, June 13, 2014.
Families in California want to know their loved ones are as safe as possible on the road, and that includes truck drivers. Individual who drive for companies that push them to the limits put themselves and others at risk, which is why federal regulations limit the number of hours drivers can be on the road at a time or in a week.
According to reports, the Senate was looking to increase the number of hours commercial drivers could spend on the road from 70 per week to 82 per week. In light of a recent accident in another state, many individuals and agencies are calling for a halt on such changes.
The accident was publicized across the nation in part because it involved popular comedian and actor Tracy Morgan. According to reports, Morgan and a group of individuals were traveling together when their vehicle was hit by a Wal-Mart truck driven by a 35-year-old driver. The semi truck accident left three people with critical injuries and one person dead. Morgan was one of the individuals who suffered injuries.
According to reports, the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating four other accidents involving similar situations. In this accident and the four others, investigators say the driver of the commercial truck failed to slow sufficiently as traffic slowed in front of them. In the Morgan accident, the driver allegedly swerved to avoid slower traffic and hit the limo van. The driver is also being accused of not following federal safety requirements and being awake for 24 hours prior to the accident.
In such a case, whether the driver failed to follow safety regulations may or may not be an important factor in any future civil litigation. Personal injury claims require the individual or family suffering injury to show that another party was somehow at fault for the incident, but there are many details that should be considered in such a situation.
Source: BloombergBusinessweek, “Wal-Mart Crash Injuring Morgan Spurs Trucker-Hours Debate” Alan Levin, Jun. 10, 2014
