Category: Truck Accidents

Most accidents involving large trucks don't occur on interstate roads. America has over 2.7 million miles of paved, and nearly 1.4 million miles of unpaved roads. Of these, only 300,000 are part of the interstate system. Thus, there are plenty of non-interstate roads where trucks can have an accident.

Accidents involving large trucks are some of the deadliest in America. In 2014, nearly 438,000 large trucks were involved in crashes across the United States. These accidents claimed the lives of 3,903 motorists, pedestrians, and truck drivers. Nationally, 8.3% of all fatal accidents involve semi-trucks, motor homes, and other "large trucks."

Being involved in a truck crash takes the complex nature of accident claims to a higher level. Trucks are subject to more regulations than common cars. Injuries in truck accidents are more severe and deaths are more common. What’s more, multiple parties can be held liable for damages that occur.

The United States Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) released a plan  recently that is designed to make it easier to identify trucking companies that are potentially unsafe and get their trucks off of America's roadways.

On Thursday the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration released the new rule that all commercial truck drivers and bus drivers must electronically record their hours behind-the-wheel. Prior to the new rule, drivers were only required to keep paper logs of their hours. It became evident that drivers were not only motivated to falsify their records, but were in fact, falsifying their logs.

There are a number of legislative changes the US Congress is considering as the year comes to a close. Chicago truck accident attorneys reviewing these proposed changes are concerned they would create dangerous driving conditions for both truck drivers and the drivers of passenger vehicles whom share America's increasingly congested roadways.