St. Louis Car Accident Lawyer Blog

The state of Missouri currently has no law restricting the use of cell phones or text messaging devices for any driver over the age of 20. There is only one law that prohibits drivers who are 21-years-old or younger from texting while behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. The lack of laws regulating these distracting behaviors may be one of the main reasons for fatal car accidents in St. Louis and elsewhere.

This could soon change if the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) gets its way. The Board recently made a recommendation to ban commercial truck drivers from using hands-free and hand-held mobile phones while operating a large commercial vehicle, according to CNN.

Our St. Louis car accident lawyers understand that this is the most extensive recommendation that the NTSB had made thus far. In recent years, the NTSB proposed regulations for banning novice drivers and bus drivers from using a cell phone. The new regulation is different because it covers the use of all phones for those who are operating a commercial vehicle. We would like to point out that this recommendation is not yet a law. The recommendation has been passed on to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

The FMCSA isn't new to all of this. It previously prohibited all commercial truckers from using text-messaging devices while driving. If these drivers are busted texting at the wheel, they can potentially face $2,750 in fines.

The recent recommendation comes after yet another fatal trucking accident that was believed to have been caused by a distracted trucker. The accident happened in Kentucky and took the lives of 11 people.

After investigating the accident, officials reported that the driver's phone records showed that he made nearly 5 cell phone calls just seconds before the accident. It happened when the trucker drove the large vehicle over a 60-foot medical, over a barrier system and into the path of oncoming traffic. The truck crashed head on into a van that was carrying 12 people. Ten of the van passengers and the trucker died.

"Changing behavior can start right now, for drivers of big rigs, but also for the rest of us," said Safety board Chairman Deborah Hersman. "When you are at the wheel, driving safely should be your only focus."

The NTSB reports that its research proves that phone hands-free and hand-held devices serve as a dangerous distraction to all drivers.

If this proposal is taken into law, then all drivers that are driving in a truck under a commercial driver's license will be prohibited from using the devices. All in-state and interstate drivers who use that type of license will be covered as well.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that there were about 4,000 traffic fatalities in the U.S. in 2009 that were the result of an accident that involved a large truck. Many of these accidents and fatalities could have been prevented if there were stricter laws governing distractions for these drivers.

Continue reading "More Regulations Proposed to Help Reduce Risks of Distracted Driving-Related Car Accident in St. Louis, Nation" »

A 22-year-old woman died recently in Springfield after an accident with a tractor trailer on a highway in St. Clair County, the News-Leader reports.

The tragic accident shows how important it is to avoid truck and tractor trailer accidents in St. Charles. These vehicles are large and can cause severe injuries or death. St. Louis Injury Lawyers have devoted their careers to helping people injured or killed by commercial vehicles. If you or a loved one has been injured or even killed in an accident, protect your rights and seek counsel. It's important that justice be done.

In the St. Clair County accident, reports state the woman was driving northbound on Missouri 13 when a westbound tractor-trailer drove into her path. Her passenger, 24, suffered injuries and was taken to Golden Valley Memorial Hospital in Clinton.

The driver of the rig wasn't injured. The accident happened just before noon. Both passengers of the vehicle were wearing seat belts.

Traffic accidents with large trucks typically result in serious or fatal injuries to passenger vehicle occupants. For one, the trauma can result in life-long health complications. Broken bones, long-lasting pain and possibly life-altering injuries can cause job loss, loss of enjoyment for life and even brain injuries that make living very difficult.

St. Charles wrongful death cases are common on the roads. Many traffic fatalities are preventable. Sometimes, they are caused by drinking and driving, but sometimes they are caused by poor decisions by drivers, not paying attention on the roads or other acts of carelessness.

Unfortunately, accidents with tractor trailers and other large trucks aren't uncommon. Because they typically carry large loads of materials, they are heavy in the back, making it more difficult for drivers to slow down quickly. And because of their structure, stopping quickly can also cause them to jackknife on highways, which can cause very bad accidents.

In 2009, there were 3,380 fatalities and 74,000 people injured in crashes involving large trucks, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. What the organization also found is that it's usually not the truck driver killed. In fact, 78 percent of those injured were in other vehicles or pedestrians.

In Missouri, 1,148 vehicles were involved in fatal crashes in 2009 and 83 of them were large trucks. That's about 7 percent of the total vehicles involved in accidents causing death.

Continue reading "St. Charles Truck Accidents Can Be Deadly" »

The gas tanker that collided with a Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) truck on Interstate 70 illustrates the dangers of large trucks carrying hazardous materials. The St. Louis trucking accident forced the highway to close while hazmat crews cleared the scene, according to KPLR 11.

Our St. Louis car accident lawyers realize these large, commercial trucks can pose potentially deadly threats to passenger-vehicle occupants. But when a truck is carrying fuel or other hazardous cargo, the risks increase substantially for other motorists on the road.

"It appears he was just driving along not paying attention and he failed to keep a lookout and just rammed right into the back of that truck," said Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Al Nothum.

The MoDOT truck was reportedly patching potholes on I-70 when it was struck by the gas tanker, carrying 8,500 gallons of gas. The department truck was placed there to offer protection to the workers from oncoming traffic, reports St. Louis Today. Department officials say that is exactly what happened in this case, the truck offered the much needed protection to those workers. Potentially deadly consequences could have resulted if these proper precautions were not taken.

This week (April 4 to 8) is National Work Zone Awareness Week, according to the Federal Highway Administration. Please head the warnings and watch for construction crews as spring roadwork begins.

"I have no reason to believe that the operator of this truck didn't have a reason that they couldn't have been paying attention and aware that a work zone was there. There was no reason that operator had to run into our work zone," said MoDOT transportation engineer Tom Blair.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, that nearly 3,500 fatalities occurred in 2009 because of crashed involving large trucks. Nearly 300,000 large trucks (gross weight more than 10,000 pounds) were involved in traffic accidents that year. In Missouri, nearly 1,200 vehicles were involved in fatal accidents with a large truck.

While the number of large truck accident fatalities has decreased nearly 20 percent from 2000 to 2008, it is still an alarming statistic -- in 75 percent of such crashes, the fatalities occur to the passenger-vehicle occupants.

Continue reading "St. Louis Trucking Accident Highlights Work Zone Safety Week" »

The bus driver's inattention and close following distance may have contributed to the deadly Missouri school bus accident on I-44 that killed two students, St. Louis Today reported.

As we reported last week on our St. Louis Car Accident Lawyers Blog, the two buses collided with a semi and a pickup truck. More than 50 people were injured in the crash, which occurred as the buses were en route to a Six Flags amusement park.

The Missouri Highway Patrol said the investigation will take weeks. The National Highway Safety Board said it would be more than a year.

Preliminary indications are that a pickup truck slammed into the 2007 Volvo semi, which was stopped for traffic that had backed up due to road construction. The bus driver reported moving to the left to avoid a vehicle stopped on the right side of the road. She was not able to stop in time and struck the pickup and semi. A Highway Patrol report said she was "inattentive."

The second school bus then rear-ended the first bus, possibly indicating that it was following too closely as well. Both buses are owned and operated by Copeland Bus Service LLC of St. James and were leased to the St. James School District.

Slowing construction was also blamed for another horrific St. Louis semi accident this week; at least two people were injured in a five-vehicle crash on I-64 near New Baden. Vehicles involved included a pickup pulling a trailer, a U-Haul pulling a trailer, a semi, an SUV and a flatbed truck.

The driver of the semi-trailer truck was pulled from the burning rig and flown to St. Louis University Hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Continue reading "Missouri school bus accident, St. Louis semi accident, blamed on traffic slowing for road construction" »

A St. Louis, Missouri school bus accident killed two people and injured as many as 50 others on Thursday after a pair of buses collided with a tractor trailer about 40 miles outside the city, CNN reported.

The Missouri Department of Transportation reported that the accident occurred at about 10:15 a.m. on I-44 near mile marker 250. The buses were carrying 8th grade band students from the St. James school district. The kids were on the way to a Six Flags amusement park.

Thirty-six of the children aboard the buses were being transported to the SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center in St. Louis. Four others were taken to St. John's Mercy Medical Hospital in Washington, Missouri and five were taken to St. John's Medical Center in St. Louis.

A St. Louis bus accident lawyer will be able to work with families of injured children in this case. Multiple victims, competing insurance claims, multiple insurance companies and state and federal school bus and trucking regulations will all have to be taken into account in this case. Serious and fatal accidents involving large trucks are a tragically common occurrence. More than 380,000 large commercial trucks were involved in accidents in 2008, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A total of 4,229 motorists were killed and more than 90,000 were injured. That same year, 117 large trucks were involved in fatal Missouri trucking accidents.

An accident with a school bus full of children is about the worst scenario imaginable. School buses have a better safety record than most large commercial vehicles. Still, the government reports an average of 19 students die each year in school-transportation accidents.

Video footage from the scene shows a school bus resting atop the rear of a semi, with another school bus nearby. The crash happened on I-44 in Gray Summit, about 40 miles southwest of St. Louis.

The St. Louis Today reported that the bus in front was carrying girls, while the second bus was carrying boys.

Cause of the crash remains under investigation. The company that owns the truck said the collision occurred just as the truck was slowing down for construction-related congestion on the highway ahead. The truck is owned by Climate Express, a trucking company out of Washington, Missouri that operates a fleet of 120 tractors and 280 trailers.

The Associated Press report is available here.

The ABC News report is available here.

The New York Daily News report is here.

Continue reading "Two Dead, 50 Injured after St. Louis School Buses Involved in Accident with Semi" »