Semi Truck Accidents / 18 Wheeler Accidents

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When 18-wheeler trucks and passenger vehicles collide the results are seldom minor and in most cases cause devastating personal injuries and/or wrongful deaths. If you or a family member have suffered a personal injury or a tragic loss as a result of an accident or collision with a semi tractor trailer, you and your family may be entitled to damages. These damages can include the cost of medical expenses, burial costs, mental anguish, pain and suffering, lost wages, bodily impairment, future damages, future cost and property damage to your vehicle or personal property. In some cases punitive damages are available.

Truck Accidents Overview

Highway Safety is an issue of highest concern to most Texans. Semi truck and eighteen wheeler accidents present unique issues not necessarily associated with a typical motor vehicle accident. These differences include:

Greater likelihood of serious injuries or deaths
Negligent hiring and supervision claims
Negligent maintenance claims
Unique insurance coverage issues
Governmental regulations
Federal regulations
State regulations
Drug testing
Tractor maintenance
Trailer maintenance
Trucking Records and Logs

With the explosion of trucks on Texas Highways, accidents between vehicles and semi-trailer trucks are on the rise. Truck accidents often occur when trucks are traveling in an unsafe manner or are loaded in an unsafe manner, causing catastrophic injuries and wrongful deaths.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) was formed in the early 1980’s in an effort to curb the unacceptable number of fatal truck accidents occurring on highways in Texas and across the Nation.

Laws were enacted to prohibit truck drivers from having more than one license. By 1992, truck drivers were required to meet minimum national standards in order to operate a tractor trailer. Once a driver met these standards, he can be issued a Commercial Driver’s License ( CDL).

Today, to help reduce fatal Texas semi truck accidents, each truck driver is required to be licensed in his or her State of principal residence. Additionally driving record must be kept in a centralized computer for access by each state.

The new laws also required each state to adopt uniform testing standards for commercial drivers prior to being licensed. A CDL is required to operate the following vehicles:

any combination of vehicles with a gross combination weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the GVWR of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds;
any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver; and any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.

However, the following vehicle operators are NOT required to obtain a CDL:

Farm equipment operators;
Vehicles used to transport farm products, equipment or supplies to and from a farm;
Vehicles used within 150 air miles of a farm;
Vehicles not used in operations of a contract carrier; and
Firefighting equipment operators, military vehicle operators, and recreational vehicle operators, if the vehicle is primarily used for personal use.

For certain vehicles, special endorsements are required. There are five possible CDL endorsements and one restriction, which requires testing.

Double/triple tractor trailers
Passenger vehicles
Tank vehicles
Semi trucks carrying hazardous materials
Combination tank and hazardous materials
Vehicles with air brakes

Causes of Semi Truck Accidents

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act (FMCSA), considered the driving force behind the regulation of the trucking industry to reduce truck accidents, covers issues such as driver qualifications, emergency equipment, safe loading, alcohol and drug usage and a number of other factors. Some of the most common causes of trucking accidents include: