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Truck Accidents

• TRUCK OVERRIDES ARE THE CAUSE OF MANY OHIO TRUCK ACCIDENT FATALITIES
• Ross County Ohio Truck Accident Attorney | 34-Year-Old Man Injured in Concord Ohio Truck Accident
• Summit County Ohio Truck Accident Attorney | Norton Ohio Accident Injures 54-Year-Old Woman
• Lake County Ohio Truck Accident Attorney | Truck Accident Injures 27-Year-Old Man in Leroy Ohio

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News

• Posted on 9/9/2010Ohio truck driver sentenced for distracted driving crash death
• Posted on 8/17/2010Fire truck, tanker truck crash in chain reaction wreck on Ohio I-271
• Posted on 6/24/2010One dead, two injured in Ohio I-70 semi-truck accident
• Posted on 6/22/2010Tractor-trailer tire causes fatal Ohio Turnpike car crash

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Truck Accidents

• How Your Own Insurance Can Protect You From Negligent Drivers In Ohio

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FAQs

Truck Accidents

• How is an Ohio semi tractor-trailer accident case any different than any other Ohio automobile crash case?
• I was injured in a semi-truck accident caused by a blown tire. Is this negligence or just an unlucky accident?

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Truck Driver Fatigue: A Serious Safety Issue We Can’t Afford to Ignore

According to Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, collisions involving semi trucks are responsible for 5,000 deaths and nearly 150,000 injuries in the United States every year. In crashes involving both tractor-trailers and passenger vehicles, the overwhelming majority of fatalities are the occupants of the passenger vehicle. Still, hundreds of truck drivers die each year as well.

Why are large trucks involved in so many deadly accidents?

Several factors might be involved, including:

• The size of the truck: A large and heavy vehicle like a semi will do more damage in an accident than a car or even an SUV.

• The amount of time on the road: Trucks are built for shipping, and they make up a sizeable percentage of interstate traffic.

• Truck driver fatigue: Truck drivers spend hours on the road, but dangerous fatigue is avoidable.

Truck driver fatigue is an issue that can't be ignored. A tired driver can be just as dangerous as a drunk driver, and a fatigued operator of a large truck can be deadly.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration estimates that an annual 750 deaths and 20,000 injuries are directly related to truck driver fatigue.

Safety advocates support rules that require drivers to get more rest, more often. The current rule requires eight hours of rest in a 24-hour period and limits drivers to ten consecutive hours on the road, but critics say this is not good enough. Under the current rule, a driver could still spend 16 out of every 24 hours on the road.

The new rule would limit the work week to 60 hours in most cases and require a nine- to twelve-hour off-duty period and a minimum of two hours of breaks during a 24-hour period.

Advocates also encourage the installation of Electric On-Board Recorders, which would ensure compliance with the new safety regulations.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration has estimated that truck driver fatigue is a contributing factor in between thirty and forty percent of large truck crashes.

Our hearts go out to the severely injured victims and the families of those who died in crashes involving truck driver fatigue. If you were severely injured or your loved one was killed in an Ohio semi truck collision, contact the Ohio trucking accident lawyers at the Chester Law Group Co., LPA. at 1-800-218-4243.

Contact us today for a FREE, NO OBLIGATION consultation about your personal injury legal needs.