Nitro Legal Blog

Traffic accidents involving semi-tractor trailers claim thousands of lives each year in West Virginia and around the country. However, the vast majority of these deaths occur in crashes that could have been avoided. Driver error is the most common cause of truck accidents, but it is passenger vehicle drivers who are to blame more than 80% of the time. Common mistakes that lead to fatal truck crashes include not maintaining a safe distance, changing lanes without signaling and reckless maneuvers born out of impatience.

Other common causes of truck accidents include poor maintenance, equipment failure, badly loaded cargo and trucker fatigue. Many tractor-trailer crashes occur as a result of a combination of these factors. A safety system that has not been properly maintained could fail at a crucial time, and a truck driver who has remained behind the wheel longer than federal hours of survive regulations allow may not be capable of taking evasive action in an emergency.

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With the winter comes snow and rain. The roads then become icy and slippery, putting innumerable drivers in West Virginia at risk for a car crash. There are ways to at least reduce the risk for a crash, though, and these can be boiled down to a few simple tips. First of all, drivers should determine not to go out unless it's absolutely necessary.

An accident in which you suffer injuries can be a confusing and overwhelming experience. It may be difficult to think clearly at a time when making a mistake can be dangerous or costly.   

While you may not be thinking about the insurance company at the moment the ambulance pulls up to the scene, your first interactions with an insurance adjuster can mean the difference in whether you obtain the payout you need to cover your medical expenses for your injuries.

Operation Safe Driver Week is a program organized by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance to highlight the importance of truck drivers as well as passenger car operators following the rules of the road. From July 14 through 20, police gave out nearly 47,000 tickets as part of the week of action. Most of the citations were related to speeding. In addition to the 46,752 traffic tickets, drivers received 87,624 warnings for different types of traffic violations, including failing to wear a seat belt or minor maintenance issues that were not severe enough to pull a vehicle off the road.

According to the safety alliance, 94% of motor vehicle accidents, including trucking accidents, involve fault on the part of at least one driver. Crashes involving buses and large trucks can be especially dangerous to everyone on the road. People in smaller passenger vehicles are far more likely to suffer catastrophic injuries or even lose their lives as a result of an accident. Nevertheless, truck accident deaths have been on the rise. This event is intended to stop dangerous driving behaviors that can lead to serious collisions. Since 2008, around 25% of crashes have involved excessive speed of one kind or another, leading police to focus on speed as part of the 2019 enforcement initiatives.