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| LUTHENS LAW OFFICES |
| Des Moines Office |
| West Towers Building , Suite 206-24 |
| 1200 Valley West Drive |
| West Des Moines, Iowa 50266 |
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| Colfax Office |
| Luthens Law Building |
| Eight West Howard Street |
| Colfax, Iowa 50054 |
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| Telephone: (866) 579-3816 |
| Email: info@luthenslaw.com |
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| The workers compensation & personal injury claims and settlement attorneys at the Luthens Law Offices, P.C. are dedicated to serve their clients in central Iowa, including the cities of West Des Moines, Colfax, Sioux City, Council Bluffs, Des Moines, Fort Dodge, Ames, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Davenport, Dubuque, Waterloo and Burlington , and the communities that make up Woodbury, Pottawattamie, Polk, Webster, Story, Linn, Johnson, Scott, Dubuque, Black Hawk, and Des Moines counties. |
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TRUCK ACCIDENTS | BACK TO PRACTICE AREAS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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I. General Information about Accidents Involving Tractor Trailers
II. Common Causes
III. Truck Safety
IV. Driver Training and Requirements
V. Driver Obligation
A. Maintenance and Inspection of Vehicle
B. Safe Loading
C. Driver Fatigue
D. Drugs and Alcohol
VI. Carrier Responsibility
VII. Unsafe Acts by Passenger Vehicle Drivers
VIII. Steps to Take if You Are Involved in an Accident
IX. Conclusion |
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Common Causes
Heavy trucks are involved in many serious traffic accidents due to their large weight, high centers of gravity, decreased visibility, poor handling and reduced braking efficiency. Truck tires and brakes also behave differently from those of passenger vehicles and require special consideration. Semi-truck accidents are likely to cause especially serious injuries and resulting disabilities, including severe broken bones, loss of limbs, spinal cord injuries, paraplegia, quadriplegia, loss of cognitive functioning, and severe brain injury. Truck accidents often result in accidental or wrongful death. There are many reasons that a truck accident may occur. Some of the more common causes include:
- Inadequate truck driver training
- Improper loading/overloading of the truck
- The driver is tired due to driving for long periods
- Poor vehicle maintenance or improper safety equipment
- Difficulty seeing blind spots from a large truck
- Being cut off by another vehicle
- Aggressive driving by another vehicle or by a truck driver
- Cell phone use
Truck accidents may account for only a small percentage of highway accidents, yet when a semi is involved in a wreck, the force of destruction is catastrophic. At the cornerstone of the safety plan for truckers are the restrictions of how many hours a trucker can operate his rig without rest periods. The law has recognized that driver fatigue is a major contributor to mayhem on the roads. The enforcement of such regulations centers on the driver logs and the auditing of what are often falsified records.
Safety in the cab doesn’t start and end with the driver. The carriers have a responsibility for ensuring that motorists are not exposed to unqualified or unsafe drivers. Each regulation imposed on a driver creates a related duty upon the carrier to ensure that the pursuit of the almighty dollar doesn’t take precedence over safety.
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DISCLAIMER: The information you obtain at our firm web site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. It is recommended that you should consult an attorney for individual advice regarding your own situation.
Copyright © MMVII JAKOBIE
If you would like to schedule a free initial consultation contact an attorney representing clients in Council Bluffs, Iowa at the Luthens Law Offices, P. C.. Give us a call at (866) 579-3816 or email us at Info@luthenslaw.com.
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