To my surprise, he just kept moving left.  The car to my left hit the brakes and the merging car barely missed him, then his luck ran out.  The merging car kept on going, but in the next lane was a semi tractor-trailer.  The semi cannot slow as efficiently as a car and the merging car hit the semi on the passenger front corner.  The merging car was suddenly fully in front of the semi being pushed down the road.  The driver of the merging car could only see the grill of the semi as he looked left.  Unfortunately both the semi and the merging car were not only moving down the road, they were also merging into the left lane.  An SUV clipped either the merging cars front or the semi’s front lost control and started to roll.  The SUV landed on the wheels.  I do not know what happened to the merging car.  I pulled over, called 911 reported the collision, gave the State Police my name and telephone number.  I thought about going back to the scene, but many, many people had already stopped to help and I was on the opposite side of the highway from where they all came to a stop, so to reach the scene I would have had to cross three lanes of traffic, which oddly enough barely seemed to slow down.

 The point of this story is that we want to you to be careful when merging into another lane.  Every car has a blind spot.  To properly merge you must signal your intent and then look to make sure no one is in your blind spot.  If the merging car, in my story, had followed this simple rule, there would have been no collision and several families would have made it home safe.

Share on Facebook

Another danger is associated with failing to obtain the proper permits for wide loads and or hazardous loads.  It has been revealed that the collision on I-70 west in Indianapolis which occurred on Monday April 11, 2011 which involved a semi tractor-trailer hauling an oversized load did not have a permit for the work.  This is significant because the route chosen by the trucker required this wide load to move through a construction zone where the width of the lanes were constricted. Normally lanes on I-70 are twelve feet in width.  In the construction zone the lanes were squeezed to 11 feet.  The area of construction is also not a straight course which adds to the danger associated with a semi tractor-trailer carrying a wide load. The crash resulted in the death of Judson D. Dye. 

Fellow Hoosiers this is yet another reminder to be as careful as you can, as there are dangers out there which may not be obvious to you.

Share on Facebook

States, and the Federal Government, have been taking steps to protect cars from collisions with semi tractor-trailer.  One such step is median barriers.  There are several different types of barriers including concrete walls, moveable concrete barriers known as “New Jersey” barriers, and more recently a series of reinforced wires.  Beware, however of a false sense of safety.  When a semi tractor-trailer loses control at 55-70 miles per hour it is a multiple ton missile capable of overcoming such barriers.

Take, for example, the multiple car/semi tractor-trailer accident which happened on Interstate 70 on the west die of Indianapolis on April 11, 2011. The accident started when a semi tractor-trailer drove into the “New Jersey” barriers separating traffic.  The force of the impact caused the barriers to be pushed into the opposite lanes of travel.  The drivers on that side of the barriers now had to swerve to avoid hitting the barriers, which just a second before were not in their path. As the first cars began to swerve and brake, they hit other cars, or were hit from behind by other drivers. Unfortunately, Judson D. Dye was killed in the collision.  Four other people were injured, fortunately not with life threatening injuries.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Mr. Dye.

 Please, be careful on our highways.  They are there to benefit us all, but danger still lurks there.

Share on Facebook

In an unfortunate crash over the weekend a small child, a baby, was critically injured in an SUV crash on Interstate 65 in Clinton County. Justice Hans was taken to Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis, IN after the collision.  She was listed in critical condition.  Justice was thrown from the vehicle when the accident occurred at about 2:00 pm, Sunday July 11, 2010.   The SUV in which Justice was a passenger  was south bound on I-65 when the driver lost control and the SUV rolled several times.  Justice’s mother, Kia Tonge-Goliday was also thrown from the vehicle, but was not reported as injured.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to Justice for a complete and speedy recovery as well as to Kia, in what must be a very difficult experience.

If you, or a loved one, has been injured in a truck accident, and the accident was another person’s fault, call John P. Young toll free @ 1-888-639-5161.  You may also contact Mr. Young on the web at john@youngandyoungin.com. Mr. Young guarantees there will be no fee unless you receive just compensation.  Be careful on our roads.

Share on Facebook

The U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is constantly on alert to make sure that truckers meet stringent guidelines to protect Hoosiers and motorists across the U.S.  The FMCSA publishes guidelines for the maintenance and use of trucks. These include:

Size and Weight, Route Designations — Length, Width and Weight Limitations  

Compliance with interstate motor carrier noise emission standards 

Exemptions, commercial zones, and terminal areas 

Receipts and bills 

Passenger Carrier Regulations  

Lease and interchange of vehicles 

Waivers, exemptions, and pilot programs  

Rulemaking procedures—federal motor carrier safety regulations  

General  

Driving of commercial motor vehicles  

Parts and accessories necessary for safe operation  

Inspection, repair, and maintenance 

Transportation of hazardous materials; driving and parking rules  

Transportation of migrant workers 

Employee safety and health standards  

Motor Carrier Vehicle Safety Standards 

49 CFR Subtitle B Chapter III Subchapter B Appendix G  

At Young and Young, we know how to work with the FMCSA to use these guidelines when a large truck accident occurs to determine if the carrier is in violation of safety codes.  If you or a loved one has been injured in a large truck crash, call John P. Young, toll free, 1-888-639-5161 or contact him on the web at john@youngandyoungin.com.  Mr., Young guarantees that there will be no fee unless you recover fair compensation. Call today.

Share on Facebook

On his blog, Secretary LaHood explains that Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration research indicates that texting motorists take their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds out of every 6 seconds , and that at 55 miles per hour, that 4.6 seconds is enough time to cover the length of an entire football field including both end zones. "Now, imagine a truck or bus hurtling that distance at that speed with a driver whose attention is not on the road ahead. I think you can see that there would be consequences," the secretary added.

The proposed rules for the commercial texting ban were published in the April 1 edition of the Federal Register as required by federal government procedures. The deadline for public input is May 3. To learn more about the specifics of the proposal and even to file formal comments, go to Regulation Room.

If you have been injured by a texting truck or bus driver, or even by someone texting behind the wheel in a passenger car, please call Young and Young in Indianapolis for a free consultation.  We have 55 years of experience to help you and your family obtain full compensation for  injuries caused by distracted drivers, regardless of the cause of the distraction, on Indiana roads.

Share on Facebook

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) knows that safety is crucial to the bottom line of companies and for the health of America’s working class.  The FMSCA has issued its opinions on safety.  The following is a part of its safety statistics.

Why “Safety is Good Business”?

Crashes are devastating in terms of fatalities and injuries, financial costs, damaged reputations, the inability to attract and retain good drivers, and general goodwill in the industry and community.

• In 2005, there were 5,212 fatalities and 91,993 injuries from large truck crashes, and 335 fatalities and 14,283 injuries from bus crashes.
• The average cost of a large truck crash involving a fatality is $3.6 million per crash.
• A crash with injuries costs almost $200,000 per crash.
• The average cost of all large truck crashes is about $91,000 per crash.

Young and Young keeps tabs on the publications of the FMSCA to keep pace with safety developments.  We do this to stay on the front line in our fight to promote safety.  We also do this because when the system fails in its initial purpose, i.e. accident and injury prevention, we have the tools and the evidence necessary to insure Hoosiers are properly compensated for the injuries caused by negligent persons.  I leave you now on an up note, Crashes are preventable.

The good news is that many crashes are preventable. For example:

• In 1997, 22% of large truck fatal crashes involving more than one vehicle were speeding related (Speeding Study).
• In 2003, about 2% of drivers with a commercial driver’s license (CDL) used controlled substances, and 0.2% used alcohol (0.04 or higher blood alcohol content) while performing their duties  (Drug and Alcohol Survey).
• 5.5% of fatal truck crashes are caused by driver fatigue (Hours of Service News Release).  
• A 2006 study found that only 59% of commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers wear safety belts. In 2005, of the 696 CMV drivers who died in truck crashes, 344 were not wearing safety belts (Safety Belt Studies).
• Research has shown that there is a significant relationship between driver job change rate (turnover) and crash involvement (Driver Retention).

Share on Facebook