Maryland Truck and Tractor-Trailer Accidents

Without the trucks ferrying our food, clothing, cars, and medicine all over the country, the country would come to a stand still. Hence, these big vehicles must share the road with the rest of us. Just the idea of truck or a big rig heading your way out of control is scary enough. Sadly, these truck and tractor-trailers are involved in accidents with regular passenger cars on a daily basis, resulting in devastating consequences.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)’s regulates the trucking industry. Aimed at ensuring the safety of our roads, these regulations include issues such as:

• Driver qualifications – Typically drivers need a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL)
• Work hour restrictions – To avoid dangerous fatigued driving or sleeping at the wheel, truck drivers cannot exceed certain driving hours.
• Truck maintenance – Regular upkeep of critical safety systems is required.
• Securing Cargo – You have seen the weight stations whose job is to make sure weight limits are followed. Drivers naturally need to make sure cargo is secured and is not going to all onto the roadway. .

Admittedly, regulations create an additional layer of work for the driver and trucking companies and may impact profits. Unfortunately, this facts means that as a result of  human error, carelessness, or deliberate attempts to circumvent the rules, some trucks will not measure up to the regulations, which may result in devastating accidents. As result, after a truck accident, the analysis must include whether the truck driver or trucking company that hit you violated any the regulations.

Of course, the law of negligence still applies to truck accidents as well. They owe you, as a fellow driver, the duty to exercise reasonable care as not to cause you harm when sharing the road.

Truck Accidents by the Numbers

According to the NHTSA, truck accidents increased nearly 9% between 2011 to 2012. The raw numbers indicated that over 3,900 people killed and over 104,000 people injured in crashes involving trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 10,000 pounds.

 Do you have a question for a Maryland Truck Accident Lawyer?

Call me at 410-849-9529. If I am not available, I guarantee I will call you within 24 hours.