Fatal Bartow County Trucking Accident Underscores Danger of Tractor-Trailer Road Departure Collisions
A Bartow County trucking accident that forced closure of I-75 recently claimed the lives of three people in a fiery wreck. A spokesman for the Georgia State Patrol indicated that the commercial truck struck a guardrail and concrete pillar which caused a suspended sign to fall and the semi-truck to burst into flames.
The sign which fell into the roadway caused another semi-truck also to leave the roadway. The driver and passenger in the truck that slammed into the pillars who died were both from Douglasville. The driver of the other big-rig who also died was from Powder Springs.
While most trucking accidents result in serious injuries to occupants of a passenger vehicle, this collision reveals the danger of road departure accidents even when one is surrounded by the massive chassis of a commercial truck. The unique nature of road departure trucking accidents is reflected by the fact that only three percent of fatalities in semi-truck collisions are occupants of the commercial truck according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Run off the road accidents involving semi-trucks may be caused by a wide range of violations of state and federal trucking regulations. These regulations may pertain to safe operation of a tractor-trailer or proper vehicle maintenance issues. Driver fatigue is one of the most dangerous and common factors in tractor-trailer accidents in Bartow County. When a driver is not alert or doses off behind the wheel, it takes only seconds before it may be too late to recover control of a tractor-trailer and keep it from crossing into adjacent lanes or depart from the highway entirely. Because of the weight and length of tractor-trailers, truck drivers that do not focus their entire attention on their operation of a semi-truck face a higher risk of losing control of their vehicle.
These dangers explain why the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has special regulations that pertain to hours of service (driver fatigue), cell phone use and drug or alcohol impairment. When our experienced Bartow County trucking accident attorneys investigate a serious tractor-trailer accident, we typically review driver logbooks, event data recorders, fueling receipts and other evidence to uncover regulatory violations by the truck driver and/or trucking company.
While this Bartow County tractor-trailer collision is atypical because no occupants of other vehicles were injured, crashes involving 18-wheelers frequently result in devastating injuries to other vehicle occupants, including paralysis, brain trauma, amputation of limbs and even wrongful death. Our Georgia semi-truck accident lawyers understand the importance of proving non-compliance with trucking regulations which may serve as a basis for imposing liability.
Montlick and Associates is available to provide effective legal representation to clients throughout all of Georgia and the Southeast, including but not limited to Albany, Athens, Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Gainesville, Macon, Marietta, Rome, Roswell, Savannah, Smyrna, Valdosta, Warner Robins and all smaller cities and rural areas in the state. No matter where you are located our attorneys are just a phone call away, and we will even come to you. Call us 24 hours a day/7 days a week for your Free Consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333). You can also visit us online at www.montlick.com and use our Free Case Evaluation Form or 24-hour Live Online Chat.