Everything that’s wrong with this semi-truck dragging a car
Last week, a big truck hauling 50,000 of carrots collided with a Nissan Maxima on a California freeway. The car wedged under the truck. The driver didn't stop, his semi-truck dragging a car down the road. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured. But the resulting video, shot from another vehicle, is incredible. https://youtu.be/9jvycogHJhk What's wrong...
Everything that’s wrong with this semi-truck dragging a car Continue reading…Everything that’s wrong with this semi-truck dragging a car
Last week, a big truck hauling 50,000 of carrots collided with a Nissan Maxima on a California freeway. The car wedged under the truck. The driver didn’t stop, his semi-truck dragging a car down the road. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured. But the resulting video, shot from another vehicle, is incredible. What’s wrong with this picture? It’s not clear how...
Everything that’s wrong with this semi-truck dragging a car Continue reading…What distracted driving opponents can (and can’t) learn from drunk driving
Guess when the first drunk driving law was enacted? Back in 1910. That was surprising to me. 100+ years after this problem was identified, about ten thousand people will die in an alcohol-related crash in the U.S. this year. The early laws prohibited driving while intoxicated, but there was no metric, no way to test,...
What distracted driving opponents can (and can’t) learn from drunk driving Continue reading…What are we going to do about fatal distracted driving crashes?
Just a couple of decades ago, alcohol was a factor in nearly half of all fatal crashes in the U.S. Since then, social and legal changes have sliced that number in half. Even thought it is still far too many senseless deaths, it is a lot of progress. We looked at lessons from...
What are we going to do about fatal distracted driving crashes? Continue reading…Why Safe Truckers are No Accident
Despite technological advancements, safe trucking transcends gadgets; it relies on proficient drivers and a safety-centric organizational ethos. Discover why driver training and a commitment to safety culture are paramount in reducing truck accidents. Preliminary statistics for 2016 indicated that there was a 7-8% increase in fatalities in crashes involving trucks and buses. It’s easy to...
Why Safe Truckers are No Accident Continue reading…Do you think slow drivers in the left lane are dangerous?
We all know that the left lane is for passing only … so why is it so often misused? In Washington State, it’s against the law to drive continuously in the left lane. While it may not always seem like it, Washington state troopers do enforce this law. In 2015, police issued 14,000 citations for...
Do you think slow drivers in the left lane are dangerous? Continue reading…Yes, semi truck crashes are way up in Washington this year … but why?
This past week, a semi-truck flipped over on I-405 in Bellevue around 5 a.m. Amazingly, no one was seriously injured … but traffic was backed up for hours, at one point stretching 7 miles down the highway. The Washington State Patrol (WSP) later cited the trucker for driving too fast for rainy conditions. At 4...
Yes, semi truck crashes are way up in Washington this year … but why? Continue reading…Pursuing excellence as a trucking lawyer
“Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death” - Albert Einstein I've been a trucking lawyer for 30 years. I've represented hundreds of people who've been seriously injured, or lost a family member, because of someone else's bad actions. And I'm still learning, and growing my skills as a trial lawyer. A...
Pursuing excellence as a trucking lawyer Continue reading…What you need to know about FCAM (and why all trucks should have it)
What is FCAM? We throw around a lot of trucking safety terms. The talk can get very technical. For example: NHTSA identifies forward collision avoidance and mitigation technology (FCAM) technologies as the systems that combine forward collision warning alert signals with collision mitigation braking. There’s a much easier explanation. 1) Radar detects a pending crash; and 2) Automatic braking prevent it. Why is FCAM important? It was...
What you need to know about FCAM (and why all trucks should have it) Continue reading…IIHS: Truck speed limiters will save lives
Adrian Lund, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), wrote an op-ed on Trucks.com this week. Why Lower Speed Limits and Truck Speed Limiters Will Save Lives. Our research at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has found that 33,000 deaths between 1993 and 2013 can be attributed to speed limit increases. Traffic...
IIHS: Truck speed limiters will save lives Continue reading…Yes, trucking is important. Now make it safer.
For more than 30 years, I have represented those injured or the families of those killed by preventable crashes on our highways. Many of these claims have involved semi-trucks and trucking companies. I read an article in Transport Topics expressing the importance of trucking. This op-ed was written by Garner Berry, a lawyer whose law...
Yes, trucking is important. Now make it safer. Continue reading…3 (possible) reasons school buses don’t have seat belts
A school bus in Chattanooga, Tennessee, slammed into a tree last November. Six elementary school students died. And across the U.S., everyone asked: Why don't school buses have seat belts? Now, 18 states—including Washington—are considering laws requiring schools to add safety belts to their buses. In Washington, a proposed bill would mandate that all new...
3 (possible) reasons school buses don’t have seat belts Continue reading…