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Carrier Responsibility
When determining carrier responsibility in a truck accident, as the employer of a driver, the carrier is held to a doctrine of "respondent superior". Independent truckers, those that own their own vehicle, bring complications when establishing liability. Competent truck accident attorneys may be able to discover liability against the carrier in these cases using other legal theories. This is another reason to contact an experienced truck accident lawyer as soon as possible after an accident involving commercial trucks.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations provide the obligations carriers have to adhere to, including that they ensure that their drivers are in compliance with safety rules that apply to them. They also demand an obligation from the carriers to inspect their vehicles and that their drivers are complying with all regulations also. Preventing injury to the public mandates that the carrier takes steps by assuring the competency of its drivers to work for them. This includes reviewing background information before they offer employment to potential drivers. If the carrier fails to do this, they may be held liable.
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Carriers are also required to prepare and maintain records, reviewing for completeness, accuracy and false reporting of their drivers. When records are in question, civil proceedings may be issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that may also result in fines.
Unsafe Acts by Passenger Vehicle Drivers
Truck crashes are high profile events. When involved in an accident with a semi-truck or other commercial vehicle, the 2006 statistics show that you have a 61% chance that you will be injured, and there is only a 3.6% chance of fatality. In Iowa [Mo 3.6/54%, KS 3.4. 46.9%, NE 3.4/57.7, IL 2.5/58.2, MN 3.0/44.6], the injury percentage is much higher than the national average, as there were 1,999 injuries in only 1,579 accidents. The rate of fatalities in these accidents was 4.7%. It is essential that you take precautions to ensure your safety when driving any type of vehicle.
The following list contains some of the common unsafe acts committed by passenger vehicle drivers.
Driving inattentively (reading, talking on the phone, fatigue-induced)
Merging improperly into traffic, causing a truck to maneuver or brake quickly
Failure to stop for a stop sign or light
Failure to slow down in a construction zone
Unsafe speed (approaching too fast from the rear/misjudging truck's speed)
Following too closely
Failure to slow down in response to environmental conditions (fog, rain, snow, smoke, bright sunshine)
Changing lanes abruptly in front of a truck
Driving in the "no-zones" (left rear quarter, right front quarter, directly behind)
Unsafe turning
Unsafe passing
Pulling into traffic from roadside in front of truck without accelerating sufficiently
Driving between large trucks
The following suggestions may help motorists to improve the odds when sharing the road with large commercial vehicles:
Keep visible - when behind a truck stay far enough back to see both side mirrors on the truck. If you can't see the driver or at least one of the mirrors on the truck, he or she may not be able to see you.
Maintain a safe distance to ensure that there is adequate space and time to brake.
Use defensive driving techniques
Always use your signals when turning or passing, avoid sudden moves such as swerving to pass
Always ensure that your lights and windshield wipers are in proper working condition
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