Recently, the FMCSA targeted bus and semi truck drivers who may be driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. During a two week period, the alcohol and drug strike froce removed 109 bus and truck drivers from the roads for alcohol or drug violations. In addition, 175 bus and trucking companies were penalized for drug and alcohol violations. FMCSA employees reviewed the drug and alcohol records of bus and tractor trailer drivers, including school bus drivers and truck drivers carrying hazardous materials. The goal was to remove drivers and penalize bus and trucking company who violated federal drug and alcohol reporting requirements and other regulations. For instance if a semi truck driver has a history of a positive drug or alcohol test, the semi truck driver and the trucking company may be penalized. If either one failed to report a positive drug or alcohol test, that could also result in a violation. Bus and trucking companies are also supposed to maintain drug and alcohol testing programs and procedures. Failure to do should result in a violation.

The federal regulations clearly require bus and trucking companies to determine whether their drivers are unsafe due to an alcohol or drug problem or a history of positive tests. The regulations also require bus and semi truck drivers to submit to a drug and alcohol test as soon as possible after a serious accident. It is good to know the FMCSA is looking into these issues, but the number of violations here in a relatively short period is not too comforting.

Recently, the Federal Department of Transportation (FDOT) has amended the rules dealing with drug tests of tractor trailer drivers. The new rules basically add certain drugs to the list of drugs screened during a pre-employment, post-accident or other drug test. With the rule changes, amphetamine-type drugs such as MDMA (ecstasy), MDA and MDEA will now be screened as well as an indicator for heroin use. The rules also lower the threshold for a positive drug tests for cocaine and amphetamines.

There are rules that are designed to prevent drug and alcohol abusers from driving semi trucks on the roads. However, the rules are not ideal, and they are often ignored due to lackadaisical enforcement and weak penalties. Any rule changes that will serve to prevent drug and alcohol abusers from obtaining jobs as commercial motor vehicle drivers are welcome.

As personal injury and wrongful death lawyers, we see a variety of different accidents involving semi trucks. Many of them are serious like this one. When tractor trailers are stopped on the side of the road, they can be a serious hazard to other drivers. For that reason, semi truck drivers must make sure their vehicles and trailers are well off of the road, particularly when stopping along a busy road like I-95. Semi truck drivers should also make sure their vehicles and trailers are clearly marked so other drivers can see them stopped and make sure their path is clear. Even in the daytime, the large trailers can be difficult to see from a distance against a light blue or gray background. Those trailers should be well marked with bright orange or similarly colored markings to alert other drivers to their location. At night, it is important for semi truck drivers to put down fluorescent markings so drivers can see the hazard well in advance.

Because semi trucks pose a particularly serious hazard to other drivers on the road, they need to be clearly marked so other drivers can see them ahead of time so when a tractor trailer driver has slowed, stalled or stopped in or close to the road, other drivers can make adjustments to get out of their way. When semi truck drivers do not take the necessary efforts to make their vehicles and trailers conspicuous, serious accidents like these result.

It is not clear from the article whether, and to what extent, the woman was injured. However in cases where the crash was intentional, it may be difficult for the injured party to recover damages. In the overwhelming majority of auto accident cases, the injured plaintiff seeks to recover damages from the other driver's insurance company. However, insurance policies do not cover all types of crashes. Most, if not all, insurance policies will have an exemption for intentional acts that cause damages. If a person runs a red light and causes a crash with injuries, that is a negligent act that is likely covered by an insurance policy. If a person tries to hit someone intentionally for whatever reason, that is likely not going to be covered by an insurance policy. In the latter case, if there is no insurance coverage, it can be very difficult, if not impossible, for an injured victim to recover damages for his/her injuries.

The article suggests that the SUV driver was driving recklessly prior to the crash. There is no simple definition for reckless driving. There is a legal definition of reckless driving (which is actually a misdemeanor crime in Florida), but it does not help to define reckless driving in regular terms. It basically refers to driving that goes above and beyond more routine negligent driving and places other people in danger. Running a red light, speeding, or failing to yield are common examples of negligent driving. Doing all of those at once, excessive speeding in a residential area, or driving while intoxicated may be examples of driving that is worse than negligent driving and rises to the level of reckless driving. Ultimately, it may be up to a jury in a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit to decide if the defendant's driving was reckless.

Whether a defendant's driving was reckless or just negligent can have a major impact on a personal injury or wrongful death case. If the personal injury/wrongful death lawyer for the plaintiff can prove the defendant driver was driving recklessly when he/she caused the crash, the plaintiff can ask the jury to award punitive damages. Punitive damages are more easily defined. They are damages awarded to the plaintiff that are designed to punish the defendant for his/her reckless conduct and deter any such future conduct. Punitive damages can significantly increase the value of a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit.

However, a recent study showed that a driver's reaction time is significantly reduced if he/she is listening to sports on the radio and more so when the person is particularly interested in the game or discussion. The study found that reaction times for drivers intently listening to a game while driving were up to 20% slower which certainly can be the difference between safe driving and causing a serious accident. The number of incidents of hard braking almost doubled when drivers were listening to sports radio.

While different states are making it illegal to drive while texting or talking on a cell phone, it is unlikely that anything would be done about people driving while listening to anything on the radio. However, some people do get inordinately caught up into a game or sports talk show on the radio, and it could cause them to be less alert to their surroundings and more susceptible to causing an accident. It is an issue that personal injury and wrongful death lawyers should explore in a personal injury/wrongful death lawsuit during a deposition or otherwise.

The National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) investigated the fatal accident. The NTSB concluded that if the bus had a lane departure warning system, the driver would have been alerted to the act that the bus was veering outside of its lane. Additionally, if the bus was equipped with a stability control system, the likelihood of the bus losing control and rolling over would have been reduced. Stability control systems are now fairly common on automobiles and SUV's. The NTSB noted that it is unclear from federal regulations whether medium sized buses are required to have this kind of safety equipment. As a result, the NTSB recommended that all vehicles over 10,000 pounds should have lane departure warning and stability control systems, among other safety equipment.

The NTSB's recommendation makes sense and should have been implemented years ago. If regular passenger vehicles have this safety equipment, larger vehicles that may be more susceptible to rolling over and carry many passengers should surely have at least the same, if not more, safety equipment as well.

It is unclear from the article exactly why and how this accident occurred, but as personal injury and wrongful death lawyers in Florida, we do see a lot of similar crashes in rural areas. It is not uncommon for drivers in rural areas to lose focus and veer off the road. This can be an extremely dangerous situation even where the vehicle leaves the road for mere seconds. Vehicles traveling on rural roads are often traveling at high speeds. Additionally, rural roads are often more narrow than the roads in more urban areas. If a vehicle does leave the road, the shoulder next to the road in a rural area is often grass or dirt which can make it difficult, and very dangerous, for a driver to safely get back on the road. Often, a driver will panic when the vehicle leaves the roadway and overreact, or over-correct, so that when the vehicle turns back onto the road, it does so at too sharp and angle and too fast so the vehicle drives through its lane and into the oncoming lane. Under those circumstances, these kinds of serious, high speed, head-on accidents occur, and fatalities and serious injuries often result.

Under the new law in Georgia, a driver who is caught driving while texting may receive a ticket and a $150 fine with a point added to his/her license.

It is unclear from the article what caused the driver to cross the center line and cause the head-on crash. However, these kinds of serious accidents are not uncommon in less-traveled, rural areas. Some people might expect the majority of serious accidents to occur in more urban areas on busier roads due to the higher traffic levels. However, studies show that traveling on smaller roads in more rural areas can be just as, if not more, dangerous. Rural roads are often narrower with soft shoulders leaving little margin for error. The speed limits are often higher on average than streets within cities. People have a tendency to lose focus while driving when there are not a lot of other drivers, traffic signals, street signs and other things that can keep a person more alert. In rural areas on narrower roads, even a minor mistake can result in a very serious accident.

Whenever there is a serious accident like this one, it is important to determine who was at fault so the injured parties can be compensated in a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. In Florida, when there is a rear end accident like this one, there is a legal presumption that the back vehicle driver was negligent and liable for the damages caused by the crash. One reason for this legal presumption in Florida is that the back driver is in a better position to anticipate and avoid such a crash since the front driver is most likely looking ahead rather than behind his/her vehicle at any given time. This presumption can be refuted, for instance if the front driver did not have lights on at night or slammed on the brakes suddenly for no reason, but those instances are rare. In most accidents of this nature, the back driver could and should have avoided the crash and is fully responsible for all damages that result from the rear end accident.

Jacksonville, Florida is a city with a lot of bicyclists year round because of the good weather. However, many of the streets are not conducive to safe bike riding. Additionally, a lot of vehicle drivers do not seem to understand that they need to share the road with bikers. Driving around in Jacksonville, Florida, we see a lot of bicyclists on the roads. We also see a lot of cars who do not slow down or move over to accommodate the bicyclists. Some drivers seem to think that bicyclists do not belong on the roads and should be relegated to the sidewalks. But that is not the law in Florida. Bicyclists are permitted to ride on the roads just like vehicles. When vehicles are in the vicinity of bicyclists, those drivers need to slow down, move aside or make any other adjustments to safely share the road with bicyclists.

As more and more drivers distract themselves with cell phones and text messaging devices, the roads become more dangerous for bicyclists who are often in close proximity to motor vehicles. If a vehicle driver hits a bicyclist, whether because he/she was distracted or just failed to take the necessary steps to make way for the bicycle, serious injuries often result and the vehicle driver is often at fault for negligent driving.

These kinds of accidents are not uncommon, unfortunately. Normally, when there is a one-vehicle accident, fault for the accident lies with the driver of that vehicle. However, there are exceptions, for instance, when another driver's negligence causes a hazard like this one. Whenever a person places something in his/her vehicle or trailer that could potentially be a hazard to other drivers on the roads, it is imperative that the person secure that item to ensure that it does not fall from the vehicle or trailer. A grill falling onto I-95 would certainly qualify as a potentially dangerous object that needs to be securely tied down. When a grill or similar object falls onto a road like I-95 where the speed limit is 65 miles per hour, it creates a serious and immediate hazard that is likely to cause a serious accident like this one. In a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit surrounding an accident like this, it is important to investigate how the grill was secured, if at all, why it fell from that vehicle and how the person was driving with that unsecured load in his/her vehicle. More than likely, the driver of the vehicle with the grill was negligent in failing to properly store and secure the grill which resulted in this serious, fatal accident.

Hopefully, the driver of the truck stopped at the scene of the crash, or his license tag was recorded by someone, so that his information and insurance information could be discovered. If so, personal injury/wrongful death lawyers would certainly want to question that driver about the circumstances of him/her placing and securing the grill in the truck and the manner in which he/she was driving with that grill in the truck. If not, the injured victim and the families of the deceased victims would still be able to make a claim with their own insurance companies for damages under an uninsured motorist insurance policy.

As people who live here in Jacksonville, Florida know, I-95 and I-4 are major highways that are well traveled in Jacksonville. It is not uncommon to see serious accidents on those roads and hear about them in the radio traffic reports. Because two of the more popular highways in the country intersect in Jacksonville, we also have a large number of semi trucks that drive on our roads after having traveled long distances from other parts of the country. The existence of tractor-trailer drivers, some of whom are fatigued from the long drives, add to the dangers of driving in and around Jacksonville. This study should come as no surprise to those of us who drive on I-95 and I-4 in Jacksonville, Florida every day.