Accident attorney

Rain, fog, sleet or snow can make driving dangerous. And for drivers who share the road with tractor-trailers, bad weather conditions can be downright deadly.

According to a 2007 analysis of the Large Truck Crash Causation Study released by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, truckers who were driving too fast for the road conditions was an associated factor in 23 percent of crashes.

However, FMCSA regulations (49 C.F.R. § 392.14) require drivers to use “extreme caution” in hazardous conditions. In addition, many state commercial driver’s licenses require truck driver to slow down by as much as a third during rain or other poor weather conditions.

There’s a good reason for mandating that semi drivers slow down in bad weather: It takes much longer to stop an 18-wheeler. Cars weigh an average of 3,500 pounds, while large commercial trucks (known as semis, eighteen wheelers, and tractor-trailers) can weigh up to 80,000 pounds with their loads. Drivers and passengers in cars suffer the majority of injuries when they collide with large trucks because of the weight difference between the two types of vehicles. In car-truck collisions, 98 percent of the fatalities were persons in the cars.

If you or a loved one has been injured or a family member has been killed in a collision with a large truck, we urge you to contact The Lowe Law Firm. Our trucking-accident attorneys will find out whether the truck driver, trucking company, or trailer owner is responsible for the accident. If so, we will then seek compensation for future and other related medical expenses, future and other affected wages, pain and suffering, disability and/or other related damages.