News & opinion What Causes Houston Truck Accidents?

What Causes Houston Truck Accidents?

Houston Truck Accident Lawyers

T

ucks pl

y

n impo

t

nt

ole in the eve

yd

y lives of Houstoni

ns

nd the Houston economy. D

ive

ny

he

e in Houston,

nd you’

e bound to encounte

t

ucks of

ll sh

pes, sizes,

nd

o

k pu

poses.

T

ucks

oll in

nd out of Po

t Houston, picking up

nd d

opping off c

go cont

ine

s cont

ining e

lth of goods, m

te

i

ls,

nd pet

ochemic

l p

oducts. Tcto

-t

ile

s n

vig

te Houston highys, including the I-610 Loop, I-45,

nd I-69, p

ssing th

ough on thei

y to points f-

nd-

ide, o

t

king exits to delive

thei

p

ylo

ds to e

businesses. Sm

lle

t

ucks

e

ve thei

y th

ough Houston neighbo

hoods like Sh

psto

n,

oodl

nd Heights,

nd Pec

n Pk, b

inging inte

net pu

ch

ses to ou

doo

steps, picking up gb

ge,

nd filling the shelves

t loc

l

et

ile

s.

Unfo

tun

tely, ou

eli

nce on t

ucks fo

comme

ce

nd convenience comes

ith

n inevit

ble cost: t

uck

ccidents. Eve

y ye, Houstoni

ns suffe

inju

ies

nd f

t

lities in cshes involving t

ucks l

ge

nd sm

ll.

Still, th

t doesn’t me

n

e should just

ccept th

t cost

s fixed-in-stone.

e c

n do ou

best to limit the toll of Houston t

uck

ccidents by lening

bout

h

t c

uses them,

nd st

ying e of the fe

tu

es of Houston’s

o

ds

nd d

iving cultu

e th

t put us, ou

loved ones, ou

f

iends,

nd ou

neighbo

s

t

isk of getting hu

t in

t

uck c

sh.

In this blog post,

e’ll dissect the c

uses of Houston t

uck

ccidents in hopes of helping you unde

st

nd

hy they h

ppen

nd

h

t

e c

n do to limit thei

imp

ct on ou

f

milies

nd communities.

Houston T

uck

ccidents:

h

t the D

t

S

ys<

h2>

e c

n’t t

ckle

p

oblem like t

uck

ccidents in Houston

ithout fi

st getting

n ide

of ho

b

d it is. Th

nks to the <

h

ef=”https://

.txdot.gov

gove

nment

enfo

cementnnu

l-summ

y.html” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”nofollo

noopene

“>Tex

s Deptment of Tnspo

t

tion (TxDOT)<>

nnu

l csh

epo

ts

nd que

ies in TxDOT’s <

h

ef="https:

/c

is.dot.st

te.tx.us/public/Que

ypp

home” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”nofollo

noopene

“>C

sh

eco

ds Info

m

tion System (C

IS)<> d

t

b

se,

e c

n

ssess the ch

llenges

t h

nd.

The Numbe

s<

h3>

cco

ding to TxDOT

nnu

l

epo

ting d

t

, in the most

ecent ye

epo

ted, 4,915 comme

ci

l moto

vehicle (CMV) c

shes h

ppened in H

is County,

esulting in 46 f

t

lities, 121 se

ious inju

ies, 450 non-inc

p

cit

ting inju

ies,

nd 1,333 suspected inju

ies. By que

ying C

IS d

t

,

e c

n see th

t the m

jo

ity of the CMV c

shes in Houston involving inju

ies o

f

t

lities th

t ye—

t le

st 850 of them—involved cshes of t

ucks of v

ious sh

pes

nd sizes, including delive

y v

ns, box t

ucks,

nd t

cto

-tile

s.

The Hot Spots

By plotting C

IS d

t

fo

f

t

l

nd inju

y-involved t

uck cshes in Houston ove

the most

ecent

epo

ting ye,

e c

n

lso identify hot spots on Houston-

e

o

ds

he

e moto

ists f

ce

n especi

lly high

isk fo

getting into

t

uck csh. They include:
  • -level=”1″>The st

    etch of I-610 no

    th of do

    nto

    n f

    om I-45 to I-69, site of 19 t

    uck

    ccidents.<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">The vicinity of I-610

    s it c

    osses McCty St

    eet, the site of no fe

    e

    th

    n 14 t

    uck

    ccidents in ecent ye.<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">I-10

    t No

    th yside D

    ive/Po

    t Houston,

    he

    e

    t le

    st 7 t

    uck

    ccidents h

    ppened.

  • i

    -level="1">The I-10

    I-69 inte

    ch

    nge,

    hich s

    t le

    st 11 t

    uck

    ccidents.<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">The I-610

    I-45 inte

    ch

    nge just no

    th of Hobby

    i

    po

    t, site of

    t le

    st 10 t

    uck cshes.<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">I-10

    t,

    nd just to the

    est of, the Belt

    y,

    he

    e 15

    ccidents h

    ppened.

nyone

ho h

s d

iven in Houston

ecently

ould

g

ee th

t the

o

st e

s fo

t

uck

ccidents

ll consist of st

etches of multi-l

ne high

ys, especi

lly the I-610 Loop

nd p

ts of I-10. Houston high

ys see <

h

ef=”https://

.houstonch

onicle.com/ne

s

houston-tex

s

t

nspo

t

tion/

ticle/Houston-t

ffic-

ent-do

n-l

st-ye-but-the-16280116.php" tget="_bl

nk”

el="nofollo

noopene

">ne-const

nt, he

vy tffic<> eve

y d

y of the

eek.

Still, it

ould be

potenti

lly de

dly mist

ke to

ssume th

t if you just

void the high

ys in Houston, you’ll be s

fe f

om the

isk of t

uck

ccidents. Not t

ue! Vi

tu

lly

ny

he

e you d

ive in Houston, you’

e neve

mo

e th

n

stone’s th

o

f

om

o

d

he

e

t

uck

ccident h

s h

ppened in the p

st ye o

t

o. Even the quietest Houston neighbo

hoods h

ve

itnessed t

uck cshes th

t inju

ed o

killed moto

ists, cyclists,

nd pedest

i

ns.

The He

vy Toll<

h3>
The

e

son

e’

e

iting

bout t

uck

ccidents in Houston is th

t they hit home,

e

king h

voc on the lives of victims, f

milies,

nd communities.

s

e noted

bove, t

uck c

shes kill dozens of people in

nd ne Houston eve

y ye

.

o

se, th

t tgic toll

ep

esents just the tip of the icebe

g in te

ms of the hm Houstoni

ns suffe

f

om t

uck

ccidents.

Those lucky enough to su

vive

c

sh might still sust

in c

t

st

ophic o

life-ch

nging inju

ies such

s:

  • i

    -level="1"><

    h

    ef="https:

    /c

    inju

    yvictims.com

    t

    um

    tic-bin-inju

    ies-sust

    ined-t

    ucking-

    ccident-c

    ses/”>T

    um

    tic bin inju

    ies ><

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">Spin

    l co

    d inju

    ies

  • i

    -level="1">C

    ushed limbs

    nd

    ppend

    ges<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">Tum

    tic o

    medic

    lly necess

    y

    mput

    tions

  • i

    -level="1">Bu

    ns

  • i

    -level="1">Illness f

    om toxic exposu

    es

    nd c

    go spills

  • i

    -level="1">Life-th

    e

    tening inte

    n

    l inju

    ies

  • i

    -level="1">Open

    ounds

  • i

    -level="1">B

    ck

    nd neck inju

    ies

  • i

    -level="1">B

    oken bones

    nd o

    thopedic d

    m

    ge

The list goes on

nd on. T

uck

ccidents in Houston c

n inflict just

bout

ny inju

y you c

n im

gine,

esulting not just in physic

l p

in

nd dis

bility, but

lso seve

e emotion

l suffe

ing fo

victims

nd thei

loved ones.

nd th

t’s not

ll. T

uck

ccidents in Houston

lso t

ke

m

ssive economic toll on household fin

nces

nd loc

l businesses. TxDOT estim

tes th

t moto

vehicle

ccidents (including t

uck

ccidents) c

use $43 billion in economic losses to Tex

s citizens, businesses,

nd gove

nment eve

y ye

. T

uck

ccident inju

ies simult

neously inflict l

ge, unexpected expenses

hile dep

iving victims of income. They f

equently p

ve

p

th to fin

nci

l

uin.

Let’s Ex

mine Houston T

uck

ccident C

uses, Sh

ll

e?<

h2>

e kno

th

t t

uck

ccidents in Houston h

ppen

lot,

nd th

t they’

e costly to citizens, businesses,

nd ou

community

t lge. So,

h

t c

n

e do to

dd

ess them? The fi

st step is to unde

st

nd ho

they h

ppen. Once

g

in,

e tu

n to C

IS d

t

to help us unde

st

nd

h

t

e’

e de

ling

ith. Pe

h

ps unsu

p

isingly, evie

of the c

uses cited fo

Houston t

uck

ccidents in

ecent ye

suggests th

t the v

st m

jo

ity of them involve some kind of hum

n eo

.

lot of th

t e

o

h

ppens in the ope

tion of

t

uck itself, o

in the opetion of othe

vehicles th

t she the

o

d

ith t

ucks. Some involve eo

s e

lie

on in the ch

in of events th

t le

d to

csh—mist

kes m

de by mech

nics, m

nuf

ctu

e

s,

nd othe

s.

He

e e some not

ble c

uses of Houston t

uck c

shes th

t

e found in the C

IS d

t

(

nd

fe

th

t

e didn’t, but th

t

e kno

f

om expe

ience p

ob

bly pl

yed

ole!)

Uns

fe L

ne Ch

nges, Deptu

es,

nd Me

ges

T

ucks e the p

ove

bi

l 800-pound go

ill

s of the open

o

d. They go

he

e they

nt to go,

nd eve

yone else h

s to m

ke

oom if they c

n.

On

c

o

ded Houston highy, ho

eve

, the

e just isn’t

hole lot of

oom to spe fony vehicle, much less

big t

uck.

t

uck th

t uns

fely ch

nges l

nes, d

ifts out of its l

ne, o

me

ges into

l

ne in he

vy t

ffic on I-610

nd othe

e

o

ds

isks c

using

n

ccident by

unning sm

lle

vehicles off the

o

d, fo

cing them to eng

ge in d

nge

ous ev

sive m

neuve

s th

t c

use cshes, o

even fl

t-out

unning ove

them.

hy do t

ucke

s stee

thei

t

ucks into d

nge

? Sometimes, they simply c

n’t

void it, such

s

hen

me

ge l

ne ends

nd they h

ve no choice but to muscle thei

y into

t

vel l

ne. But, most of the time they csh thei

t

ucks due to some kind of eo

, like f

iling to exe

cise situ

tion

l

eness, losing t

ck of sm

lle

vehicles in thei

blind spots, o

<

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

d

unk-t

uck-d

ive

s-ext

emely-d

nge

ous

“>d

iving

hile imp

i

ed > by d

ugs,

lcohol, o

<

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

houston-t

uck-d

ive

-f

tigue/”>f

tigue<>.

Imp

ope

Tu

ns

nd Uns

fe B

cking<

h3>
It’s not just t

ucks needing elbooom on Houston

o

dys, ho

eve

, th

t le

d to cshes. Thei

d

ive

s

lso need to kno

ho

to m

neuve

t

uck in

el

tively tight sp

ces. T

uck

ccidents h

ppen

hen d

ive

s f

il to stee

thei

igs in

m

nne

th

t t

kes ig’s un

ieldy size into

ccount. Left

nd

ight tu

ns

t inte

sections, fo

ex

mple, pose

ch

llenge fo

t

uck d

ive

s.

t

uck needs

ide be

th

hen executing

tu

n. T

ke the tu

n too sh

ply

nd you’ll cut the co

ne

,

olling ove

dj

cent tffic l

nes o

cu

b, sidelk, o

f

ont ln. T

ke it too

ide

t

busy inte

section,

nd you might just c

ush

sm

lle

vehicle. The s

me goes fo

b

cking up. Unless they h

ve

b

ckup c

me

inst

lled in thei

t

ucks (most don’t), t

ucke

s fly blind

hen they d

ive in

eve

se. They h

ve only thei

side mio

s to guide them,

nd even then, those mio

s le

ve lge blind spots. B

ck up uns

fely

nd you c

n collide

ith

fixed object,

vehicle, o

even

pe

son.

Uns

fe Speeds

If you’ve eve

encounte

ed

t

uck on

lonely st

etch of I-10 in

est Tex

s, you kno

just ho

f

st

big

ig c

n go

hen it h

s

oom to

un. It’s quite sc

y to sh

e

o

d

ith

lge t

uck t

veling 70 miles pe

hou

o

mo

e.

t th

t speed, the t

uck needs hund

eds of y

ds to come to

cont

olled, eme

gency stop,

nd th

t dist

nce st

etches if mo

ning de

o

ecent

in sho

e

h

s m

de the

o

d su

f

ce slick. De

dly

e

-end collisions c

n h

ppen

hen

t

uck moving

t full-speed on

highy encounte

s

sudden slo

do

n o

obst

cle

nd it c

nnot stop in time to

void collision.

But it’s not just t

ucks tveling

t high speeds th

t

isk getting into c

shes in Houston.

s m

ny of us kno

fi

sth

nd, highy speed on

congested st

etch of I-610 might be just 40 MPH o

so. Even

t th

t slo

e

p

ce, ho

eve

,

t

uck still needs f mo

e dist

nce th

n

p

ssenge

vehicle to slo

do

n to

void

n

ccident.

T

ucks h

ve p

ticul

difficulty n

vig

ting sh

p high

y cu

ves

nd on-

nd-off mps

t

nything highe

th

n

sn

il’s p

ce. T

ucks tend to h

ve

high cente

of g

vity, m

king them susceptible to

olling ove

if thei

d

ive

s ente

cu

ve too f

st.

T

uck Equipment Defects

nd F

ilu

es

T

ucks c

y tons (lite

lly!) of c

go ove

v

st dist

nces. They t

ke

t

emendous be

ting. Thei

equipment needs

outine m

inten

nce

nd c

e,

nd o

ne

s

nd ope

to

s need to keep thei

fleet in s

fe condition.

t

uck b

e

kdo

n

t just the ong moment c

n end up c

using

c

sh on

Houston

o

d! Components of t

ucks th

t m

y suffe

f

om d

nge

ous defects o

excessive

e

nd-te include:
  • -level=”1″><

    h

    ef=”https://c

    inju

    yvictims.com

    t

    uck-ti

    e-blo

    out-c

    uses/”>Ti

    es<><

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">T

    uck-t

    ile

    couplings

    nd hyd

    ulics

  • i

    -level="1">Bkes<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">Mio

    s, c

    mes,

    nd othe

    s

    fety systems

  • i

    -level="1">Lo

    d tie-do

    ns

    nd st

    bilize

    s

Unfo

tun

tely, t

uck

nd t

ile

m

inten

nce sometimes

mounts to

le

p of f

ith. T

ucks m

de, o

ned,

nd opeted by one g

oup of comp

nies hook up

ith t

ile

s

nd c

go m

de, o

ned,

nd opeted by othe

s. If just one p

ty f

ils to do thei

p

t in designing, building,

nd m

int

ining s

fe equipment,

n enti

e

ig’s s

fety

nd

eli

bility c

n go out the

indo

, putting not just the t

ucke

, but the Houston d

iving public,

t

isk fo csh.

T

ucke

F

tigue

nt to he

something sc

y?

comp

ehensive su

vey of long-h

ul t

uck d

ive

s conducted by the <

h

ef="https:

/

.fmcs

.dot.gov/

dviso

y-committees/m

b

2006-t

uck-d

ive

-f

tigue-m

n

gement-su

vey" tget="_bl

nk”

el="nofollo

noopene

">Fedel Moto

C

ie

S

fety

dminist

tion (FMCS

)<> hile b

ck found th

t most t

uck d

ive

s h

ve felt f

tigued

hile d

iving,

nd th

t ne

ly t

o-thi

ds of them h

d felt they

e

e in d

nge

of f

lling

sleep

t the

heel! Th

t’s not

ll.
  • -level=”1″>

    bout one in five t

    ucke

    s felt f

    tigued on most o

    eve

    y t

    ip they d

    ove.

  • i

    -level="1">12.5% of t

    ucke

    s

    epo

    ted often h

    ving he

    vy eyelids

    hen they d

    ove

    nd 52.1% sometimes h

    d he

    vy eyelids.

  • i

    -level="1">11.1% often felt d

    o

    sy

    hile d

    iving,

    nd 53.9% sometimes felt d

    o

    sy.

  • i

    -level="1">8.4% often st

    uggled to be

    le

    t

    hile d

    iving,

    nd 43.4% sometimes st

    uggled.

  • i

    -level="1">6.4% often h

    d difficulty st

    ying

    ke,

    nd 37.9% sometimes h

    d difficulty.

These findings

e

e

bout

s unsu

p

ising

s they

e

e disconce

ting. T

ucke

s,

s

g

oup,

o

k long, iegul hou

s, often d

iving l

te

t night

nd e

ly in the mo

nings

hen thei

bodies tell them they should be

sleep. T

uck d

ive

s

lso h

ve

el

tively poo

he

lth (obesity is

m

jo

p

oblem)

nd f

equently go

ithout he

lth insunce (

hich me

ns thei

he

lth p

oblems go l

gely un

dd

essed.) T

ucke

he

lth

ffects the qu

lity

nd qu

ntity of sleep. H

lf of the study’s subjects

epo

ted getting insufficient sleep befo

e d

iving thei

uns.

F

tigue is ext

emely d

nge

ous

nd c

n e

sily le

d to

t

uck

ccident in Houston. In f

ct, <

h

ef=”https://

.sleepfound

tion.o

g

d

o

sy-d

iving

d

o

sy-d

iving-vs-d

unk-d

iving" tget="_bl

nk”

el="nofollo

noopene

">studies<> h

ve found th

t going 18 hou

s

ithout sleep imp

i

s you

d

iving skills

bout the s

me

s h

ving

blood

lcohol content (B

C) of 0.05% (

hich

ould be

bove the leg

l limit fo

t

uck d

ive

s),

nd th

t 24 hou

s of sleeplessness hits d

ive

s the s

me

s being leg

lly intoxic

ted! <

h

ef="https:

/

.fmcs

.dot.gov/

egul

tions/hou

s-se

vice/summ

y-hou

s-se

vice-

egul

tions” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”nofollo

noopene

“>Fede

l >

nd <

h

ef=”https://tex

eg.sos.st

te.tx.us/public/

e

dt

c$ext.T

cP

ge?sl=

&

mp;

pp=9&

mp;p_di

=&

mp;p_

loc=&

mp;p_tloc=&

mp;p_ploc=&

mp;pg=1&

mp;p_t

c=&

mp;ti=37&

mp;pt=1&

mp;ch=4&

mp;

l=12″ t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”nofollo

noopene

“>st

te<> hou

s-of-se

vice

egul

tions tget t

ucke

f

tigue by setting m

ximum pe

iods

t

ucke

c

n spend behind the

heel

t v

ious inte

v

ls. Those

egul

tions, ho

eve

,

e only

B

nd-

id on

bullet hole. T

ucke

s continue to d

ive d

o

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