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Common Types of Truck Accidents in Dallas
When truck drivers are reckless and careless, they significantly increase their chances of causing a serious accident. Some of the most common types of truck accidents that occur in the greater Dallas metropolitan area include the following:
- Chain reaction collisions involving multiple vehicles
- Tractor or trailer overturns
- Chemical spills on the roadway
- Truck or trailer cargo dislodging into the roadway
- Jackknife accidents
- Underride truck accidents
- Truck rollovers
- Truck tire blowouts
At the office of Trust Guss Injury Lawyers, our Dallas truck accident legal team has litigated a great number of various types of truck accident cases. Contact us now to see if your case is one we can assist with.
What Are the Trucking Laws in Texas?
All commercial truck drivers and trucking companies must comply with many different regulations and laws on both the federal and state levels.
When they violate these laws, serious collisions and injuries to motorists can often result. Anyone who violates any safety laws and causes injuries should be held fully accountable for their actions.
In most cases, law enforcement officers will arrive at the scene of a truck accident and should always examine whether they believe that the truck driver violated the law in the course of the accident.
The trucking company and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) should also investigate possible violations in the days and weeks following the crash.
The following is a brief overview of some of the laws and regulations that may come into play in a truck accident claim.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) enacts and enforces a wide variety of regulations that apply to all commercial vehicles operating on an interstate basis in the United States.
This can include semi-trucks, hazardous materials (hazmat) trucks, tanker trucks, flatbed trucks, buses, and more. The regulations set the standards of behavior for many aspects of trucking, including:
- Licensing – Everyone who operates a commercial truck must have the proper commercial driver’s license (CDL) and training for that particular type of vehicle. Each CDL requires training and examinations, and driving special trucks like HAZMAT may require an additional endorsement on the CDL. Companies should never allow someone without the necessary license and/or endorsement to operate one of their commercial trucks.
- Health conditions – Approved medical professionals must conduct a thorough examination of CDL applicants or renewal applicants and determine that drivers do not have any potentially dangerous medical conditions that would interfere with their abilities to operate trucks. Dangerous and disqualifying conditions include untreated heart disease or diabetes, seizure disorders, musculoskeletal problems like arthritis, sensory loss, or untreated sleep disorders.
- Hours of service – Fatigued driving is a serious issue in the trucking industry, as drivers who fall asleep at the wheel regularly cause devastating and tragic crashes. To prevent fatigued driving, strict rules curb the number of consecutive hours and consecutive days a driver can work without taking breaks to rest and sleep. These rules are complicated, though each driver should understand their restrictions, and companies should enforce compliance.
- Intoxicated driving – Commercial drivers face stricter intoxicated driving laws than regular drivers, with a legal limit of 0.04 percent blood alcohol content (BAC) compared to 0.08 percent for everyone else. Even a non-commercial drunk driving conviction can result in the suspension or revocation of a CDL. Truck drivers are also subject to random and post-accident drug and alcohol testing. If a commercial driver fails a drug or alcohol test, the trucking company should take necessary measures, including possible suspension, to prevent that individual from operating a truck in the future while under the influence.
- Distracted driving – Commercial drivers break the law whenever they engage in text-based messaging or read on a smartphone, and they also have strict rules regarding hands-free communications. For example, a truck driver may not make or answer a call if it requires hitting more than a single button. They can use hands-free and voice command programs to make calls, but they cannot search through their phones for a number. In addition to smartphones, many other activities can distract a truck driver. These include eating and drinking (which many drivers do on the road), having passengers, talking on a CB radio, grooming, and more. While other distractions may not violate regulations, they are still highly dangerous.
- Truck inspections – By law, drivers must inspect certain aspects of their trucks pre-shift, and companies must inspect and maintain the trucks in their fleets regularly. It can be easy for companies to gloss over inspections or regular maintenance, which can save the company money and prevent a truck from being out of commission during repairs. However, putting possible defective 18-wheelers on the road is extremely dangerous, as all it takes is a sudden tire blowout or brake failure to affect the lives of other motorists forever.
- Size and weight – Depending on the size and number of axles on a particular rig, the FMCSA sets out strict maximum weight limits when a truck is fully loaded. The maximum weight of any type of commercial truck in the United States is 80,000 pounds without special exceptions. Truck drivers must pass through all required weigh stations to ensure compliance, as an overloaded truck can cause increased braking times or even brake failure and runaway truck accidents.
Numerous additional federal regulations apply to both trucking companies and the drivers themselves. After a truck accident, you need a law firm that fully understands trucking safety standards and regulations to properly identify when violations occurred.