Attorney
Since 2007, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has run an annual campaign to eliminate both unsafe truck driving and unsafe car driving around large trucks. In 2010, Operation Safe Driver targeted 261 truck companies in particular that pose dangers to people on the roads. These companies have a history of hiring unsafe drivers or continuing to operate despite the government revoking their licenses.
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance is another organization that contributes to Operation Safe Driver. The executive director of the Alliance provided the following statistic – nearly 5,000 people die each year on highways in accidents involving commercial vehicles, which is the equivalent of a 737 plane crashing every two weeks. That many plane crashes would prompt outrage and immediate action, yet the commercial truck deaths and injuries continue to occur year after year.
Education is an important component of Operation Safety Driver. Drivers need to learn how to drive safely around trucks by doing things such as staying out of drivers’ blind spots and being vigilant around large trucks making right turns. Truck drivers need to avoid driving negligently and stay within legal requirements for time on the road. Officials expect commercial truck accidents to increase in the future as the trucking industry continues to grow while state law enforcement budgets continue to shrink.
People injured in a commercial truck accident should consider consulting a Washington, D.C. truck accident lawyer about obtaining compensation for their injuries. To learn more about semi-truck accidents that cause injury or death, contact David M. Schloss, a Washington, D.C. personal injury attorney, at Koonz, McKenney, Johnson & DePaolis L.L.P.