How commercial truck drivers can prevent distracted. As of august 1st, 2019, minnesota will become the 19th state to. Driver distracted by bug crashes semi, sending 42,000. Trucking fatalities reach highest level in 29 years. Texting driver causes crash with semi truck sydney smith, port huron times herald published 7. Police tell ktsm driver of the semitruck crash was distracted. Marion distracted driving caused a crash involving a semi just before 7 monday night on northbound i57 at milepost 56 in marion.
In the video, you can see the dash cammer following a silver car in the left hand lane. Distracted or impaired driving has been a factor in three fatal chain collision wrecks involving large trucks in the indianapolis area since the summer of 2019. However, distracted driving by commercial truck drivers can present an increased risk. The proportion of distractionaffected injury crashes involving cell phone use increased from 5. Tesla, uber crashes spotlight automatic emergency braking. Driving while distracted is a problem for everyone on the road. They are looking at their phone, not the road, and they crash into the car in front of them. Driver distracted by cat causes semitruck accident wise. Distracted drivers often cause rear end collisions. Des moines, iowa a distracted truck driver was caught on camera on interstate 29 in iowa.
Distracted driving was a factor in 9% or 10% of fatal crashes each year between 20 and 2017, according to the u. The dangers of distracted driving by commercial motor. Enough is enough, the head of the minnesota state patrol said thursday of distracted driving a day after a truck driver was charged in the lake elmo crash that killed a 54yearold father. When crashes do occur, the resulting injuries are usually more significant, given the size, weight, and momentum of semitractor trailers. Any nondriving activity you engage in is a potential distraction and increases your risk of crashing. Et july 29, 2016 a semi truck with a punctured fuel tank is. However, seeing this list of distracted driving statistics all together in one long list really can put it into perspective. The video was uploaded by youtube user original recipe on february 5, 2018 under the title distracted driver takes out semi truck. A distracted truck driver is an increasing concern because distracted driving is causing more and more crashes. The silver car drifts into a barrier on the left side of the roadway, completely losing control and hitting a barrier on the right side of the road and then bouncing off. Distracted truck driver accidents 18 wheeler accident. The driver of a semitruck that hit a female college softball teams bus saturday, leaving four students dead, told investigators that a distraction. The federal motor carrier safety association fmcsa has reported that truckers who text while driving are 23. Minnesota semi driver charged in fatal work zone crash on.
Distracted driver slams into back of new york state. In fact, the center for disease control and prevention estimates that 9 people are killed every day in the u. Each day in the united states, approximately 9 people are killed and more than 1,000 injured in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver. Sadly, data from recently reported fatal crashes involving semi and fully autonomous vehicles suggests that day is not quite here and the selfdriving cars now on the road may represent distracted driving in a new and more dangerous form. Large trucks and buses are much heavier than the average passenger vehicle. One of the most common semiautonomous driving features added to cars these days is automatic emergency braking. Semitrucks are involved in thousands of fatal crashes across the country each year, as well being the cause of devastating traumatic injuries changing the lives of countless people forever. Likewise, distractionaffected property damageonly crashes totaled 563,000 in 2011, increased to 667,000 in 2014, and then fell back to 617,000 in 2015. Distracted driver slams into stopped traffic at 60 mph.
Police officer allegedly killed by distracted truck driver. Semi driver in fatal crash was on cellphone, charges allege by esme murphy march 1, 2018 at 5. The agency placed blame for the march 2018 crash on the distracted driver, tesla inc. Crashes involving a driver distracted by an electronic device wer e highest between the hours of 4. Driver distraction increases your risk of getting into a crash. What were being told, and preliminary investigation is he was distracted, police spokesperson sergeant robert gomez tells ktsm. As more and more drivers text while on the road, distracted driving crashes are steadily increasing year over year. On december 12, 20, trooper nolan kerrs dash cam caught a semi truck the driver of which was distracted by trooper kerrs emergency lights crashing into the center divider. Distracted semi driver s crash caught on video in iowa a semi driver reaching for a pen rolls off the interstate, showing just how dangerous distracted driving can be. Nbc5 according to department of public safety spokesman lt. Going through and reading these statistics proving. Driver in fatal tesla crash was distracted by video game. Distracted driving is a terrible scourge and unfortunately likely to get even worse with the emergence of level 3 semiautonomous cars while on the path to the level 5 truly selfdriving. Around 64% of these crashes involve a truck pulling a trailer and around 4% of these crashes involve multitrailer trucks.
According to illinois state police, 26yearold zachary daugherty of huntsville, tennessee was driving his semi with a trailer when he reached for an item within the vehicle. Lonny haschel, an unidentified motorist and her cat were involved in a distracted driving accident late wednesday night. Crash, distracted driving, esme murpy, highway 36, local tv, oak park heights. A photograph of a car crash scene is real, but the accompanying story was. Driver distraction is the diversion of attention from activities critical for safe driving to a competing activity. Distracted semi drivers crash caught on video in iowa kcci. Was a texting driver found still clutching a phone after a. Cell phones and truck accidents cell phone use and distracted driving lead to truck accidents. That means it takes considerably longer to stop a large truck than it does a. Enough, patrol says after distracted driving alleged in. Lawsuits against distracted truck drivers this article discusses how distracted 18wheeler drivers can cause crashes, and the legal ramifications when they do. The national highway traffic safety administration census of fatal crashes involving 18 wheelers shows common truck driver errors include dangerous lane drifting, driving distracted by invehicle technologies, fatigue, and prescription drug impairment. According to nhtsa data, more than 3,300 people were killed in 2011 and 387,000 people were.
Hopefully the federal motor carrier safety administrations new cell phone restriction rules can help to minimize these types of crashes. A chicago man was killed and his wife critically injured during a multivehicle crash on a highway friday afternoon in southwest michigan, officials said. Distracted driving motor vehicle safety cdc injury center. Distracted driving can increase the chance of a motor vehicle crash. Baltimore distracted truck driver wreck lawyer md car. Distracted semi drivers cause catastrophic accidents. A view from the cab of another semi was provided by the iowa state patrol. Crashes involving a driver distracted by an electronic device were highest among drivers in the 1625 year old age group 45. Even if you dont participate in distracted behaviors yourself, the guy in the car coming toward you might be doing so. Steep distracted driver penalties for drivers who text and. Distracted driving is dangerous whether the vehicle is a passenger car, a motorcycle, a bus, a large truck, or another type of commercial motor vehicle. Transcript for police officer allegedly killed by distracted truck driver now to the frightening new dash cam video. Every year, thousands of people are killed in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers.
According to the south brunswick township police department, 33 year old motorist pava dama was driving a passenger vehicle westbound when he became distracted by texting and crossed the double yellow lines and crashed head on with an eastbound semi truck. If your loved one was rearended and killed by a distracted semi driver, our wrongful death lawyers can help you get answers, compensation and justice yes, i want a free consultation its important for semi crash victims and their families to hire an experienced truck accident lawyer before getting involved in any dealings with insurance agents especially those agents who represent. You cannot drive safely unless the task of driving has your full attention. Distracted car driver causes terrifying truck crash. If you have been injured in a crash caused by the operator of a semitractor trailer, or if a loved one has been killed. Was a texting driver found still clutching a phone after a fatal car crash. In 2015, the latest year for which we have complete data, 3,477 people died in crashes attributed to distracted driving. Driver of semi that hit softball team bus said he was. Video recorded by a camera on the vehicle captured the moment a black bmw swerved into the lane and slammed into the vehicles rear. A study by the fmcsa shows that nearly 80% of semi crashes are caused by distracted driving. Car accidents involving distracted semitruck drivers every year in the united states, roughly 4,000 people are killed in accidents involving massive semitrucks, and upward of 75,000 people are injured in collisions with semis, and often seriously so. Surely, distracted driving is a cause of a large percentage of these crashes. Steep distracted driver penalties for commercial drivers who text and drive the federal motor carrier safety administration fmcsa has prohibited the use of mobile devices and texting by bus drivers and semi truck drivers while they are operating large semi trucks or commercial motor vehicles. Distractions can come from both inside and outside of your truck cab.
Distracted driving in fatal crashes, april 2019 pdf, 177. In addition, semitruck haulers and trucking companies too often ignore regulations designed. Texting or using a smartphonecell phone nine percent of commercial drivers in fatal distracted driving truck crashes were using their cell phones at the time. Accidents involving trucks are occurring all too often in the united states and have become a serious problem in the state of california. The man, in his early 70s, was behind the wheel of a cadillac cts sedan heading east on i94 to detroit when a semitruck rearended it about 1. Driver distracted by bug crashes semi, sending 42,000 pounds of plastic rolls onto i65. The federal motor carrier safety administration undertook an extensive study to identify the most common causes of accidents caused by semitrucks. A driver caused a semitruck wreck in wise county, texas after she claims she became distracted by her pet cat.
Distracted drivers, car crashes and truck accidents. About 700 of these deaths are the occupants of the semi. The numbers of tractortrailer crashes, semitruck crashes, and other commercial motor vehicle crashes in missouri are startling. However, distracted driving doesnt just mean texting and driving.
State patrol warns of distracted driving after teen crashes into semi in the four years from 20 to 2017, minnesota experienced the loss of 265 lives ended at the hands of a distracted driver. According to the minnesota department of public safety, distracted driving caused 53 deaths and 216 serious injuries in minnesota between 202017. Distracted driving is driving while doing another activity that takes your attention away from driving. I65 crash, 2 others blamed on distracted or impaired. July upi the indiana state police said a semi driver tried to swat a fly that flew in through his window and ended up crashing on the highway. Semi driver in fatal crash was on cellphone, charges allege. A driver rearended a truck working with the new york state department of transportations help program while driving at high speed on the taconic state parkway on march 24, the department said. While the vast majority of semitruck drivers are safe and highly skilled professionals, there are still far too many truck drivers who take their eyes off the road to eat, talk on the.