This image could become a common sight on the interstates and rural roads throughout North Carolina and around Asheville if the truck industry is successful in Washington this week.
Truck industry big shots are pushing Congress to let states decide how big and how heavy highway trucks should be, and their goal is simple: To Put Bigger and Heavier Trucks on the Road! The problem is that bigger and heavier trucks mean more deaths and destruction for our nation’s citizens. This coming Thursday, Congress will vote on the bill.
One North Carolina State Trooper, Nathan Mitchell, will be in Washington on behalf of the NC Troopers Association. The Asheville Citizen Times reported that he plans to tell Congress that bigger and heavier trucks will mean more Americans will be killed and maimed if the measure passes. Trooper Mitchell’s position is supported by statistical data.
A DOT Study from 2000 found that longer trucks hauling 2 or more trailers were 11 percent more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than a truck hauling a single trailer. For the past several years in North Carolina, the annual death toll from tractor-trailer crashes has hovered around 120, and the number injured in such crashes around 3000. These numbers will certainly go up if Congress gives states the right to decide truck size and weight.
The North Carolina trucking attorneys at Davis Law Group have been working for over 20 years to reduce the number of deaths and injuries caused by tractor trailers. Asheville truck attorney Brian Davis is a national advisory board member of the Association of Plaintiff’s Interstate Truck Lawyers of America and regularly speaks to safety and advocacy groups about the need to make truck drivers and trucking companies safer. Here is a link to an article about steps you can take to avoid a collision with a tractor-trailer.
If you have been seriously injured as the result of a collision with a truck, do not talk to anyone from an insurance company about your wreck. The insurance representative’s only goal is to obtain a statement from you that will allow them to blame you for the crash. Before talking to any insurance representative, find an experienced trucking attorney to help you. Ask the lawyer to tell you about the last jury trial he or she had involving a tractor-trailer. You want an attorney that has extensive jury trial experience in truck cases. Truck companies and their insurers know which lawyers try cases and which lawyers settle every case for the insurance company’s final settlement offer. You want a lawyer that will try your case in front of a jury if necessary.