Gray Ritter Graham Blog

We’re well past the halfway point in the summer vacation session for most Missouri schools.  Soon enough busloads of students will be on the road again in the early morning and late afternoon.

Thankfully, school bus transportation is a relatively safe mode of travel. But a recent investigation of two fatal school bus crashes warns of negligent actions that can lead to such tragedies anywhere and anytime.

In May, the National Transportation Safety Board released the findings of its investigation into two school bus crashes; one in Baltimore, Md. and the other in Chattanooga, Tenn.  A ...

Missouri has been given an “F” for safety, with a big portion of this failing grade due to dangerous driving habits.

The National Safety Council is a not-for-profit agency that promotes safety to prevent deaths in the workplace, in the home, and on our nation’s roads.  It recently published its “The State of Safety” report for 2018.  It measured safety issues for those three areas – workplace, home and road – issuing category grades for each state in the nation.

Fatal Car Accidents in Missouri

The Show-Me State was shown an F for road safety, ranking 49th out of our 50 states ...

A leading truck safety organization recently conducted an educational event on unsafe truck brakes.  And with good reason, as defective brakes are a leading cause of catastrophic trucking accidents.

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance – a nonprofit group of safety groups and law enforcement agencies – conducted its first-ever Brake Safety Symposium in mid-May.  According to the CVSA, the goals included educating truck drivers, truck mechanics, and fleet safety directors on proactive brake maintenance, and to ultimately reduce truck accidents caused by unsafe brakes.

The next time you see a commercial tractor-trailer barreling down the highway well above the speed limit, you have plenty of reasons to be cautious.  Just as it’s been shown that distracted truckers typically drive carelessly in additional ways, new research effort confirms the same for speeding truckers.

A company that supplies in-cab safety video technology published research that showed distracted truck drivers engage in other dangerous behaviors behind the wheel.  It recently announced another new study that reveals truck drivers who exceed the speed limit ignore many other ...

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, a nationwide call to focus on the dangers of drivers who recklessly don’t focus on the road ahead.  When it comes to distracted truck drivers, that dangerous behavior apparently is just the tip of the iceberg.

In the most comprehensive look at fatal truck accidents to date, the Large Truck Causation Study pointed to human error as a primary cause.  Bad decisions lead to catastrophic truck wrecks.  It is not only a bad decision by truckers to use a cell phone while they drive but one that goes against federal regulations.  And also one that ...

Common perceptions today are that distracted drivers cause catastrophic accidents and distracted driving is on the rise.  New information transitions these assumptions into reality.

The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration earlier this month released its latest report on distracted drivers.  The data come from 2016; the most recent year final numbers are available.  And despite increased warnings, the number of fatal crashes caused by distracted drivers continues to be significant.

Number of Fatal Accidents Caused by Distracted Drivers Remains High

In 2016, 9 ...

A new survey reveals the true priorities of the trucking industry, and it’s not your safety.

The administration has blocked or repealed multiple federal truck safety regulations.  One such regulation was to equip big rigs with speed limiters.  At the same time, new federal data show that in 2016 – the latest year information was available – 35 percent of Missouri deaths in traffic crashes involved speeding drivers.

Speeding Truck Drivers

Tractor-trailer combinations weighing as much as 80,000 pounds driving faster than the highway speed limit take much longer to stop than ...

Federal statistics show that the number of people killed in crashes with large commercial trucks jumped another 5 percent.

In February the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration released its latest safety report on the nation’s large trucks.  Large trucks are those that weigh more than 10,000 pounds.  The report is for 2016.

Nearly 28 Percent Increase in Truck Accident Deaths

Unfortunately, this newest data reflect a steady upward trend of fatalities from big rig crashes.  In 2016, 4,317 people died in trucking accidents, a 5 percent increase over 2015.  From 2009 to ...

We know about drunk drivers.  We know about texting drivers.  New evidence indicates there may be another group of drivers who cause a considerable number of serious accidents: tired drivers.

Tired Truck Drivers and Catastrophic Crashes

The dangers of fatigued truck drivers are well known.  Studies show that driver error is the leading cause of motor vehicle crashes.  Truckers who choose to on the road while fatigued are putting others at great risk.  That’s why there are federal rules as to how many hours a week over-the-road truckers can drive.

But what about tired car drivers?  It turns ...

According to one measure, Missouri is just about the most dangerous state in which to drive.

WalletHub, a financial services website, recently rated all 50 states based on their respective driving conditions.  Texas rated the best, Hawaii the worst.  Missouri landed in the bottom half at 28.  However, that doesn’t tell the whole story.

The ratings were based on scores the evaluators compiled in a number of categories.  While the Show Me State rated highly in a few of them, it ranked low enough in two categories that relate to motor vehicle crashes to end up with the bottom-half finish.

Among the federal government’s chief transportation safety concerns is the health of trucker drivers.  What is being done – and what’s not being done – to help ensure that truckers who have medical issues are kept off the road?

The National Transportation Safety Board publishes an annual “Most Wanted List” of its top safety advocacy priorities.  The NTSB’s Most Wanted List for 2017-2018 includes requiring the medical fitness of truck drivers and reducing fatigue-related truck crashes.

Tired Truck Drivers and Fatal Accidents

Over-the-road truck drivers generally ...

Only three U.S. states allow drivers to text and drive.  Missouri is one of them.

Given all the information that shows just how dangerous distracted driving is, should the Show Me State take another look at its texting and driving laws?

Who Can Text and Drive in Missouri?

Not all drivers in Missouri are allowed to text and drive.  Those 21 years old and younger cannot text while behind the wheel.  But anyone 22 years and older in Missouri can legally text and drive.  In Illinois it is against the law for any person of any age to use their cell phone for any reason while driving.

Commercial truckers of ...

In just one week this past October, truck drivers in the United States and Canada received almost 39,000 citations and warnings for careless driving.

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance conducted its 2017 Safe Driver Week October 15-21.  Law enforcement throughout North America working the event were on heightened alert for bad truck drivers and passenger vehicle drivers, pulling them over when warranted.  Of the 59,193 warnings and citations the police gave that week, 38,878 went to truckers.

This is a particularly significant and appropriate safety event, as driver behavior ...

Apparently, one out of 10 large commercial trucks on the road has dangerously bad breaks, and in general two out of every 10 have some sort of serious violation of safety standards.

2017 Brake Safety Day was held on September 7, conducted by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.  The CVSA is a coalition of motor vehicle safety experts and law enforcement officials in the United States and Canada.

CVSA inspectors on that day conducted random roadside inspections of tractor-trailers and commercial motorcoaches.  The nearly 7,700 inspections were held in 31 U.S. states as well as in a ...

When it opposes technologies designed to prevent fatal trucking accidents, the trucking industry typically argues that they aren’t cost-effective.  Lobbyists often contend the financial costs exceed what would be prevented – in terms of lives, serious injuries, and property.

A respected traffic safety organization put that argument to the test, providing a cost-benefit analysis of several safety systems that could save many lives lost in truck crashes.

Leading Cause of Fatal Trucking Accidents is Human Error

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety recently released the ...

For the second consecutive year, the number of people killed in motor vehicle accidents in the United States has increased.

According to statistics recently released by the U.S. Department of Transportation, 5.6 percent more people died in catastrophic car and truck crashes in 2016 versus 2015.  The only bright spot is this is a smaller jump than between 2014 and 2015, when the rise was 8.4 percent more men, women and children.  The nation hasn’t experienced a similar three-year period rise in traffic wreck deaths in more than 50 years.

Nearly 2,000 more people were killed in motor ...

What are the reckless truck driver behaviors that can cause fatal truck accidents?

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration - the agency that oversees commercial trucks and buses - provides safety tips to truckers on its website.  These recommendations provide insight into how truckers can cause catastrophic wrecks.

Drivers who exceed the posted speed limits or drive too fast for road, weather or traffic conditions are dangerous.  The FMCSA reiterates this, relating that speeding not only can cause crashes with other vehicles but truck rollovers and cargo spills, which can ...

Safety officials pulled over commercial trucks for surprise inspections earlier this year, putting nearly one out of every four big rigs out of commission due to maintenance violations.  And a sizeable number of truck drivers were taken off the road for serious safety abuses as well.

In June the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance conducted its annual International Roadcheck event, in which certified inspectors conduct roadside reviews of semis throughout North America.  The three-day event garnered 54,300 inspections of both commercial vehicles and drivers in the United States ...

How many commercial tractor-trailers on the road today have unsafe brakes?  The results of a surprise inspection event provide some perspective, and genuine cause for concern.

In May 2017, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance held an unannounced, one-day set of roadside inspections of commercial trucks on what it called “Brake Safety Day.”   Inspectors for CVSA, a non-profit coalition of safety and law enforcement officials, were concerned mostly with the braking systems on the big rigs they pulled over. The majority of inspections were held in the United States, with the ...

Which careless driving behavior causes more fatal accidents, drunk driving or speeding?

According to the federal government, they’re responsible for about the same number of car and truck crash deaths.  This is not to diminish the harm of drunk driving.  Rather, there may need to be a stronger effort to put the brakes on speeding drivers.

The National Transportation Safety Board, the federal agency responsible for investigating serious highway accidents and other crashes, recently published an outline of an in-depth study it conducted on motor vehicle accidents caused by ...

Over this past July 4th holiday weekend – June 30 through July 4 – 14 people were killed in Missouri fatal motor vehicle accidents.  Over the same holiday period last year, five people died in traffic crashes.

This alarming note from state law officials was preceded by a national look at safety practices in the Show Me State, which gave Missouri an “F” for protecting its citizens from preventable accidents, such as fatal car wrecks.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported nearly 500 truck and car accidents during the five-day 2017 Independence Day holiday period.  The big jump ...

The federal government’s most recent report on the nation’s fatal driving accidents shows that the number of people killed in motor vehicle crashes jumped 7 percent between 2014 and 2015.  And in that same period, the number of people who died in Missouri driving accidents about doubled that nationwide increase.

In May, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released its 2015 State Traffic Data report, comparing statistics on motor vehicle accident deaths in 2014 and 2015.  It revealed that 35,092 people died in traffic crashes nationwide in 2015 – a 7 percent ...

The fitness of truck drivers as well as the quality of medical professionals who gauge their fitness has recently been called into question.

Previous research identified that long-haul truck drivers are almost twice as likely to be obese compared to the rest of the adult population.  They also are more likely to smoke and suffer from other risk factors that lead to serious and chronic disease.

This is important for several reasons.

First, obese individuals are prone to sleep apnea, a disorder that disrupts sleep and therefore leaves a person very tired the next day.  So truckers who are ...

Be it a dump truck or a tractor-trailer, unsecured cargo of a commercial truck can cause catastrophic accidents, particularly on fast moving highways.  Last year, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reported that between 2011 and 2014, 500 people were killed in accidents caused by road debris.  Another 39,000 people were injured in the more than 200,000 cargo-related crashes.

Having to Swerve to Avoid Fallen Objects Leads to Fatal Accidents

According to AAA, more than 37 percent of all deaths in the road debris accidents occurred when an oncoming driver swerved to avoid hitting a ...

April is National Distracted Driving Month.  If any public safety issue deserves this spotlight, it’s distracted driving, which is responsible for thousands of deaths each year in the United States.  And it’s a national scourge that’s on the rise.

According to the most current federal government statistics, 3,477 people were killed in fatal crashes involving distracted drivers in 2015.  That’s an 8 percent increase over the year prior.  All totaled, driver distraction was involved in 10 percent of the nation’s fatal crashes in 2015.

Average Driver Distraction Lasts More ...

The newest annual statistics on fatal trucking accidents show that almost three-quarters of those killed in the United States are occupants in vehicles other than the trucks.

In February, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration released an overview report on the nation’s large truck accidents for 2015, the most recent reporting year.  The report states that 86 percent of the trucks involved in fatal accidents that year weighed over 13 tons.

This is one good explanation for why the overwhelming majority of those killed in big rig crashes are occupants in other ...

Earlier this year the Missouri Department of Transportation challenged Missouri drivers to put down their cell phones.  In announcing this campaign to end distracted driving, MoDOT said that Missouri drivers are 23 times more likely to be in a serious crash when a texting driver is involved.

Yet, while the majority drivers acknowledge the dangers of distracted driving, a substantial percentage of drivers still do it, as well as engage in other reckless actions that could cause fatal car accidents.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety recently released its 2016 Traffic Safety ...

Truck driver is one of the nation’s most deadly occupations.  Many of the same factors that place truckers in peril unfortunately also contribute to fatal trucking accidents that kill numerous other people.

In December 2016, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its annual census of the country’s fatal occupational injuries.  This latest census covered fatal work injuries for 2015.  It reported that transportation and material moving jobs were responsible for a fourth of all work-related deaths and among this collection of workers, tractor-trailer drivers experienced ...

Gray Ritter Graham attorneys Steve Woodley and Joan Lockwood obtained a confidential multi-million settlement on behalf of the survivors of five family members who were killed when their van was hit by a truck on the highway.