The ban is a part of efforts by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to deal with the problem of distracted driving. . Secretary LaHood has taken up the issue with great enthusiasm, and has been responsible for a number of recent steps that aim to eliminate these risks.

Last year, a study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute measured the risk of accidents from text messaging by truck drivers, and found that the risk increased by up to 23 times. The Virginia Tech study also measured the effect of distraction from the computers in the cabs, and found that these increased the risk of an accident by up to 10 times. The Department of Transportation has said that it will take up the issue of the use of computers in commercial trucks very soon.

Scott Grossman is a Monmouth County truck accident lawyer, representing injured victims of truck, tractor trailer and semi truck accidents in Freehold, Howell, Aberdeen, Marlboro and across Monmouth County and the state of New Jersey.

Jose Rodriguez was driving a passenger vehicle when he apparently lost control of the car, and crashed it into a tractor trailer that was parked on the right highway shoulder. Rodriguez's car bust into flames on impact. He suffered severe head trauma and died.

Interstate 78 and 287 saw five fatalities in 1994, in accidents involving cars crashing into trucks parked on the shoulder. Following that, rumble strips were installed to alert drivers in danger of veering off the road. The Department of Transportation has considered proposals to install rest stops on both 78 and 287, but opposition from locals has put the speed breakers on these plans. Monmouth County truck accident lawyers see such accidents less frequently than other kinds of accidents. But these are still a significant factor in crashes, which is why we should be more concerned about them.

Earlier this month, I discussed the Safe Highways and Infrastructure Preservation Act of 2009, a bill introduced by Senator Lautenberg and Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA- S). The bill would extend current size and weight restrictions on large tractor trailer trucks to the entire National Highway System. Current limits are 53 feet  in length and 80,000 pounds in weight. These limitations however, are only enforced on interstate highways, and individual states are free to set restrictions for roads that come under their jurisdiction. If the bill is passed, these restrictions would apply to trucks across 160,000 miles of that National Highway System.

A large heavier truck is going to be even more difficult to navigate on busy highways. Motorists will be at risk from out of control tractor trailers, a jackknifed big rig or a large truck that’s tailgating. While increasing productivity may be important during a time of recession, Monmouth County truck accident lawyers feel that we need to safeguard public safety too. In any case, the costs resulting from accidents involving these large commercial trucks is far too severe to ignore.

There are already far too many serious and fatal accidents involving these large commercial trucks on our highways. Many of these result in life altering injuries like spinal cord injuries and brain injuries  that not only rob the victim of his life as it was before the accident, but also end up heavily straining the public healthcare system, and consequently, our economy. Our existing transportation infrastructure is already bursting at the seams, and is in need of substantial renovation and repairs. With a recession in full swing, finding the money to improve existing highways is going to be hard. Allowing heavier and larger trucks into the situation would simply aggravate an already stressful truck traffic situation.

We can expect opposition from the trucking industry which  would like nothing better than to introduce larger, bulkier trucks capable of carrying bigger loads.  Bigger trucks would make more business sense to these companies, and lead to higher profits. However, it would place smaller passenger vehicles around the country at an even greater risk than the one they face now while sharing the road with a big rig. Besides, the bill would contribute to savings in highway repairs, because of the reduced wear and tear on our roads, thereby preventing other accidents as well..

Sheraz Khan is accused of being under the influence of drugs on September 11, 2008 when he allowed his 18-wheeler to get out of control and veer across several lanes of traffic and into the outbound lanes of Interstate 295 in Cherry Hill. The tractor trailer struck a Volkswagen driven by Texas resident Lawrence M. Wright, and a refrigerator box truck driven by Philadelphia resident Juma Rajab. Both were killed in the crash. Also killed was Renee Lesenko who was a passenger in the box truck. The tractor trailer was hauling heavy machinery at the time of the accident. Khan did not suffer any injuries in the crash. Camden County prosecutors claim that Khan was speeding at the time of the accident, as reported by witnesses. He also didn't seem to have made any effort to slam the brakes just before he struck the first car. Khan was arrested in January of this year.

Monmouth County Truck Accident Attorneys

Victims of a tractor trailer or other large truck accident can file a claim for damages against the trucking company that employed the driver of the truck. A Monmouth county truck accident lawyer will determine a claim amount based on the severity of the injuries, as well as the kind of and number of factors that were possible for the crash. For instance, the driver's log records will have to be inspected to rule out the role of driver fatigue, and fleet maintenance records will have to be probed to see if there was a truck malfunction at the time of the accident.