New Jersey Accident and Injury Law Blog : New Jersey Injury Lawyer & Attorney : The Grossman Law Firm : Serving Monmouth County, Bergen County

As a New Jersey truck accident lawyer, I was pleased to note that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is all set to launch a website that'll prevent rampant Commercial Drivers License fraud in the country.

CDL fraud is a major trucking safety problem across the country. The agency has been frequently criticized for its failure to prevent rampant fraud. Rogue drivers have found it far too easy to obtain licenses through fraudulent means. These barely competent and illegally licensed drivers have been linked to a large number of fatal accidents over the past decade. In fact in 2002, a report stressed that such fraud was widespread across the trucking industry, and posed a high risk to motorists.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is soon going to launch a web-based system, through which all testing will now have to be conducted. The website will contain information about examiners around the country, and will allow you to schedule testing through the system. All testing will be conducted through the system, minimizing the risk of fraud. The system will mean the end of paper test results, with all testing results being computerized. This will further reduce the chances of unethical practices used to obtain Commercial Drivers Licenses.

That's not the only trucking safety measure the FMCSA is working on right now. The agency is also testing various technologies that can help reduce the number of rear end accidents involving commercial trucks and other vehicles. The system that is most likely to be used consists of a set of lights placed at the back of the truck. The lights will turn on when a radar detects a passenger vehicle nearing the back of the truck.

Scott Grossman is a Freehold truck accident lawyer representing victims of truck and tractor-trailer accidents in Freehold and across New Jersey.

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Rear end accidents involving large commercial trucks being struck by passenger vehicles, are much more common than we know. Every year, there are approximately 23, 500 accidents caused when a vehicle strikes a commercial truck from behind. These accidents kill more than 135 people on an average every year, and injure more than 1,600.

As a New Jersey truck accident lawyer, I've always stressed the need for drivers of smaller vehicles to take extra care and caution while driving around an 18-wheeler. These are massive vehicles, and in any accident involving these vehicles and your car, it's you and the other occupants of your car who are at the highest risk of injuries or death. The fact that 135 people die in such accidents every year proves that there is a need to concentrate harder on safe driving around trucks.

In the meantime, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is working on developing systems that can alert motorists in time to avoid hitting the tractor-trailer. One of the systems involves placing bright LED lights on the back of the truck. When a passenger vehicle or any other vehicle gets too close to the back of the 18 wheeler, the lights are activated through a radar system,. This will alert motorists to the risk of an accident.

The FMCSA is testing a number of different systems that involve a combination of lights, but so far, a system involving two sets of six LED lights seems to have the most potential in preventing an accident. The agency hopes to begin field operational testing of these systems soon. I will be following this development, and hope that the system proves capable of preventing high-risk rear end collisions involving tractor-trailers and passenger vehicles.

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An accident involving an 18 wheeler and a motorcycle can hardly be minor. Last week, a motorcyclist in Bergen County was seriously injured in a collision with an 18 wheeler on Route 17. The motorcyclist sustained serious injuries, and was rushed to the Hackensack Medical Center. Investigations into the accident are going on, but there is no information yet about who is at fault here.

Both motorcyclist and drivers of large commercial trucks and tractor-trailer rigs face serious challenges, as they try to negotiate New Jersey's congested freeways.

An 18-wheeler driver has a number of blind spots in his field of vision that can prevent him from seeing small vehicles around the wreck. Passenger cars directly behind the 18 wheeler may fall in these blind spots, thereby increasing their risk of an accident. Knowledge of a truck driver's blind spots is very important for motorists who drive the highways every day, alongside these massive bricks. In fact, as a New Jersey truck accident lawyer, I have always supported enhanced truck safety education programs for teen motorists who need to learn how to drive carefully around these last vehicles.

Motorcyclists have a high risk of falling in other people's and motorists blind spots. In fact, that's one of the hazards of riding a motorcycle. Every year, many accidents are caused by motorists, who simply failed to notice the motorcyclist behind them. It's also something that motorcyclists themselves must be aware of. Know that other motorists or truckers around you may not be able to see you as you drive. This makes it harder for them to avoid a collision with you.

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Authorities in Middlesex Borough believe that a medical condition likely contributed to an accident this week that killed a truck driver. 52-year-old James Johnson was driving a Freightliner truck when, for unknown reasons, his vehicle crossed the median, and crashed into another vehicle. Johnson was declared dead at the scene. The occupants of the smaller vehicle sustained injuries.

Now, authorities in Middlesex Borough have confirmed that they don't believe Johnson died as a result of injuries he sustained in the accident. They believe that a medical condition he suffered just before his vehicle crossed into oncoming traffic, may have contributed to the accident, and his subsequent death. However, the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office has not been able to confirm that a medical condition was the cause of Johnson's death.

Obviously, this is a terrible time for Johnson's family. It also brings to mind how little we discuss the health of these truckers, who have some of the most demanding, challenging jobs in the country. A trucker’s life hardly provides for the kind of exercise that helps keep a person healthy and away from disease. He is required to sit for long periods of time, and may have irregular meal breaks and rest stops. The food that's available at truck stops isn't exactly the healthiest around.  All of these factors can contribute to the development of medical conditions, including cardiac disease.

As a New Jersey truck accident lawyer, I believe that we could be doing more to focus on the health of truck drivers. This will not only keep them healthy, but will also help them, and other motorists, avoid the risk of accidents caused by a medical condition.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey truck accident attorney, representing injured victims of 18-wheeler, commercial truck and semi truck accidents in Monmouth, Bergen, Passaic, and Ocean Counties and across New Jersey.

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The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration held a series of sessions to gather public input on the hours of service rules for truckers that are being revised. The fourth session was held Davenport, Iowa on the 25^th of January. The first 3 had been held in Arlington, Virginia; Dallas, Texas and El Segundo, California. The FMCSA had invited commercial truckers, trucking companies, owners,  operators; truck safety groups, researchers and other people to discuss issues that impact truck safety. These issues include rest time, on duty time, sleeper berth use, loading and unloading times, and others. 

Last year, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration reached an agreement with truck safety groups, the Teamsters union and others to revise the Hours of Service rule for truckers. The Bush Administration had set the rules at 11 consecutive hours. The rule had been soundly criticized by truck accident victims and New Jersey truck accident lawyers.  The FMCSA promised that it will revise these rules within a period of 9 months. As part of its efforts to revise the rule, the FMCSA held these four public listening sessions to gather input from the public

Lowering the HOS rules is absolutely necessary, but on its own will not be able to tackle the problem of driver fatigue. The FMCSA has not paid any attention to the problem of sleep apnea, which is another contributor to driver fatigue. The NTSB has recognized the role of sleep apnea in trucker fatigue-related accidents, and has recommended mandatory sleep apnea sleeping for truck drivers. However, the FMCSA has failed to act on these recommendations.

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Any time there’s a truck accident in New Jersey, people are typically quick to jump to the assumption that it’s the tractor trailer driver who is at fault. The fact is that many truck accidents are caused by motorists. In fact, according to a New Jersey Department of Transportation study, motorists were at fault in 56 percent of truck-passenger vehicle accidents in 2006.

That situation has law enforcement officials focusing on educating motorists about safe driving around 18 wheelers. In April of this year, New Jersey State Police received a grant from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The $800,000 grant will be used to fund a truck safety public awareness campaign that will focus on educating motorists in order to reduce truck accident rates. The program should launch by December, and will include $300,000 to be spent on radio advertisements, and $500,000 on trooper enforcement efforts. The campaign, which will run through September 2012, will also include distribution of education material and enforcement of safety rules. 

It makes sense to a motorist to be as careful as possible while driving around a massive 80,000 pound vehicle, that can crush your car during impact. As a New Jersey truck accident lawyer, I would encourage motorists to pay extra attention to the road when they are around large trucks.

• Avoid speeding, or racing a truck. It is the most foolish behavior you could indulge in.
• Know that a truck driver sitting in his elevated cab has several blind spots, and if your vehicle is in one of those spots, it’s almost impossible for him to see you.
• Don’t cut off an 18-wheeler, or make a sudden stop when you are in front of one. Remember these trucks are hauling tens of thousands of cargo, and can’t stop suddenly. The outcome of such behavior is not going to be good for you
• Be patient when you are behind a large tractor trailer. These large vehicles are loaded with cargo, and harder to navigate. Impatience on your part can have devastating consequences for you.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey truck accident lawyer representing victims of truck accidents in Monmouth, Bergen, Passaic and Ocean Counties and across the state of New Jersey.

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Bowing to pressure from trucking safety groups and labor unions, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has taken a decision that New Jersey truck accident lawyers have been waiting for.  The agency has agreed to revise the rule that extended the number of hours that a trucker can drive at a stretch, to 11 hours in a shift.

The Bush Administration in its last days, reinstated a rule allowing truckers to drive for 11 consecutive hours, increased from the earlier 10. That rule also cut down the number of rest hours that a trucker could expect, increasing the overall number of hours a trucker could spend driving each week, by 25 percent.

Trucking safety groups had opposed the rule and challenged it, because the administration failed to take into consideration the accident risks from allowing truckers to drive an extra hour per shift.  Earlier this week, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration finally reached an agreement with these groups. The agency has agreed to revise the rule within the next 9 months. 

Reducing the number of hours that a trucker can drive is important not just for the health and safety of truckers, but also the safety of motorists who share the highways in New Jersey with these large trucks every day.

Every year, an approximate 5,000 lives are lost in trucking accidents, many of which involve fatigued drivers sleeping at the wheel. Ask trucking unions, and they will tell you how truckers these days are under tremendous pressure to drive more hours, which ultimately increases profits for the employer. A trucker who is tired and drowsy and not at his sharpest and most alert behind the wheel, is a danger not just to himself, but also to other motorists. As a New Jersey truck accident lawyer, I would like to applaud the efforts of Public Citizen, and the Teamsters union that were responsible for getting the FMCSA to agree to revise this dangerous rule.

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As a New Jersey truck accident lawyer, I have been very concerned about the high prevalence of sleep apnea in the commercial trucking community, and the lack of serious efforts to screen drivers for the disorder, and treat it. Driver fatigue is one of the leading causes of tractor trailer accidents in New Jersey, and sleep apnea is a major contributing factor to fatigue, drowsiness and listlessness behind the wheel.

Finally, the National Transportation Safety Board has acted to take note of the problem. It has sent a letter to the Federal Carrier Motor Safety Administration, advising that commercial truck and bus drivers be screened for sleep apnea to diagnose the condition. 

Earlier this year, a Harvard University study showed a high risk of obstructive sleep apnea in commercial truck drivers. The study found that a majority of truck drivers, who suffer from the disorder, are not even aware of their condition. Those who are diagnosed for sleep apnea fail to continue with treatment. Federal regulations don’t call for mandatory screenings for sleep apnea, and as a result there could possibly be thousands of truckers operating massive tractor trailer rigs on busy highways suffering from sleep apnea, unaware of the condition, or not being treated for the disorder.

The Harvard study also found that truckers may be at a much higher risk for sleep disorders like apnea, because of their lifestyle. A typical truck driver works long hours. Rest and meal breaks may be irregular, and food available at truck stops may be high-fat and unhealthy. This can contribute to obesity, which is one of the risk factors for sleep apnea.

Mandatory screenings for sleep apnea must be a compulsory part of every truck driver’s medical certification process. As a New Jersey truck accident lawyer, I hope that the NTSB recommendations will lead the way for a federal mandate for sleep apnea screenings.

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Last week, President Obama’s choice of nominee for head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration began confirmation hearings, and as a New Jersey trucking accident lawyer, I am concerned about Anne Ferro's past as a trucking industry lobbyist.  Ferro served as a lobbyist for the Maryland trucking industry for six years. Her nomination not surprisingly, has been criticized by trucking advocates, including the Truck Safety Coalition.  

Every year 5,000 people are killed in fatal truck accidents across the US. In New Jersey, 47 people were killed in 2008 in accidents involving large trucks. Last year, Bergen County had three accident fatalities, Monmouth County had six, Ocean County had four and Passaic County had one trucking accident fatality. Salem County had the worst ratio of truck accident fatalities with an average of  3.02 people killed per 100,000 persons. With statistics like these, it becomes imperative that we have an FMCSA head who prioritizes truck safety above all else.

In the last days of the Bush Administration, a new rule increasing the number of consecutive hours that a trucker could drive was passed. That rule had been strongly opposed by New Jersey truck accident lawyers, truck safety advocates, as well as families of victims killed by accidents involving a fatigued trucker, dozing off at the wheel. I had then voiced my strong opposition to the rule. It therefore concerns me that the nominee for head of the agency, which will be responsible for laying down rules that will impact trucker and motorist safety, is a person who came out strongly in support of the extended driving hours. Ferro co-signed a letter to The Baltimore Sun, arguing strongly in support of the rule.

I am also concerned about how willing Ferro will be to initiate the kind of tough safety measures that are needed to save those 5000 lives every year. During the confirmation hearings, Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey tried to get Ferro to promise that she would require trucking companies to install safety devices called Electronic On Board Recorders, that can determine and record when the truck is turned on and off, thereby helping to calculate the number of hours the trucker drives. Very often, truckers manipulate log books to be able to drive for more number of hours than the rule stipulates. However, Ferro refused to promise any such thing, and only said that she will conduct a review of the research on these devices.

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The trial of the truck driver accused of causing a fatal accident in 2008 is expected to begin in November.

Kenneth A Middlebusher is a resident of Deptford in Gloucester County. According to police reports, Middlebusher was driving a truck on route 9 in Woodford in Vermont in April 2008 at high speeds, when the tractor trailer overturned and crashed into two other cars. Two occupants of one car were killed instantly, while the driver of the other car died in September. According to police, the tractor trailer driver had been operating the truck at excessive speeds that were too high for prevailing road conditions. Besides, the truck was hauling loads of paper rolls that were not secured properly. Police believe that shifting of the loads may have caused the tractor trailer to overturn.

The trial is set to begin on November 12^th, and if convicted, Middlebusher is looking at 15 years in jail. Driving at excessive speeds is one of the most common causes of tractor trailer accidents. Driving at excessive speeds does not always mean that a driver is driving above posted speed limits.  A trucker can also be said to be speeding if he is traveling at speeds that are too high for the prevailing traffic and weather conditions.

For instance, driving on a crowded freeway or during rush hour will mean that a truck driver must adjust his speeds in a manner that allows him and motorists to be safe. Besides traffic conditions, drivers must also take into consideration the elements of the weather. Heavy rain, strong winds, snow fall and other poor conditions can impact safe operations of a tractor trailer. In such cases, drivers must slow down so they can maintain control over their vehicle. Unsecured loads are a less obvious, but crucial factor in any truck accident. Because these 18 wheelers carry large and heavy cargo, it's imperative that the cargo is secured properly to maintain balance. Overloading or shift of an unsecured cargo can cause a change in balance, leading to the driver losing control over the truck.

Scott Grossman is an experienced Passaic truck accident attorney representing injured victims of such accidents in Passaic, Haledon, Totowa, Little Falls, Clifton, Paterson and other cities in  Passaic County, and across New Jersey.

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A former mayor and prominent member of the Fairfield Township community, was killed earlier this month in a "freak" truck accident. According to reports, Kennard Hildreth Jr. was driving his pickup truck on route 49 in Stow Creek Township with an employee. A tractor trailer driver on the same route failed to keep control of his truck as he negotiated a curve, the truck overturned on to Hildreth’s car. Hildreth was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, and his 17-year-old passenger sustained serious injuries. 

As of now, no charges have been filed against the truck driver Joseph Singh, but state police are not ruling out the possibility that there may be charges filed here. Soon after the truck accident, police had indicated that there was evidence to believe that Singh was driving too fast as he neared the curve where the truck overturned.

As a New Jersey truck accident lawyer, I know that investigating an accident involving a tractor trailer can be a long and complex process that can take months.  Investigations can include talking to witnesses, poring through the driver's log books, hiring experts etc.

There are so many factors that can be responsible for an accident.

• The truck driver may have been fatigued at the time of the crash.
• He may have been driving at excessive speeds. (That can include driving above the posted speed limits for trucks, as well as driving too fast for traffic conditions).
• There could have been a malfunctioning component on the truck.
• Poor design of the highway or faulty road maintenance could have caused an accident.
• The driver could have been driving under the influence of alcohol.

In some cases, there may be a combination of factors involved in a crash, making it more complicated to name parties in a claim.

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A new legislation that would raise weight limits on commercial trucks is already meeting strong opposition from  truck accident lawyers and victims' families.

Attorneys and victims are joining hands to fight the legislation that would allow large trucks to carry heavier loads than they do now. The efforts against the legislation called the Safe and Efficient Transportation Act of 2009 have involved the families of victims who have lost their loved ones in truck accidents. At least one activist Joan Clay Brook has set off a petition drive mobilizing opinion against the bill that is moving through Congress.

Earlier this year, I had discussed the Safe Highways and Infrastructure Preservation Act of 2009 which could expand current and weight and size limits on trucks to the entire national highway system. We have far too many accidents involving serious injures and deaths involving these massive vehicles and allowing larger heavier trucks will only increase the risk of danger to smaller vehicles when they have to share the road with them.

Victim’s families have taken a proactive role in making their concerns apparent to legislators. These families include the parents of a young woman who was killed when the wheel of the tractor trailer came loose, and crashed through the windshield of her car.

Tractor trailers at their current size and weight are a risk to motorists. These risks may or may not be a direct result of their size and weight.  I see a lot of accidents that are the result of poor truck maintenance, fatigued or drunk drivers and reckless driving. Nevertheless, larger tractor trailers would simply mean that truck drivers would find it even harder to drive these massive vehicles than they do now. Even with the current weight limits on trucks, we have too many cases of big rigs jackknifing and overturning with devastating consequences for motorists nearby.  

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 A seemingly minor problem, but one that can cause serious injury to New Jersey motorists driving in the vicinity of an 18 wheeler in winter, will be dealt with by a new bill released by the Assembly Transportation Committee.

The bill, S520 will require all motorists to remove snow and ice from their vehicles before they begin to drive. Sponsored by Senator Nicholas J. Saco (D) the bill applies to both commercial as well as non commercial vehicles, and allows police to pull over motorists whose vehicles are not snow and ice free. Motorists will be required to remove snow and ice from the hood, trunk as well as the roof the vehicle. Although the bill is targeted at all motorists, it is especially relevant in the case of large trucks, like 18 wheelers. A single inch of snow on the roof of an 18 wheeler can weigh as much as 2000 pounds, and the consequences for motorists around the big rig, who are unfortunate enough to suffer the impact of falling ice and snow from the big rig, can be serious. Large slabs of ice falling off a semi could be not only heavy enough to cause vehicle damage, but also injury to drivers and passengers in these smaller cars.

As you may expect, the trucking industry has a problem with the rule, like they seem to do with just about any other legislation that aims to make motorists on the road safe from the special dangers these big rigs pose. They argue that it would simply take too much time to clean their large 18 wheelers of ice before a driver begins to operate the vehicle. Besides, they claim, Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules don’t allow drivers to climb aboard a 13-foot high 18 wheeler.

Bergen County truck accident lawyers like me have always been exasperated by the trucking industry's petulance every time any legislation that requires them to make the slightest effort to improve the safety of their vehicles, makes an appearance. Such behavior should not come in the way of this bill being passed.  There are ways for the trucking fraternity to deal with the minor problems they may face enforcing any such legislation, and the industry should  be making efforts to look at how they can best comply with these rules instead of complaining.

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