Earlier this month in Winter Garden, Florida, a semi-truck driver and his passenger were both killed when the driver of that truck rear ended another semi-truck as it was pulling onto the highway. According to a report by a local news source, a semi-truck carrying recyclable materials was traveling north on the Florida Turnpike near mile marker 271 when the driver pulled the truck off the road to check the tires. As the driver pulled back onto the highway and was getting up to speed, he was rear ended by another refrigerated semi-truck carrying flowers. Evidently, the first semi-truck was traveling at about 40-45 miles per hour when the two trucks collided. Troopers that responded to the accident claimed that it was one of the worst semi-truck accidents they have ever seen. The impact from the crash killed both the driver of the refrigerated semi-truck and his passenger. It is unclear why the second truck did not change lanes to avoid the slower semi-truck, or why the second truck didn’t just slow down. Police have initiated an investigation into how the accident occurred, and have not yet cited the surviving truck driver. Semi-Truck Accidents in Florida Each year, hundreds of Floridians die in accidents with big-rigs, semi-trucks, and tractor trailers. These vehicles, aside from weighing several times what a car does, are more difficult to control and have larger blind spots. In addition, the drivers of these enormous vehicles are often on the road for hours on end, only to get to their destination and then turn around and do it again. This can lead to driver fatigue. Semi-Truck Driver Fatigue The federal government regulates how many hours semi-truck drivers can drive per day. In addition, they are also regulated in driving hours per five- or seven-day period. This requires that semi-truck drivers maintain a log of all their driving hours as well as their rest hours. When an accident occurs involving a semi-truck, the first place many investigators look is the rest log. Did the driver get the required amount of sleep, or was he sleep-deprived when the accident occurred? Liability in semi-truck accident cases often turns on the answer to this question. However, semi-truck drivers know that and will sometimes fraudulently fill out their rest logs to make it look as though they were complying with the regulations when they in fact were not. Have You Been Involved in a Florida Semi-Truck Accident? If you or a loved one has recently been involved in a Florida semi-truck accident, you should speak with a dedicated Florida personal injury attorney as soon as possible. It may be that, even though it appears that a truck driver’s log is in compliance with all federal regulations, he has filled it out to look that way. An experienced semi-truck accident attorney knows where to look to see if the truck driver has falsely filled out his rest log. To learn more about how to recover for the injuries you sustained, click here, or call 352-387-8700 to schedule a free initial consultation. More Blog Posts: Florida Court Explains When the Procedural Requirements for Medical Malpractice Cases Apply, Ocala Injury Lawyers Blog, published May 29, 2014. Pothead Princess Claims She Can’t Remember Causing the Traffic Accident that Killed Two, Ocala Injury Lawyers Blog, published May 27, 2014.
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