Posts Tagged ‘18 wheeler truck accidents’
Preventing Truck Accidents – What Trucking Companies Don’t Do, But Should
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Attorney Muhammad Aziz
Muhammad S. Aziz, a Houston 18 wheeler accident attorney at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto & Friend, discusses the issue of truck accidents in Texas. Based in Houston, Mr. Aziz has seen firsthand, the serious injury inflicted in 18 wheeler truck accidents. In this brief interview, he describes the need for more extensive and specialized driver training programs and offers advice to those considering a truck accident or wrongful death suit following a Texas truck accident.
Transcript
Host: This week’s topic is eighteen wheeler truck accidents, presented by Mo Aziz, a trial attorney with Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto & Friend in Houston, Texas. Mr. Aziz and I will be discussing trucking safety issues, things trucking companies don’t do but they should. Thanks for joining us today Mo.
Mo: Thanks for having me.
Host: So what are some of the qualifications that truck drivers need to meet?
Mo: Truck drivers need to have a valid commercial driver’s license as well as they need to meet some physical fitness requirements. Truck drivers also need to be aware of the state and federal motor carrier safety regulations. Also, in Texas they to be aware of the provisions of the Texas Commercial Driver’s Handbook.
Host: What are some of the qualifications missing in your opinion that could prevent eighteen wheeler accidents?
Mo: You know based on our experience, what we have seen is that a lot of accidents can be prevented or could have been prevented if the drivers had been given more training in making proper and safe lane changes as well as driving in adverse conditions and when I say adverse conditions I mean driving in rain or fog or sleet and definitely driving in rain is one of the major causes of accidents in Texas.
Host: What are some of the other things that could be done to prevent eighteen wheeler accidents?
Mo: There are specialized training programs, one of them being the Smith system of safe driving. A lot of the major carriers across the country implement this system to train their drivers, like I said again in especially in making lane changes, as well as driving in adverse conditions and if these drivers have had these proper training a lot of these accidents could have been prevented.
Host: So lets say someone does get injured and who would someone injured do an eighteen wheeler accident sue? The trucking company or a truck driver, in other words, who is responsible?
Mo: Well what we see in almost every case is that both the trucking company and the truck driver are responsible. The truck driver is the one who is responsible for the actual accident, however, we’ve seen companies push their drivers to meet deadlines while violating the hours of service regulations sometimes these drivers are fatigued, sometimes they also do not have proper training even after being in accidents in the past, they continue to drive on the road that results in another incident, therefore, both the trucking company and the track driver are liable.
Host: So when is it to late to sue for compensation?
Mo: Under Texas law you have typically two years to file suit, however, trucking cases are slightly different in the nature that the truck companies are not required to preserve the evidence for until after a certain period of time. Furthermore, there is evidence that is in the black box of these trucks which gets lost over time and most importantly the physical evidence at the scene such as the gouge marks or skid marks which can be crucial to the investigation disappears over time since it is outdoors, its on the freeway, there is other vehicles driving on the evidence, there is also weather conditions, therefore although a victim has two years to bring a case, the sooner they can get their investigators out there the better it is for their case.