Articles Posted in Truck Accidents

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Auto accident prevention technologies like forward collision warning systems do a very good job of reducing the risk of auto accidents involving passenger vehicles, but may not be as effective in preventing motorcycle accidents and trucking accidents.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently released the findings of two new studies which found that forward collision warning systems and automatic emergency braking systems are very beneficial in reducing the risk of car accidents involving passenger vehicles,  but not as effective in preventing accidents involving motorcycles and trucks. The studies focused on more than 160,000 auto accidents involving passenger vehicles, large trucks and motorcycles.

According to the studies, these systems can help reduce the risk of rear-ender auto accidents involving passenger vehicles by as much as 53%.  However, they were found to reduce the risk of accidents involving large commercial trucks by only 38% and motorcycle accidents by 41%. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, as many as 5,500 lives could be saved every year if auto accident prevention systems were enhanced to make them more effective in identifying and reducing the risk of colliding with large tractor trailers.  An additional 500 lives could be saved in motorcycle accidents if these technologies could be improved to help identify motorcycles that are  notoriously harder to identify for motorists.

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First responders attended to multiple victims of car accidents across Georgia over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

Across  Georgia and  the country, law enforcement  authorities were reporting record volumes of   traffic.   More  than 55 million Americans are reported to have travelled  over the holiday weekend.  Unfortunately,  as is often the case, large volumes of traffic make for greater numbers of  auto accidents.   In  Georgia, the scene was no better as more than 23 accident fatalities were confirmed over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. This year, the holiday weekend stretched from 6:00 pm on Wednesday to 11:59 p.m. on Sunday.

Apart from  the 23 wrongful deaths, numerous other persons are reported to have suffered personal injuries in these car accidents. At least one busy interstate had to be shut down for 7 hours after a car accident involving an  18 -wheeler and an  SUV.  At least five out of the 23 fatalities occurred in a single car accident.

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Pedestrians  are more likely to suffer fatal personal injuries in a car accident when they are involved in an accident with a large vehicle, like a pick up truck or SUV.  According  to the findings of a new study, however, more than the size of the vehicle, it may be the height of the front end of the truck that may prove most detrimental to pedestrian safety.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently published the findings of two new research studies into pedestrian safety.  According to the researchers, vehicles that have taller, higher front ends are much more likely to cause serious and fatal personal injuries to pedestrians in a car accident.  The study found that cars with a hood height of more than 40 inches were approximately 45% more likely to kill pedestrians involved in an auto accident with the car, in comparison to cars that had a hood height of 30 inches or less.

The worrying part is that vehicles with taller, higher hoods have become extremely popular over the past few decades.  According to research by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, over the past 30 years, there has been a significant increase in not just the size and weight of the average vehicle, but also the hood height.  The average car has increased by 8 inches in height and 1000 pounds in weight. Over  the same period of time, cars have also gotten about 4 inches wider and about 10 inches longer. In fact, many vehicles that you see in Atlanta today are likely to be at least 40 inches or higher at the tallest point of the hood.  Aggressive – looking vehicles are not just intimidating to pedestrians, but are also capable of causing serious and devastating personal injuries that can result in wrongful death.

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Traumatic brain injury of the kind that is often sustained in car accidents, trucking accident as well as slip and fall accidents is linked to several  health consequences, including mental health symptoms like depression.   A  new study finds that  women may be at a much higher risk of suffering depression after a traumatic brain injury, compared to men.

Researchers recently analyzed 9 studies on traumatic brain injury and related depression, and found that women had a risk of suffering depression after a personal injury that was as much as 50% higher than the risk for men.  The  analysis focused on more than 700,000 people who suffered a traumatic brain injury, including more than 360,000 women. Out  of these, approximately 29% or 104,000 women reported depression after the injury. In contrast, 332,000 men suffered a brain injury in the study, and out of these, 72,000 or 22% reported  depression in the months after the  injury.

The researchers have been unable to speculate about the reasons for this difference between men and women, but the fact is that women seem to be at a much higher overall risk of suffering depression compared to men.  Among  older women, for instance, the top cause of depression is traumatic brain injury and the biggest cause of brain injury in women is  slip and fall accidents.  The  researchers believe that it is important for physicians treating older women or any women suffering from brain injury to caution them about their risks for depression.

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The federal government under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is funding  transportation projects across the country, and recently announced funding for new initiatives that would help  speed up commercial driver’s licensing processes and, if these drivers are effectively trained, help prevent truck accidents.

The Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration recently announced in a press release that it would release $48 million in funding grants to states and other entities.  This money would be used to increase opportunities for people who wish to train as truck drivers and obtain commercial driver’s licenses, as well as other efforts aimed at increasing the number of experienced  and trained truck drivers on our highways.  Approximately $44 million, for instance, would be used for expanding commercial drivers license programs through the Commercial Drivers License Program Implementation Grant.  States would receive funding to speed up the process of issuance of commercial drivers licenses.

The funds would also be used to make it easier for states to communicate with each other about violations and other data electronically.

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Victims  of car accidents, motorcycle accidents and trucking accidents  who have suffered a spinal cord injury may look forward to a day when they can walk independently again thanks to a new breakthrough in research in the field.

Scientists  recently announced a breakthrough  in their attempts to regenerate axons in  persons who have suffered  a spinal cord injury.  The  breakthrough was announced by a team of scientists that included both Swiss and American  researchers. According to the team,  they found that redirecting  regenerated axons to their target regions was more effective in helping along the healing process and aided the recovery of the patient,  compared to random regrowth of axons.

Back in 2018, the team had identified that axons which are responsible for communicating transmissions among the nerve cells could be regrown after the damage.  However,  they found that even when the axons were regrown, it did not really lead to any marked or significant functional recovery for the patient.  Now,  however,  they say that they have found a way to redirect the regenerated axons to their target region, helping  restore functional movement.  The  researchers experimented on mice with spinal cord injury, and found that the mice were actually able to walk independently after the treatment.

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Researchers  have known for a while that a brain injury can result in depression, but the kind of depression that a traumatic brain injury causes is different from other forms of depression. Traumatic brain injuries often arise out of car accidents, motorcycle accidents, trucking accidents, or any other event that causes a significant impact to the head.

A  new study finds that the kind of depression that results after a brain injury may be different from   regular  depression with some unique symptoms.  In  fact, the researchers believe that  brain injury -related depression could possibly be its own distinct condition.  These  are important findings because they shed new light on the kind of consequences that a brain injury patient can suffer.

For years now, researchers have known that  depression can set in after a person has suffered a brain injury,  but there have been questions about whether the depression is a result of the injury itself or because of the trauma related to the car accident or incident that caused the personal injury.  The general consensus, however, is that the depression is caused by the personal injury.

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Automatic emergency braking is slated to prevent hundreds of truck accidents involving commercial trucks every year after  the federal administration  proposed installation of these devices on all heavy trucks.

The  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has announced a notice of proposed rule-making that  would   require all commercial vehicles to have automatic emergency  braking systems on board.  The  goal of this rule would be to significantly reduce the incidence of rear -ender truck accidents involving commercial trucks and tractor trailers.

Automatic emergency braking systems are also available on passenger vehicles, and work by using sensors to detect if the vehicle is in danger of a collision  with an object.  The  system uses sensors to detect an auto accident threat, and moves to apply the brakes if the driver has not already done so  or to increase the emergency braking power if the driver has already applied the brakes.  The  system thereby  works to help prevent a collision with another object or vehicle.

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The Georgia State Patrol has been steadily losing staff numbers, and there are fears that an understaffed agency could mean a higher risk of auto accidents on our already dangerous highways. When there are less police officers on the road to deter speeding and reckless driving, this conduct will only increase leading to more car accidents and pedestrian accidents.

According to reports, the Georgia State Patrol has been steadily and consistently losing staff members over recent years.  In April 2022, the Georgia State Patrol had a total of 828 troopers.  However, just a few months later in January 2023, that number had dropped to just 783.

This decline in staffing numbers at the Georgia State Patrol has been evident for a while now. Even as the number of vehicles on Georgia highways has increased exponentially, the number of troopers responsible for keeping these highways safe  and responding to car accidents has not kept pace. For example, in 1977, 524 Georgia State Patrol troopers were assigned to keep motorists safe on the highways  and respond to accident crises. In 2023, at one point, there were just 497 Georgia State Patrol troopers assigned to the highways,  lower than they were at least 45 years ago.  These 497 troopers were in charge of maintaining safety on highways that have a far denser population of motor vehicles than they had in 1977.

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Auto braking systems that use sensors, cameras and other devices to determine whether the vehicle is too close to the vehicle in front can significantly reduce the risks of auto accidents involving pickup trucks.   However, according to a new study, far too many pickup trucks are lacking this important safety feature.

Many automobiles now come with automatic braking systems that significantly reduce the risk of certain types of auto accidents, specifically rear-ender accidents.   Pickup truck manufacturers have been slow to add these very important safety features to their vehicles. A new study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety lays down exactly how important automatic braking systems are for pickup trucks.

The study used data from 25 states between 2007 and 2012,  and the researchers found in their analysis that the rate of rear-end car accidents involving pickup trucks was 43% lower in cases in which the truck was equipped with an automatic braking system. In cases of auto accidents involving an injury, the rate was 42% lower in the case of pickup trucks equipped with automatic braking systems.  Overall, there was a 73% reduction in the number of injurious and fatal car accidents involving pickup trucks, when these vehicles were equipped with auto braking systems.

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