Trial Lawyers say, 28,000 Truckers Violate Safety Rules • Truckers need to RAISE INSURANCE LIMITS

NATIONWIDE - A new analysis of government data reveals that more than 28,000 motor carrier companies that operate 200,000 trucks have violated federal safety regulations. According to the FMCSA, more than 4,000 people die every year in collisions with trucks and 80,000 more are seriously injured. Also, though trucks make up less than four percent of all passenger vehicles on U.S. roads, they are involved in 12 percent of all motor vehicles fatalities.

The trial bar association, the American Association for Justice (AAJ), said it found commuters are sharing roads with trucks that have incurred thousands of safety violations, such as defective brakes, bald tires, loads that dangerously exceed weight limits and drivers with little or no training or drug and alcohol dependencies.

AAJ also maintains that the minimum insurance requirements for commercial trucks are "completely inadequate to compensate those who have been seriously injured in a collision involving multiple vehicles or multiple injured individuals." In 1980, Congress set the minimum level of insurance to $750,000; when adjusted for inflation, $750,000 is just $292,000 in 1980 dollars, according to the analysis.

While large trucking companies may carry more than the required level of coverage, smaller companies often carry just the bare minimum. An analysis of the U.S. trucking industry found that 87 percent of the companies in violation of safety standards are small companies that have fleets of 10 trucks or less. If you have been injured in an accident with a truck, CALL the TRIPP LAW FIRM for an immediate telephone consultation. The initial consultation is FREE and 100% confidential. We are available 24 hours a day at (888) 392-LAWS (5297).

www.trippfirm.com - Prompt and Aggressive Representation

• Pinellas Park motorcyclist killed in crash on I-75 in Sarasota County at mile marker 194 •

SARASOTA COUNTY - A 24-year-old man, 24, died this morning after his motorcycle collided with a tractor-trailer on Interstate 75 in Sarasota County, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

The biker was traveling north on I-75 in the southbound lane and hit the right front of the tractor-trailer, which was traveling south, near mile marker 194 in Sarasota county. The motorcycle caught fire as it broke in half, troopers said.

The biker was rushed to Venice Regional Hospital, where he died. FHP troopers said the he was not wearing a helmet.

The investigation by FHP continues.

DOT Puts The Brakes On Dangerous Tractor-Trailers on Florida's Highways and Interstate Highway 75 near Weigh Station

WILDWOOD -- Officers are cracking down on the drivers of dangerous tractor-trailers that are putting lives at risk on Central Florida highways because of faulty brakes and bad tires. News 13 was there as Department of Transportation officers at a weigh station on I-75, just north of Wildwood, inspected several commercial trucks. It's part of a nationwide effort called Operation Road Check where officers are pulling over commercial vehicles to do a thorough inspection.

On the first day at this location, officers said 60 percent of the trucks they looked at had to be pulled off the road because they were unsafe. “If you do have something wrong with your truck and you don't get it fixed, it's your own fault really. You know you're going to get pulled in if you travel very much,” said Joe Abbott, a truck driver.

DOT's 72 hour operation at the weigh stations runs through Thursday, but they said officers will continue to do inspections out in the field.

www.trippfirm.com

I - 4 - PLANT CITY - Hillsborough County Truck crash with car - FHP investigation - Hillsborough County Fire Rescue - Lakeland Regional Medical Center

PLANT CITY — A tractor-trailer truck Tuesday toppled over onto a car driven by a woman who fell asleep at the wheel, trapping the drivers in the wreckage and snarling traffic along Interstate 4 for hours. Both drivers escaped with only minor injuries. The driver of the car was in the center lane when she began to doze off, veering her car into the path of the truck driver, who was in the eastbound right lane, the Florida Highway Patrol said. Both vehicles swerved off the road and into a concrete barrier wall, the truck toppling onto the car, an FHP report states.

The drivers were pinned inside their vehicles until rescuers pulled them out and flew them to Lakeland Regional Medical Center, said FHP Sgt. Larry Kraus. The driver of the car was charged with failure to drive in a single lane, the report states. Emergency workers were surprised both drivers received only minor injuries. "When you see it, you say, 'Man, there's a good chance somebody's dead,' " said Ray Yeakley of Hillsborough County Fire Rescue. "Mostly they're just shook up, with bumps and bruises." All but one eastbound lane west of Plant City's Park Road were closed while emergency crews worked the crash. Traffic in both directions was snarled by passing motorists slowing to stare at the wreckage.

www.trippfirm.com