Last week, in a frightening accident that occurred on the Capital Beltway just outside Washington DC, a semi-truck driver side-swiped a police cruiser as the officer was writing another motorist a ticket. According to a report by WUSA 9, the accident occurred in the early morning hours on the outer loop, near Colesville Road.
Evidently, the semi-truck came up upon the police cruiser and the other vehicle, crashed into them, and then continued to travel down the highway for another 100 or so yards before it jack-knifed across several lanes. The massive force involved in the accident ruptured one of the truck’s fuel tanks, sending diesel fuel all over the highway, causing additional concern.
Both the police officer and the motorist he had pulled over were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries and are expected to recover fully from their injuries. The Outer Loop was closed for about 5 hours as police and emergency crews clean up the scene and conducted the accident reconstruction.
A spokesperson for AAA commented that the cause of the accident may have been “drowsy driving” and made the following public statement:
Truck drivers are no different than us, when we drive late at night. We have a tendency because of monotony and because we’re looking at a white line to nod off behind the wheel, especially if we’re fatigued or we haven’t gotten enough sleep the night before. And most Americans not only are sleep-deprived, we simply don’t get enough sleep irrespective of our profession and our lifestyles.
Another Drowsy Driving Accident
Drowsy driving accidents have gotten a lot of attention recently, after actor and comedian Tracy Morgan was critically injured in a crash caused by a Wal-Mart truck driver who hadn’t slept for 24 hours prior to ramming into the back of the actor-comedian’s limousine. But the truth is, it’s about time drowsy driving accidents got the attention they deserve. And after that accident, lawmakers will be forced to confront the problem of drowsy truck driving head-on.
Each year, hundreds of accidents are caused by truck drivers not getting enough sleep. While federal regulations dictate that truck drivers get a certain amount of sleep each day on the road, these regulations are often ignored and pushed to the wayside in favor of driving longer hours to make more money per day. However, the decision to drive while tired puts all motorists on the highway at risk. The unfortunately reality is that, unless there is an accident, truck drivers routinely get away with “cooking” their books, so to speak.
Have You Been Injured in a Drowsy Driving Truck Accident?
If you or a loved one has recently been involved in a truck accident in the Maryland area, and you believe that it may have been due to the truck driver’s fatigue, you should speak to an experienced Maryland truck accident attorney immediately to discuss the facts of your case. It may be that, due to the truck driver’s negligence in failing to obey the federal sleep requirement regulations, the driver is responsible to you or your loved one for their injuries. Click here, or call 410-654-3600 to schedule a free initial consultation with a dedicated Maryland truck accident attorney to learn more.
More Blog Posts:
Maryland Residents Forced to Evacuate After Propane Tanker Accident, Maryland Trucking Accident Lawyer Blog, published May 9, 2014.
Trucker Gets into DUI Accident on 301, Another Trucker Gets Hit on the Detour, Maryland Trucking Accident Lawyer Blog, published June 6, 2014.