Maryland Trucking Accident Lawyer Blog
Recently there has been some more discussion about the so-called “sweatshop” workplace conditions that over-the-road truckers must endure as part of their job hauling goods and materials across the nation. Long hours and tight deadlines have been blamed for numerous accidents here in Maryland as well as other states.
As a Baltimore trucking accident attorney and personal injury lawyer, my work of this area of accident law exposes me to a myriad of horror stories ranging from minor truck-passenger car accidents to fatal semi tractor-trailer wrecks. In many cases, excessive speed is a major factor in the collision. Even if it didn’t cause the initial accident, high speed coupled with the huge size and mass of these large 18-wheelers makes most any traffic accident worse.
Occupants of passenger cars struck by such a massive vehicle can be left with serious and life-threatening injuries that can linger for years and ruin a person’s quality of life. The costs of medical treatment and rehabilitation following a tragic highway trucking accident can hobble families struggling to survive in this uncertain economy, placing stress on family members and fracturing the very fabric of a formerly happy home.
With all this in the balance, it would appear that getting parts, foodstuffs or toys to market should take a backseat to the health and safety of the innocent people riding next to these semi trucks. Yet every day more motorists are killed or injured as a result of truck driver fatigue, inattention or haste.
Such may have been the case in a crash that occurred not long ago on I-95. According to news reports, the accident happened just before noon when the driver of a tractor-trailer apparently lost control of his rig on the ramp from Interstate 95 to Rte 1. Based on police reports, the truck driven by 32-year-old Leon Buckley of Maryland hit the guardrail and overturned onto the southbound lanes of Rte 1.
State troopers arriving on the scene found the truck lying on its side. An investigation reportedly showed that Buckley was operating the 2006 Volvo tractor-trailer at an excessive speed when the vehicle hit the guardrail alongside the expressway ramp around 11:55am. Defective equipment was not mentioned in the news report, and the driver was apparently cited by police for traveling at an unsafe speed. No injuries were reported.
UPDATE: Crash near Christiana Mall cleared – Rt 1 open, WGMD.com, December 2, 2010