Missouri Truck Accident Lawyer Blog

Jack Vaughn, 41, and Carol Cook, 53, were both killed Tuesday in a serious Missouri car accident on U.S. 60 near Poplar Bluff.

This tragic accident occurred when Cook, who was traveling eastbound, crossed the center median, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Her vehicle crossed into the westbound lanes where it collided with Vaughn's 1999 Dodge. Vaughn's car was then struck by a 1998 Peterbilt tractor trailer, driven by Johnny Counts, 57.

Both Vaughn and Cook were pronounced dead at the scene. Counts sustained minor injuries, but his truck was able to be driven from the scene.

This is a heartbreaking incident to have happen near the holidays. Our thoughts go out to the families of the deceased and hopefully Counts' injuries heal quickly.

As far as the cause of this fatal Missouri car wreck, it is still unclear why Cook crossed the median into oncoming traffic. An accident reconstruction will be performed to determine exactly what caused her to lose control of the vehicle.

A Missouri tractor trailer jackknifed and slid off southbound Interstate 29 into the median on Monday afternoon. The truck’s progress was stopped by the cable median before it could cross into oncoming traffic and become a more serious tractor trailer accident.

While there was some damage to the median and traffic was backed up for hours, no serious injuries were reported.

Fortunately this particular Missouri big rig accident was not serious, but that does not mean jackknife incidents aren’t capable of causing major damage. Anybody who regularly drives on highways with large amounts of tractor trailer traffic should be cautious and aware of the dangers at all times.

Jackknifes are caused when the load of a trailer pushes the cabin sideways and folds it backwards. Once in this position, the vehicle becomes impossible to control and it can slide unpredictably into other cars. Anytime a truck driver makes a turn or brakes, there is a potential for a jackknife.

A number of technological innovations have become standard to help limit the number of jackknife incidents. Anti-lock brakes help the driver maintain control when stopping suddenly and special rigging between the cabin and the trailer can help prevent the trailer from jackknifing. Computer assisted braking systems are also becoming common to further assist the driver.

Despite all the advances in technology, the best way to prevent truck accidents is to have skilled and responsible drivers. While most have a great driving record, there are a few negligent drivers and companies that violate regulations and put people in danger. If you have been involved in a tractor trailer accident, it is a good idea to have it investigated by an experienced Missouri tractor trailer crash lawyer.

Perhaps the two obstacles on the roadway most likely to elicit a groan from drivers are construction zones and tractor trailers. While both are necessary to maintain our roads and commerce, they can both lead to delays in an already hectic rush hour commute. Aside from just causing traffic backups, though, they are both involved in a large number of serious Missouri injury accidents, especially when you mix the large trucks with the confusion of a construction zone.

Residents of Kansas City have been given a couple recent examples of the dangers when tractor trailers and construction zones meet. A few weeks ago, a truck hauling dangerous hydrochloric acid crashed spilling the liquid all over the highway. The incident was followed a couple weeks later by another tractor trailer, this one hauling soybean meal, that crashed on the exact same stretch of highway.

Over on the east side of the state, we’ve seen our fair share of St. Louis tractor trailer accidents in or near construction zones. Last year, for a tragic example, multiple cars waiting in the backup from the Highway 40 construction detour were crushed by a tractor trailer whose driver had briefly taken his eyes off the road to grab his cell phone.

The confusion and stress that comes from navigating construction zones and detours makes for a dangerous situation that must be navigated carefully by all drivers. If everyone observes the posted speed limits and maintains awareness of workers and equipment, accidents can easily be reduced.

Unfortunately, inattentive drivers of both cars and tractor trailers often don’t see an upcoming construction zone or traffic backup and that’s when accidents occur. If you or a family member have been involved in one of these accidents, consult a Missouri personal injury lawyer to discuss your next steps and learn your rights as an accident victim.

We often discuss the causes of Missouri tractor trailer accidents on this blog and one of the major problems continues to be truck driver fatigue. Whether it comes from lack of sleep or just a driver exerting himself further than his body can handle, fatigue can have deadly consequences when mixed with 80,000 pounds of freight.

According to the NTSB, one in three tractor trailer accidents are caused by driver fatigue. This includes both fatal and non-fatal accidents. If these estimates are true, that means there are over 160,000 truck accidents that could have been prevented had the driver not been fatigued.

Even more startling is the number of truck drivers that admit to actually falling asleep at the wheel. Some studies claim this number is as high as one in five drivers having fallen asleep at the wheel at least once in their driving careers.

A driver doesn't actually have to fall asleep to put himself and others in danger. Being heavily fatigued limits your reaction time and attention span as well as making it harder to stay in a lane. Perhaps you may have even felt this yourself in your own car when driving late at night. While driving in this condition is not safe in any vehicle, the large size and limited mobility of commercial shipping trucks requires that your mind be totally focused to avoid any problems.

You are also more susceptible to a condition commonly called "road hypnosis" when you are fatigued. Drivers on long road trips often report that they simply don't remember long stretches of the drive because they were in a type of psychological autopilot. Your conscious mind can separate from simple sub conscious tasks using an ability psychologists call automaticity. A driver's automatic responses may be able to keep a car on the roadway for short stretches, but if something unexpected happens, like a sudden traffic backup, the conscious mind may not be able to take over and stop the vehicle in time.

Federal regulations are in place that limit the number of consecutive hours a driver can be behind the wheel, and these restrictions may be expanded further if regulators feel it would be in the interest of public safety. Developing these rules can be tricky, though, because if you limit driver's hours too much, companies argue they will be forced to hire more inexperienced drivers which may also increase accidents.

If you have been involved in an accident with a tractor trailer and suspect the driver was driving while dangerously fatigued, contact a Missouri truck accident lawyer. An experienced attorney will be able investigate the driver's log books and company shipping records to determine if the driver violated any regulations and if these regulations contributed to the accident.

The map to the right provides a good visual representation of the amount of tractor trailer traffic on Missouri’s highways every year and why we need to work very hard to prevent Missouri truck crashes.

The U.S. Department of Transportation provided the map and the data behind it showing the amount of shipping traffic across the country. As you can see, Missouri is a central hub with hundreds of millions of tons passing through the state’s highway, rail and waterway systems.

Looking at just the tractor trailer shipping traffic, you can see why there are so many large truck accidents in the state every year. The two major highways criss-crossing the state, I-70 and I-44, bear the load of more than 200 millions tons of freight by themselves. Perhaps this is one reason why those two highways were recently listed as the two most dangerous in Missouri.

Shipping goods by truck is an important part of our economy and can be handled in a safe way, as evidenced by the thousands of truck drivers who operate their vehicles without incident every day. The shear size of the trucks can quickly lead to tragedy, though, when operated by those few negligent drivers and trucking companies.

The best way to control these negligent practices is with careful federal regulation, constant supervision by state authorities and proper utilization of the civil justice system when an accident occurs. Anybody involved in a Missouri tractor trailer crash should contact a Missouri truck accident attorney as soon as possible to investigate the incident.

Truck driver Johnathon Willmon, 33, is dead after a Missouri tractor trailer crash near Plattsburg, Missouri.

Willmon was driving his 2002 International truck eastbound on Missouri 116 when the crash occurred, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. A second big rig, driven by Douglas Tomlin, 45, was heading westbound on Missouri 116 and began to slide out of control. Highway Patrol troopers said Tomlin began to slide due to snowy road conditions. Tomlin's truck crossed over into the eastbound lanes where it hit a rail on the Little Platte River bridge and jackknifed in the path of Willmon's truck. Willmon was unable to avoid crashing into the trailer attached to Tomlin's truck.

Willmon was pronounced dead at the scene. Tomlin suffered minor injures, but refused treatment at the crash site.

Often when you hear about a fatal tractor trailer crash, it is between a big rig and a smaller passenger car. This incident shows that the power of these large vehicles can cause tragedy or serious injury even for the truck drivers themselves.

Since there was a fatality, this accident will see much more investigation and an accident reconstruction from state authorities. The trip logs of both drivers will be investigated to see if any motor carrier regulations were violated.

Photo by KMBC-TV

A truck carrying thousands of pounds of Pepsi soda overturned on I-435 early Monday morning sending two people to the hospital and scattering soda bottles all over the highway.

According to authorities cited in local media reports, this Missouri truck injury crash was likely caused by slick road conditions. The Pepsi truck was unable to stop and slid into two other cars before slamming into the guardrail and flipping.

Both the driver of the truck and one of the other car's drivers were taken to the hospital for treatment.

The driver of the truck was trapped for nearly 40 minutes before being freed by rescue crews. The rest of the accident took hours to clean.

While slick road conditions can be a factor in Missouri car and truck crashes, the responsibility for safe driving still lies with drivers. If you cause an accident, even if it was because you car skid on an icy roadway, you will be liable for damages caused by the wreck.

Early indications are the Pepsi truck slid on the roadway in the Missouri crash, but these are just scattered early reports. More investigation is needed by local authorities, accident professionals, and perhaps a Missouri truck accident lawyer before liability can be determined.

Ricky Hotop, 48, was hospitalized with serious injuries after crashing his pickup into a tractor trailer in Perry County, Missouri.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, this Missouri tractor trailer crash occurred on County Road 606 near Route K. The tractor trailer was stopped in the westbound lane of the roadway at around 5:20 p.m. Hotop, who was also traveling westbound, apparently didn’t see the tractor trailer and crashed into the back of it, totaling his pickup.

Hotop was taken to Perry County Memorial Hospital for emergency treatment. The tractor trailer driver was uninjured.

In many cases of a rear end collision, a driver is usually distracted and not focused on the road ahead of him. Occasionally, there are circumstances where the driver in the rear is not totally at fault. If a car or tractor trailer is stopped over the crest of a hill, for instance, this creates a very dangerous situation where other drivers may not have the opportunity to stop their vehicles in time. Large tractor trailers should also put out road markers and keep lights on after dusk in order to warn other drivers and prevent serious tractor trailer accidents.

The initial crash report and local media have not released information as to what might have caused this particular crash in Perry County. Further investigation is needed to determine whether Hotop was simply being inattentive, whether the tractor trailer was placed in a dangerous position, or both.

Examining the statistics showing just how many people die or suffer injury in truck accidents in Missouri and around the country each year can lead one to a pretty bleak outlook on the situation. Several thousand people die every year and tens of thousands more sustain injuries that may affect them the rest of their lives.

There are steps that both the trucking companies and the average driver can take to reduce the number of fatal tractor trailer accidents in Missouri.

Time and time again, it is shown that the number one cause of accidents is driver error. Taking the time to re-educate yourself on proper driving techniques can help you break some bad habits. When driving near trucks, for instance, a passenger car should not get too close behind or in front of a truck which could jackknife easily if forced into an evasive maneuver. You should also not attempt to “race” a big rig at an exit ramp just to make sure you are ahead of it on the highway.

Some trucking companies are being very proactive and taking a high-tech approach to limiting accidents by installing driver assistance programs, like the VORAD system. These technologies can alert the driver if a dangerous situation is present and, in some cases, take control of truck’s brake system to avert a crash.

Not all companies go the extra mile, unfortunately, and some have been found to be consistently negligent in how they operate their vehicles. Because of this, the industry will continue to need to examine their regulations and hold companies that violate them accountable.

If you have been involved in a tractor trailer accident and would like an expert to examine the case to determine if regulations were violated, contact a St. Louis area truck accident lawyer.