Georgia Personal Injury Law Blog : Atlanta Georgia Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Jason R. Schultz Law Firm : Wrongful Death, Malpractice, Car Accidents : Georgia

A truck driver working for Con-Way Freight Company in Georgia has clocked an admirable milestone – Ken Truman of Gray in Jones County, Georgia has completed two million miles of driving a tractor trailer without being involved in a single truck accident. Truman is only the 88^th driver in the company's 25-year-old history to have completed the milestone, and company officials are justifiably proud of their employee. 

Truman has been driving a tractor trailer for Conway since 1988. Since he joined as a driver, there has been a staggering increase in the number of vehicles that he has to share the road with, and that makes his accomplishment even more impressive. It takes extra care and fine-tuned attention to road and traffic conditions to be able to complete two million miles without a single accident to your name, but Truman proves that although it is challenging, it's far from impossible.

Truman has been candid about the reasons for his remarkable achievement and they are what Atlanta truck accident lawyers and trucking safety advocates have known all along. He never starts a journey without a complete pre-trip check of the truck, including the steering wheel, brakes, and lights. He makes sure that he checks the weather forecast for the route he is headed on before he begins to drive. Adverse weather can make it harder to control a tractor trailer, especially in slippery or foggy road conditions.

It also helped Truman that he knows the power of a good night's sleep for a truck driver. Overworked, overstressed truck drivers who have been "working" the log books – a common enough practice in the trucking industry where a driver manipulates his log books to be able to work longer hours and earn more money– are more at risk for an accident. Driving slowly and steadily without indulging in any undesirable driving behaviors, like sudden lane changes and tailgating have helped this driver pass a crucial safety milestone.

As Truman illustrates, it is not impossible to avoid an accident while driving a tractor trailer on a daily basis.  Driving a big rig comes with a whole host of challenges, including the careless and sometimes reckless driving of "four wheelers".  We applaud him for his great accomplishment and hope other truck drivers will follow his example.

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A man who died in an accident involving two pick up trucks near Hoboken has been identified as James P. Batten. Batten was driving a 2006 Toyota Tundra with his 34-year-old son Jason in the passenger seat, when his pick up collided with a Toyota Tacoma driven by Kendall Aubrey Willis.

According to this report, the accident occurred when Willis fell asleep at the wheel of his pick up. His truck veered over the center line and into the west bound lane and incoming traffic, where the Tacoma crashed into the Batten's pick up. Batten swerved to avoid a collision with the other pick up, but Willis' truck slammed against the other vehicle, sending it into a ditch, and overturning it. While the older man died, his son sustained minor injuries in the accident. Willis suffered serious life threatening injuries, and is currently recovering at the hospital.

This isn’t the first time we've had an accident occurring because one of the drivers dozed off at the wheel. Unfortunately, drowsy driving is a major cause of accidents across the country, causing approximately 100,000 crashes every year, and is also one of the most underestimated causes.  At least 1550 deaths are caused each year by these accidents.   The numbers, although alarming, may actually be just the tip of the iceberg. It's harder to monitor drowsy driving than it is to book a drunk driving offender. There's no technical equipment available to ascertain the levels of fatigue and drowsiness the motorist was driving under. Plus, motorists may not reveal the truth about their drowsy state at the time of the accident. The actual number of deaths caused by people driving when they should be counting sheep in their sleep may actually be higher than the above mentioned statistics. 

Data shows that drowsy driving may be more prevalent than we imagine. A responsible driver might think twice about driving under the influence of alcohol, but since drowsy driving is not a crime in most states, it's considered more acceptable to be behind the wheel in a sleepy state than it should be. The effects of sleepiness are the same that alcohol causes, and can be just as dangerous. People who work in shifts, work long hours, or suffer from insomnia, sleep apnea, or other sleep disorders are more at risk for causing such accidents. Yet, New Jersey is the only state in the country that has specific laws against drowsy driving.  Georgia, like most other states, has no specific liability laws that apply to drowsy driving.

As an Atlanta car accident lawyer, I fail to understand why we continue to ignore what is a major risk to motorists on the road.  It's high time driving fatigued or drowsy was recognized as the menace it is so those that share the road can be spared needless deaths and serious personal injuries that occur each year.  

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