An Amtrak train headed to Chicago derailed yesterday, injuring at least ten people. The train collided with a semi truck at a railroad crossing in Michigan. The engine was overturned and all 68 passengers and five crew members had to be evacuated. The truck driver was also taken to the hospital. Thankfully, none of the injuries suffered […]
Trucking Negligence
Cook County’s Dangerous Trucks
A number of questionable practices in the Cook County Highway Department have placed workers and the driving public in danger. According to Cook County Inspector General Patrick Blanchard, many of the 320 trucks in the fleet have not passed, and would not pass, safety inspections, increasing the risk of serious truck accidents. While some vehicles have […]
One Cause of Truck Driver Fatigue Examined
With all the attention paid to cell phone use and the rise in distracted driving, it is important to keep sight of a problem that has been around since cars were invented-driver fatigue. After several high profile truck accidents cited sleep apnea as playing a role in the accident, some industry groups took notice. The Federal Motor […]
Truck Fatally Strikes Woman in Wheelchair
A Tuesday afternoon truck accident claimed the life of a 60 year-old Chicago woman. The fatal truck accident is still under investigation and no criminal charges are pending at this time. The woman was crossing at a crosswalk in her motorized wheelchair when she was hit by a cement truck. The driver of that truck, […]
Cell Phone Use and SemiTrucks
Lawmakers and safety experts all over the country are working to combat the dangers of distracted driving. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is now recommending that commercial drivers be banned from using mobile phones while driving. The NTSB believes the measure could prevent many truck accidents caused by negligent semi drivers. The recommendation was […]
Criminal charges in fatal truck accident case
The April accident that claimed the life of an Indiana construction worker led to an arrest on Wednesday. The driver in the fatal tractor-trailer accident is being accused of causing a death while operating a vehicle under the influence of a controlled substance. A blood test conducted by authorities after the incident revealed the presence of marijuana […]
RV driver killed in collision with semi truck
Mechanical difficulties forced a Canton man and his family to pull their RV to the side of the road on Monday. While the 35 year-old driver of the RV worked under the vehicle to make repairs, a semi truck collided with them on the shoulder of Interstate 39. The resulting injuries cost the RV driver his life […]
Two killed in semi-truck collision
The identities of two Springfield residents who were killed in a collision with a semi-tractor trailer on Wednesday were released. The fatal truck crash involved the driver and passenger of a Pontiac Grand Prix which crossed the median on Interstate 70 and was struck by a semi-trailer in the westbound lanes. The driver of the semi suffered […]
Fatal truck accident victim identified
The woman who was killed in a collision with two semi-trucks on Wednesday has been identified. The fatal truck crash involved four vehicles on Interstate 80. The Toyota being driven by the 60 year old Park Forest resident collided into the back of a semi-tractor which was stopped in traffic at 2:15 p.m. Her car was then […]
Truck driver who hit train had dubious record
The Prospect Heights truck driver who struck and derailed a Metra train last Friday had a record that included a DUI, as well more than 50 other traffic violations. Victims of the serious truck accident are left to wonder how he could still be driving with so many warning signs spanning his driving record since 1986. This […]
NTSB Forum focuses on improving trucking and bus safety
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) convened a public forum from May 10-11 in Washington, DC to review progress made over the last decade in improving truck and bus safety and to discuss steps that must be taken to improve safety in the future. Day 1 of the forum focused on improving the safety culture […]
One killed, two more injured in Illinois semi-trailer accident
A semi truck collided with an SUV Tuesday afternoon, killing one and injuring two more. The fatal truck accident occurred at 3:30 p.m. on Route 6 in Channahon. The driver of the truck sustained no injuries in the crash. Illinois state police are still investigating the accident. The truck was traveling east on Route 6 when it […]
Three vehicle truck accident near Naperville
A JB Hunt semi truck collided with two vehicles on Interstate 88 near Naperville Wednesday evening, injuring two fellow motorists. The truck accident left all three vehicles severely damaged, but fortunately led to no life-threatening injuries. Traffic was backed up for several hours. The accident occurred when the semi failed to brake quickly enough when traffic forced […]
Milwaukee woman killed, four injured as semi crashes into bus
In Wisconsin on Saturday night, a 75-year-old Milwaukee woman was killed and four others injured in an accident involving a semi tractor-trailer and a charter bus. The accident occurred about 50 miles northwest of Milwaukee at about 7:00 pm. Highway 33, on which the accident took place, was closed for almost ten hours. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel […]
Trucking Industry Objects to Proposed Cell Phone Restrictions on Truck Drivers
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, nearly 60,000 people were injured and 3,380 people were killed in truck crashes in 2009. Many of these deaths and injuries were caused by distracted truck drivers using cell phones. “Every time a commercial truck or bus driver takes his or her eyes off the road to use a cell […]
Rockford area father and son injured in semi-truck accident
Last week a father and son travelling in Toyota minivan sustained serious injuries in an accident on Illinois highway 75 when their vehicle collided head-on with a semi tractor trailer. According to an article from the Rockford Register Star, the accident occurred early Tuesday morning when the semi truck driver lost control of his rig which then […]
An Amtrak train and two semi-trucks collide near Elmwood
In a story that sounds like a lead-in to a bad joke, There was an accident earlier this week involving two semi-trucks and an Amtrak train at the intersection of Highway 53 and Explosive Road. Determining liability in multi-vehicle accidents can be complicated because there is often not just one single collision, but instead a […]
Study: A Sleep-Deprived Person Behind The Wheel Or In The Cockpit Is Just As Dangerous As A Drunken Driver
A comprehensive investigation into the effect that fatigue has on the ability to safely operate vehicles within the nations four major modes of transportation has revealed some daunting information about just how powerful fatigue is – and how lightly the responsible federal agencies seem to regard it. The Center for Public Integrity, a non-profit investigative […]
Recent Highway Construction Worker Fatalities Underscore The Importance Of Increasing Driver Awareness And Safety In Illinois
A 33-year-old construction worker who was killed September 17th when he was struck by a semi-truck in an Interstate 55 construction zone became the 22nd person – and third construction worker – to die in a work zone crash this year, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). The post-crash investigation resulted in the driver being […]
Daughter Of Trucking Crash Victim Hands Out First-Ever Top Trucking Safety Award – To VP Of Trucking Company That Killed Her Father
At this year’s Sleep Apnea and Trucking Conference, held on May 11-12 in Baltimore, Don Osterberg, vice president of safety and driver training for Green Bay, Wisconsin-based trucking company Schneider National, was presented with the first-ever Distinguished Safety Leadership award, which was created by the Truck Safety Coalition. Osterberg’s receipt of the award was an unexpected moment […]
