Category Archives: Semi Trucks

Self-Driving Tesla Involved in Fatal Traffic Accident

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Self driving cars are the wave of the future. That is what you will hear from the people at Google and electric car manufacturer, Tesla. Manufacturers state that the technology is foolproof and completely safe. Unfortunately, this may not be true as of yet. News hit the wires over the weekend that a motorist whose Tesla vehicle was on autopilot while driving in Florida, was involved in a fatal car crash with semi tractor trailer.  According to news reports On May 7th at 3:40 p.m. on U.S. in Williston, Florida, 45-year-old Joshua Brown was killed when his Tesla Model S went under the trailer of an 18-wheel semi and the roof of his car was torn off by the impact.

According to Tesla’s press release, this is their assessment of what happened:

“Autopilot engaged when a tractor trailer drove across the highway perpendicular to the Model S. Neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied. The high ride height of the trailer combined with its positioning across the road and the extremely rare circumstances of the impact caused the Model S to pass under the trailer, with the bottom of the trailer impacting the windshield of the Model S.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk also responded fatal traffic accident on twitter. He stated that the Tesla’s radar did not detect the truck because of its height, and thus the radar probably confused it with an overhead traffic sign.

This is obviously a sad and tragic event. But it also proves that self driving cars are not immune to car accidents, let alone traffic fatalities. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is currently investigating the accident. How does this event affect the family and/or estate of the deceased driver? Well, if it is found that the truck was at fault for negligently pulling out in front of the deceased, then the truck driver could be held accountable in a normal negligence and wrongful death cause of action. The family could also sue Tesla under a product liability or auto defect count. Their attorneys could plead and argue (with expert testimony) that Tesla’s safety system was defectively designed and built because it could not properly detect the difference between a truck and an overhead highway traffic sign.

Regardless, I believe it is fair to say the self driving vehicles are not completely safe and there may need to be modifications as the technology moves forward.

If you or someone you love has been seriously injured in a Chicago car accident or from a Chicago auto defect, then call Chicago personal injury lawyer, Aaron J. Bryant, for a free legal consultation at 312-614-1076.

Does Sneezing And Causing An Accident Fall Under The “Act of God” Defense

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I have written over and over about the many things that can distract drivers. Of course, the most obvious is texting and phone use. Others have included everything for tooling with the radio to eating and driving. All of these activities can be very dangerous as all it takes is second or two of lost concentration for a car accident to occur.

The Chicago Sun Times reported some odd news last week when a semi-truck driver’s ill-timed sneeze sent his rig rolling onto its side Monday morning in northwest Indiana. The driver, a 48-year-old Hobart man, was not hurt in the crash, which happened on a ramp from State Route 249 to I-94 near Portage, according to Indiana State Police. As the driver entered the ramp, he started to sneeze, which caused the truck to run off the roadway and onto a grassy area where the rig rolled onto its side, State Police said.

Luckily there were no injuries to the driver and the roll over didn’t cause any other traffic accidents. I think it would be tough here to put any blame on the driver as this may fit into the “act of god” category rather than any negligence on his part. Similar “act of god” situations include suffering a heart attack, stroke or seizure while behind the wheel and causing a traffic accident. In these situations it is difficult to prove liability on the part of the driver who caused the accident, and often times defense attorneys are successful in dismissing claims or reducing liability when there is the “act of god” defense. Regardless, luckily no one was injured as this was a semi-truck accident. Because of these kind of incidents, motorists, especially motorcycle riders, are highly advised to hire an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer in Manhattan who will fight to win them the compensation they deserve.

If you or someone you love has been seriously injured in a Chicago truck accident or Chicago car crash, then call Chicago personal injury lawyer, Aaron Bryant, for a free legal consultation at 312-614-1076.

Illinois Increases Speed Limit For Semi Trucks to 65 MPH

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Illinois truck drivers are celebrating in the streets from Belleville to Joliet. Well, maybe not, but truckers are definitely happy as a new law will allow them to drive 65 mph on interstate highways outside of St. Louis and Chicago.

Governor Quinn signed the bill, and it goes into effect on January 1, 2010. 

“Its very long time overdue,” says Canadian carrier Jack Wyszotski.

“I appreciate being able to set it on cruise control at 60 miles per hour and being able to cruise on through Illinois,” explains driver Jo Anne Nelson. “Because it’s a long state from north to south, and it takes a long time at the “double nickel.””

Nelson has been a trucker for more than 20 years and has logged more than 2-million accident free miles behind the wheel. She says, this isn’t only about convenience, its about safety…

“More than anything else, you can flow with the traffic, which is better than being held up and holding up traffic. I think its really a reasonable thing. Its more dangerous the other way.”

lllinois is one of the last states in the nation to increase their semi-truck speed limit.  This will hopefully make the interstates safer. We will see.

To read the complete story about this law change, click here.

If you or someone you know has been involved in an Illinois car accident or  an Illinois truck accident, then call attorney Aaron Bryant for a free consultation at 312-588-3384.