Escalon, CA (October 6, 2016) – A man was killed and five other people were injured in a multi-vehicle crash on Highway 120 on Monday, October 3, 2016. The crash occurred at about 5:05 p.m. during regular commuting hours on the eastbound Highway 120 at Main Street. Two men and three women suffered injuries of various levels.
A fiery six-vehicle crash involving a semi-truck before 6 a.m. on Wednesday, April 27, 2016, on Interstate Highway 580 in Pleasanton, California took the life of the driver of a BMW. A big-rig slammed into the BMW which caught fire. The driver, a 43-year old man from Brentwood, was trapped inside and died. Although other vehicles also caught fire in the chain reaction accident, no other drivers or occupants were seriously injured.
The fatal Highway 580 fatal crash highlights the vulnerability of people traveling in cars when a large truck accident occurs. Each year nearly 2,500 persons in cars drivers and passengers die in accidents across America involving a large truck.
As explained by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, “trucks often weigh 20-30 times as much as passenger cars and are taller with greater ground clearance, which can result in smaller vehicles underriding trucks in crashes.”
Today’s question comes from Marisol S. in South San Francisco who asks “my friend was on the Greyhound bus that crashed on Monday. They say that the driver may have been too tired and fell asleep. Isn’t the bus company supposed to make sure that the drivers aren’t drunk or falling asleep? How can they let someone who is falling asleep drive a bus? What laws apply? What are her rights?”
A 2014 California collision between a semi truck, a passenger car and a motorcoach led to an extensive investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. That investigation culminated in the NTSB releasing several recommendations designed to improve highway safety. The accident claimed the lives of 10 people, some of which might have been saved if the safety measures had been in place beforehand.
The traffic fatality data from 2013 has been released. The U.S. Transportation Department announced the results of the report and the news is largely positive. In 2013, traffic fatalities dropped 3.1 percent to a total of 32,719. The news was not all positive, however. Large-truck accident deaths rose for the fourth consecutive year. In addition, the total number of crashes rose. Those crashes were obviously survived at a greater rate, but the collisions themselves are still up. With fatalities down overall, more attention will likely be paid to the areas where safety has not improved.
The trucking industry has voiced concerns about its ability to attract qualified drivers in recent years. It has also argued that federal regulations are threatening to make commercial trucking too expensive for consumers. Among the federal regulations it has worked hardest to prevent are those restricting the number of hours a driver can operate his or her vehicle in a given time period. Trucking companies may have found a way to loosen those restrictions this week.
Authorities say that a truck hit a highway median while attempting to pass a slower-moving car last Wednesday morning on Interstate 10.
A Daly City motorcyclist was severely injured after being hit by a San Francisco fire truck. KGO-TV reports that the fire truck driver appears to have been under the influence.
Surveillance video of the scene shows the ladder truck hitting the motorcyclist after running a red light. The 50-year-old motorcyclist suffered a punctured lung, neck and back injuries, and broken bones in his legs, ankles, foot and ribs.
A major truck accident shut down Highway 12 in Suisun City yesterday morning. The California Highway Patrol says that two big rigs were involved in an accident shortly after 5 a.m.
One of the trucks appears to have rear-ended another. At least one person is dead.