Hayneville, AL Truck Accident Lawyer

Truck accidents are one of the most severe types of collision you can experience on Alabama roads. When a semi-truck weighing up to 80,000 pounds hits a passenger vehicle weighing about 5,000 pounds, the results are usually life-altering injuries and death to the occupants of the car.

A truck is defined as a vehicle that is heavier than an SUV. That will include a delivery truck, tow truck, work truck, or an 18-wheeler. According to the state Department of Transportation, a bus is not considered a truck. 

The most important thing following the big rig accident will be collecting evidence before it disappears from the scene.

If you have had a collision with a big truck, after taking care of any medical emergencies, you will want to call the law office of attorney Chip Nix. He has decades of experience helping truck accident victims in their time of need.

Hayneville, Alabama History

The town was named for Robert Y. Hayne, governor of South Carolina and a US senator. Alabama cotton growers and plantation owners came from South Carolina in 1820, purchasing land from the US Land Office.

The town is about 85 percent African American and has a rich and troubling history of racial strife. Known as a Black Belt region, Hayneville had plantations that used slave labor for producing cotton.

Voting rights activists visited the area in 1965 to help register black voters, none of whom were registered, despite the majority population. Before plantations, settlers removed the indigenous Muscogee Creek people from their lands to the west.

Where Alabama Truck Accidents Occur

Hayneville is surrounded by interstates, state roads, and county roads trucking goods across the state and into neighboring states. Most American goods are still shipped by trucks, which cover more than 200 billion miles a year.

Trucking is the dominant mode of transportation for 80 percent of all goods in Alabama. Unfortunately, an increase in trucks on the roads shared with passenger vehicles means an increase in the number of deadly trucking accidents.

For example, in 2019, the state reports that 36.5 percent of fatal road accidents involving a truck occurred on state routes, while 29.9% happened on the interstate.

I-21 travels from Montgomery straight through Hayneville and continues southwest. Traveling from the north is AL 97, from Lowndesboro south to interstate-65, a major roadway traveling south from Montgomery to Mobile.

According to Drive Safe Alabama, most auto accident fatalities occur in rural areas, while crashes generally occur within urban areas (75%).

For example, in 2019, the state reports that 36.5 percent of fatal road accidents involving a truck occurred on state routes, while 29.9% happened on the interstate.

In Alabama, US Routes accounted for 14.6%, country roads 11.7%, and city roads 7.3%. According to state stats, county roads and interstates saw about 60% of crashes.

Alabama drivers have a greater than two-in-five chance of being involved in a crash that results in injury or fatalities over their lifetime, according to 2020 Alabama Crash Facts.

Cause of Hayneville Alabama Truck Accidents

There were 10,486 truck crashes in Alabama in 2019. According to the state DOT, these took the lives of 137 people and injured 2,612.

Like drivers of passenger vehicles, truck drivers are subject to the same factors leading to accidents.

Tired driving is a particular problem for trucks that can drive up to 11 hours a day before stopping. But we have found that some drivers keep a second set of books and actually spend much longer on the road to deliver goods, especially when there is a financial incentive to get the products there quicker.

That may be the same reason that drug use is seen among truck drivers.

According to state crash statistics, the causes of Truck Accidents in Alabama include:

• An improper lane change
• Failure to yield the right of way
• An unseen object, person, or vehicle on the road
• Tailgating,
• Misjudging the stopping distance
• Improper backing
• Defective equipment
• Improper turn
• Avoiding an animal object or person
• Failure to heed a signal or sign
• Crossing the median or centerline
• Driving too fast for the conditions
• Fatigue
• Improper passing
• Running off the road
• Driving Under the Influence
• Driving over the speed limit

Your Alabama Truck Accident Lawyer

When it comes to a Hayneville big truck accident, we will need to determine who is the at-fault party. That could be the driver, the trucking company that contracted the driver, or the individuals who loaded the rig.

Evidence will need to be collected at the scene, including physical evidence and a background check on the driver and his training.

Is there a DASH camera on the truck, recording conditions on the road and even the accident itself?

The black box recorder on the truck will tell us the time of the collision, the speed of the large truck, and if the driver used his brakes to stop. Many trucking companies also use satellite tracking equipment to provide the electronic data we need to win your case.

The law office of Chip Nix will look to see if the truck was in good driving condition, the last time that it was inspected, and the safety of the tires.

The drivers’ hours-of-service logs will tell us how long the driver had been on the road before the accident. The operator is limited to 11 hours after 10 hours off duty.

In addition, some trucking companies will lower their standards when it comes to hiring to get as many drivers as possible on the road to increase their deliveries and profits. There are times when safety may take a back seat.

Attorney Chip Nix has four decades of experience assisting victims of someone else’s negligence. If you have been injured or a loved one lost their life due to a truck driver’s carelessness, contact our office today.

During a complimentary consultation, we can determine whether you are entitled to compensation for your car’s damage or the injuries or death that resulted. You may also be entitled to receive medical bill coverage, the cost of rehabilitation, and even punitive damages in a wrongful death action.

Call the law office of attorney Chip Nix at 334-203-6669 to schedule a complimentary consultation on your auto accident. 

Sources:

Alabama DOT
https://www.dot.state.al.us/publications/Design/pdf/safetyPlanning/2019FactsBook.pdf