Wisconsin Truck Accident Law : Trucking Injury Lawyer & Attorney for Lawsuits in Milwaukee, Madison, Kenosha, La Crosse WI

The most dangerous interstate truck and bus companies will have to install and maintain Electronic On-Board Recorders. The rule issued by the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration was passed several months ago, but takes effect on June 4, 2010. Now the most egregious of hours of service violators will be required to record their drivers' hours of service.

If, during a compliance review, the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration finds that a motor carrier has a 10 percent or more violation rate for any of the hours of service regulations, that carrier will have to install the Electronic On-Board Recorders in their entire fleet of semi-trucks or buses. The Electronic On-Board Recorders must remain in place, in working order, for at least two years.

The Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration has predicted that the rule will result in the installation of Electronic On-Board Recorders in approximately 5,700 trucks over the next two years.

In addition to the carriers that a required to install the Electronic On-Board Recorders, many carriers are expected to voluntarily install such devices. It is obviously the hope of the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration that the utilization of Electronic On-Board Recorders will reduce truck accidents throughout the United States.

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A Wisconsin truck driver was injured Thursday morning on Highway 151 near Fond du Lac when the cattle truck he was hauling tipped over. The truck driver, 55 year-old Patrick T. DeGeneffe, of Chilton, Wisconsin, sustained serious injuries after being trapped in his cab after his tractor trailer overturned. DeGeneffe had to take Flight for Life from the scene to Theda Clark Medical Center in Neenah. DeGeneffe was hauling 11 cows and 2 steers. Many of the animals were also injured.

According to the Wisconsin State Patrol, the cattle truck, was traveling southbound on the bypass near the Fond du Lac County T intersection, when it was forced to swerve to avoid a gray SUV that had pulled out in front of him from Fourth Street. The SUV turned from Fourth Street to proceed south on the bypass. This forced DeGeneffe to take evasive action, resulting in his truck going into the northbound lanes and then back to the west, turning onto its left side and skidding to a stop in the median.

It is not clear whether anyone else witnessed the gray vehicle cause the accident. In order for DeGeneffe to be allowed to pursue an Uninsured Motorist claim for his injuries, the new Wisconsin law regarding Uninsured Motorist claims requires that the accident be witnessed an an "Independent Third Party."

Authorities are still searching for the gray SUV. Anyone with information about the SUV or the accident in general are urged to contact the Wisconsin State Patrol at (920) 929-3700. Hopefully, someone will come forward with additional information about the accident.

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Contact an experienced Wisconsin Truck Accident Attorney.

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In what must be a shock to the truck crash victims’ families, the Outagamie County District Attorney’s office has decided not to file charges against the truck driver that killed two people and injured several others. The Outagamie County D.A.’s office claims that there was not enough evidence to prove charges of homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle, because there was no evidence that the truck driver, Michael Kaiser, knew that his conduct created a substantial and unreasonable risk of death.

The semi-truck crash involved a 7 car pileup on Highway 41 in Outagamie County ten months ago. Investigators for the Wisconsin State Patrol downloaded data from the semi-truck’s Electronic Control Module (ECM-similar to a black box in a plane), which revealed that the semi-truck had the cruise control set at 64 miles per hour as the truck entered a construction zone with slowing traffic. The investigation report goes on to state the following:

In completing this reconstruction, no vehicle, highway, or environmental factors were identified as being contributory to this incident. Rather, the proximate cause of the collision is cited as the Freightliner operator’s lack of attention to the operation of his vehicle and to the approaching stop condition. It is believed that vehicles slowing near the Holland road overpass would have been visible. Furthermore, although the author did not identify any highway factors as being contributory to the incident, the presence of the “Road Work Ahead” and construction barrels should have raised the driver’s awareness level to the possibility of changing traffic conditions. Given the truck’s configuration and compliance with federal standards, it is believed that the driver could have stopped the vehicle in order to avoid the collision.

In contrast, Powertrain Control Module (PCM) data from one of the involved vehicles shows it slowing from approximately 24 miles per hour for over 20 seconds before it was struck. In the area of the collision, orange construction barrels lined the roadway, and the Freightliner had passed official signs indicating ‘Road Work Ahead.’” See the image below:

Truck drivers are trained to know that such conduct can create a substantial and unreasonable risk of death. If Michael Kaiser did not know this, then he should have known this. The Wisconsin CDL Manual, which Kaiser was required to comply with, states the following:

Slow down and be very careful if you see any of the following road hazards:

Work zones. When people are working on the road, it is a hazard. There may be narrower lanes, sharp turns or uneven surfaces. Other drivers are often distracted and drive unsafely. Workers and construction vehicles may get in the way. Drive slowly and carefully near work zones. Use your 4-way flashers or brake lights to warn drivers behind you.

What is especially appalling and upsetting to the victims’ families is that the semi-truck driver, Michael Kaiser, refused to cooperate with the investigation. In the statement he did provide authorities, he estimated his speed at 50 mph as he approached the slowing traffic. This statement directly contradicts the ECM data showing his cruise set at 64 mph.

Hopefully, Kaiser and his employer will be held accountable civilly for this easily avoidable crash

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In May of 2008, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) State Vice President Mike Card provided testimony to the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee wherein he indicated that many trucking companies are going out of business or barely surviving. According to the ATA, 935 trucking companies with at least five trucks went out of business in the first quarter of 2008, marking the highest mark since the third quarter of 2001. Mr. Card testified that the downturn in the economy and a decrease in demand for freight transportation were also contributing factors. However, he made it clear that the high price of diesel was the primary driving force behind the struggles of most trucking companies.

The skyrocketing increase in fuel prices have led many trucking experts to conclude that the number of semi-truck accidents will increase as truck drivers and trucking companies are forced to make up for the increase in operating costs.

Many attorneys specializing in representing victims of semi-truck accidents expect to see an increase in the number truck accidents due to the increase in fuel prices. These attorneys know that in order for truck drivers and trucking companies to realize the same amount of profit as prior years, they must account for the sharp increase in operating costs due to the rise in fuel prices. Truck drivers and trucking companies are left with three options: one, pass the cost down to their customers; two, make up for the increase in costs by driving more hours; or three, some combination of the first two options.

Since 1939, the federal government has limited the number of hours truck drivers can operate without rest. The current law imposes the following restrictions:

• Truck drivers can drive a maximum of 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty.
• Truck drivers cannot drive beyond the 14th hour after coming on duty, following 10 consecutive hours off duty.
• Truck drivers cannot drive after 60/70 hours on duty in 7/8 consecutive days. A driver may restart a 7/8 consecutive day period after taking 34 or more consecutive hours off duty.
• Truck drivers using a sleeper berth must take 10 hours off duty, but may split sleeper-berth time into two periods provided neither is less than 2 hours.

The federal driving hours restrictions, commonly referred to as the “hours of service” restrictions, have been enacted to help prevent tractor-trailer accidents due to fatigue. Truck drivers and trucking companies are required to maintain driving logs detailing the number of hours driven by truck drivers. The hours of service requirements are in place in an attempt to balance safety issues with the ability of truck drivers and trucking companies to earn profits. Experts fear that the increase in operating expenses due to increased fuel costs will result in additional violations of hours of service requirements, which will ultimately lead to an increase in truck accidents due to driver fatigue.

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