According to NewsOk a tractor-trailer rig driver was killed this afternoon when he collided with another tractor-trailer on Interstate 35 at NE 122nd Street in Oklahoma City. According to the Oklahoma Highway patrol, the driver died when a rig traveling southbound on I-35 lost control and crossed over the cable median, hitting his tractor which was traveling northbound. The driver who lost control has been transferred to a nearby hospital where he is reportedly in good condition.
Currently, the northbound lanes of Interstate 35 at NE 122nd Street have been shut down as officers are investigating the accident. In the meantime, traffic is being diverted to Hefner Road.
In this case, it is unclear why the driver lost control of his rig. According to truck accident statistics compiled by McIntyre Law, 87.2% of trucking accidents involve driver error. This is a considerably high number compared to 10.1% attributed to vehicle malfunction and 2.3% attributed to environmental factors.
A prominent example of driver error in trucking accidents is driver fatigue. Drivers often report that falling asleep at the wheel was a critical reason why they were involved in a crash. Minor fatigue, inattention, or pressure from work are other reasons truckers have given for crashing.
We will follow this story to see if the investigating officers determine the cause of the crash. The experienced Oklahoma Truck Accident Attorneys at McIntyre Law have handled many cases involving trucking accidents where victims have been extremely hurt or killed. If you or a loved one has been involved in a trucking accident, please contact us to help you seek the compensation that you deserve.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the deceased.
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2 Comments
Terry Redding
This article appears as a news story when in fact it is an effort to drum up business. The statistics quoted here are from the law firms numbers probably directly relating to the cases they have taken on and or won. They are in no way indicative of Truck related accidents as a whole and quite honestly i find the article and the opinion of its writer to be inflamatory.
Passing Through
Approximately 45,000 traffic deaths happen each year in the US. Less than 10% involve a commercial vehicle. (The firms website stated 11% involving "large" commercial trucks. Maybe the 1% were small commercial trucks.) More than 80% of those accidents are the fault of the non-commercial driver and less than 5%, where the commercial driver was at fault, were due to driver fatigue.
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