Traveling through South Texas used to mean long drives down one or more of the lonely roads that criss-cross the region like State Hwy 83 and State Hwy 281. Motorists could often go for hours without seeing another vehicle. But over the past decade, urban development and the discovery of oil reserves in the Eagle Ford Shale, which stretches eastward for more than 400 miles from the Mexican border near Webb County and Maverick County, have created an array of new dangers for motorists.
The recent boom of rural development across South Texas, spanning from Laredo to Corpus Christi up to San Antonio and down to the Rio Grande Valley, is putting more and more commercial and industrial vehicles on public highways — and in the way of Texas drivers.
Eighteen-wheelers, tractor-trailers, dump trucks, cement trucks, oilfield trucks, fracking fluid carriers, tankers, cranes, hazardous chemical transportation trucks — heavy-duty vehicles like these are a recipe for disaster when they come into contact with the common car or pickup truck.
Scary Statistics
According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, highway crashes were to blame for almost 33% of the deaths of oilfield workers from 2003 to 2008 — and many, many of those involved typical passenger vehicles.
And with about 1,000 trucks and other large-scale transportation vehicles required to service a single well, oilfield production has made a casualty of many public roads across Texas. The Texas Transportation Department estimates it will take more than $2 billion dollars to repair the damage these trucks have caused.
If edge drop-offs, pot-holes, dangerous merging lanes, and other unexpected hazards on the road weren’t enough, Texas drivers are also endangered by the drivers of commercial and industrial vehicles themselves.
The San Antonio Express-News reported that many drivers feel pressured into taking 20-hour shifts on the road, a position that leaves them utterly fatigued and at risk of colliding with other drivers.
Hitting the Brakes
Garcia & Karam have spent decades standing up to injustice in the courtroom. Have you been involved in a crash or accident with an 18-wheeler or oil truck? Don’t be intimidated by large oil and transport companies — Garcia & Karam has the experience and the reputation you need to defend your rights before a judge or jury. We will work with you one-on-one to build a case that can win against their high-paid attorneys. Call us today for more information on how we can reverse the damage they’ve done to you.
A vehicle that’s been “lifted” can pose a special danger to the occupants of other cars on the road. A collision with one of these “monster truck” type vehicles can turn a minor collision into a serious and devastating one. Such was the case for our client, Desiree Mendoza.
Desiree was driving her 1999 Ford Mustang down a county road when she was struck by a Dodge Ram 2500 truck after the truck driver ran a stop sign. The truck was equipped with a five-inch “lift kit” and 37- inch over sized tires that raised the vehicle’s front bumper 9-10 inches higher than the truck’s stock configuration.
When the truck struck the car, the bumper “overrode” the hood and driver’s side door resulting in the intrusion of the bumper into the passenger compartment as shown below.
As a result of the intrusion, Desiree’s head came into contact with the steel bumper (instead of her airbag) as her head was moving forward during the collision. The impact caused Desiree to suffer a traumatic brain injury. Although her condition has improved somewhat over time, her injury is permanent and she will suffer from cognitive deficits for the rest of her life.
Manufacturers of these lift kits are protected b y a powerful lobbying organization, the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association (SEMA). Although a few states have imposed strict bumper height requirements, most do not. Texas has enacted regulation governing bumper heights, but it is so weak it may as well not exist. It basically allows most trucks to be modified without violating the lift law. In fact, the truck involved in this case would be legal to drive on the public roads of Texas.
One of our experts labeled these “lifted vehicles” the most dangerous vehicles on the road today. He was featured on Dateline in 1996 advocating for the regulation of these vehicles for use on public roadways. Based on his research and knowledge, he said that lifted trucks are 11 times more likely to cause a fatality than any other vehicle on the road.
The case involving Desiree Mendoza settled out of court for a confidential amount. If you have a case involving a lifted truck, or if you or a family member is involved in a collision with one of these vehicles, please call us immediately. We have the knowledge, expertise and financial resources available to prosecute your case.
By Rick Garcia
Require drivers of 15-passenger vans to possess a commercial driver’s license.
That’s my answer as I was struck this week by the futility of the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration’s latest warning about these vans. The warning was issued in the wake of fatal van roll-over crashes that claimed six lives in New York and four in Georgia in the last 30 days. Just two weeks ago I had reached an out of court settlement (link to story on GKwebsite about Taune Pepper settlement) involving the death of a 23-year-old woman in a fatal van roll over in Oregon last November.
All the crashes involved older 15-passenger vans operated by churches. All were overloaded, carrying 14 to 19 people. All involved ejection of passengers.
Since 2001, NHTSA has issued a steady stream of warnings about the instability of these vans, particularly when they are overloaded. While van manufacturers have added safety features over the years, such as electronic stability control and rear passenger seat belts, hundreds of thousands of older models lacking these features are still on the road. According to NHTSA, as of July 1, 2007 there were about 564,000 15-passenger vans registered in the US, and only 7 percent of the fleet were newer models manufactured after 2004.
Obviously, recalling and re-fitting these older vehicles would be impossible and beyond the financial means of many of the non-profits that operate them. And that still doesn’t address the problem that these vans, even new ones with safety feature, still are bigger and wider than normal vehicles and require special handling and experience.
For example, research by the NHTSA has found that the risk of a rollover crash is greatly increased when 10 or more people ride in a 15-passenger van. This increased risk occurs because the passenger weight raises the vehicle’s center of gravity and causes it to shift rearward. As a result, the van has less resistance to rollover, making it more difficult to control in an emergency situation. Placing any load on the roof also raises the center of gravity and increases the likelihood of a rollover, NHTSA said.
So why not require that 15-passenger van drivers possess a commercial driver’s license? A commercial license would require training. And it would test the driver’s knowledge of other critically important aspects of operating these vans, such as the impact of overloading. Although states set their own laws about driver’s licenses, the federal government oversees commercial licenses. Currently, a commercial license is required for drivers of vehicles with a capacity of 16 or more passengers. Lowering that requirement by one seat would save a lot of lives.
Meanwhile, what can consumers do who have to ride or whose loved ones have to travel in these vehicles?
- Insist on experienced, trained drivers (a commercial license is best)
- Insist that the van be equipped with seat belts, and use them at all times
- Insist that the van carry no more than 15 passengers. In fact, fewer than 10 passengers is much better.
For more information see
NHTSA’s top safety recommendations for operating these vans.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Q&A about the vans
By Rick Garcia
I stopped using Enterprise Rent-a-Car years ago because of a case we had that showed they made a practice of renting out cars with balding tires. If I needed a second reason, now I have one.
Enterprise also makes it a practice of renting out unfixed cars that have been recalled for safety reasons. In a story published in the New York Times, the company said it only carried out recalls that it considered “major” safety issues. [click to continue…]
Wrongful Death case against Kansas City-Texas Cable Partners LP, d/b/a Time Warner Cable and/or Time Warner Cable, Inc. and Individual Defendant In Texas.
A Time Warner Cable employee’s truck collided violently into a married couple’s vehicle while the employee was on the job. Both victims sustained severe personal injuries as a result of the collision. Despite a tough and courageous 3-month battle for his life, the husband died from this tragic event.
Rodriguez et al. vs. Ford/Firestone
For over a decade, Ford and Firestone covered up the deadly tire/SUV combination, which caused the tires on our client’s Ford Explorer to blow out. The result was tragic rollover crash which injured four family members, one severely and permanently. It was the first U.S. rollover lawsuit against the tire and auto manufacturers to go to trial. After just six days of evidence presentation to the jury, the corporations settled.
Arguelles et al. vs. Enterprise Rent-A-Car
In this case, the defendant failed to inspect and maintain safe tread in its rental car tires, resulting in the deaths of two men. Garcia & Karam won compensatory and punitive damages for the victims’ families. It was important to bring this case to the public’s attention. We showed how Enterprise Rent-A-Car failed to train or equip vehicle attendants to check for unsafe tire wear. Injury or death could have been avoided with a simple $2 tire tread tool.
Marcial vs. A.C. Best dba Best Road Boring Service
A Hidalgo County, Texas man was electrocuted when a crane operated by an employee of defendant came into contact with overhead power lines. The utility company that operated the lines was not notified before construction work began, as specifically mandated by their contract with the City of Mission. This failure directly led to the tragic event. Our case successfully proved that the defendant failed to maintain a safe job site and to warn of dangerous conditions.
A Florida jury has confirmed that Goodyear G159 tires – long marketed for use on motor homes – have no business being on RVs and are downright dangerous.
The tires were originally designed for regional delivery vehicles and speed-rated for 65 miles per hour. Goodyear marketed them for a decade, beginning in the 1990s to 2004, even though it knew they tended to overheat on RVs, which typically travel at higher speeds with heavier loads over longer periods of time.
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