Are we any safer?

I just returned from a three-day trucking conference in Texas where I furthered my education on truck accident cases. Often the most serious and even fatal injuries happen when people tangle with a semi-truck. Therefore, I need to know everything I can about trucks and traumatic injuries. I have spent a good part of the last five years flying to scenes of crashes, going to truck driving school, meeting with families and fighting in court on behalf of people whose lives have been upended by these tragic crashes. At the heart of each of these cases is a death or life changing injury that could have been avoided.

I have represented parents, pedestrians, widows and widowers, children, seniors and even truck drivers who survived a tangle with another truck. On the way to this conference I passed the scene of two serious crashes, one involving a horrific fire. Sadly, truck accidents are not few and far between.

I have been around trucks my entire life and through obtaining my CDL and going to trucking conferences, I have learned so much more. I am amazed at the safety equipment on the new rigs. Improved mirrors, speed governors, dash cams, blind side monitoring, emergency braking and the list goes on. But are we any safer? With all the safety equipment comes more and more distraction. Cell phones and televisions in the cab, radios, video games and movies are just some of the ways that drivers (and certainly not just truck drivers) pass the time.

There are more trucks on the road than ever. Most truck drivers are professional and safe but the few that aren’t easily terrorize the roadway. What is your opinion? Do new advances and technologies make the roadways safer?