Personal Injury Law

Trucker Charged with DUI

By Jeffrey Lowe

A trucker who crashed her semi and spilled aluminum onto an interstate in Nashville was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving.

The accident occurred June 10 on eastbound Interstate 40. According to WSMV (Ch. 4), Nashville, the truck driver didn?t notice a curve in the highway. She lost control, drove through the grass and onto the Interstate 440 on-ramp then hit the retainer wall and flipped the big rig on its side.

After smelling alcohol, police tested the truck driver and discovered she was above the limit established for both commercial drivers and regular motorists.

John Pepper of the Metro Police Department said:

?The state of Tennessee requires that a truck driver, number one, shouldn?t be drinking at all when their behind the wheel. But their limit for alcohol is much lower than the average driver that would be operating a standard motor vehicle. In this case, the tractor-trailer driver was significantly above even that level.?

Fortunately, no one was hurt.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration?s Large Truck Crash Causation Study, alcohol played a role in one percent of all truck crashes involved in fatal accidents. Illegal drug use played a role in two percent of all truck crashes involved in fatal accidents.

Drinking and driving is a poor choice for any driver. However, when a trucker drives under the influence, the stakes are even higher. The average car weighs only 3,500 pounds while a fully-loaded tractor-trailer can weigh as much as 80,000 pounds.

If you have been hurt or a loved one has been hurt or died as a result of a truck driver's carelessness, contact The Lowe Law Firm Missouri/Illinois trucking-accident lawyers online or by calling 877-678-3400.

Visit our Truck-Accident Information Center.

Full post as published by Trucking Accident Attorney Blog on June 11, 2008 (boomark / email).