High Winds Caused a Truck Accident?

Wyoming Truck Accident Attorney Explains Liability

Video Transcript:

Grant Lawson: 

The higher the profile, the taller a trailer stands and the lighter it is, the more susceptible it is to those big winds coming in and just knocking them over or causing them to be all over the road.

Rob Rosenthal: 

Are high winds making Wyoming roads even more dangerous for drivers, and what can you do? Well, we're gonna find out right now because we're gonna ask those questions and more on this episode of Ask The Lawyer. Hi again, everybody. I'm Rob Rosenthal with askthelawyers.com. My guest is Wyoming attorney, Grant Lawson with the Metier Law Firm. I wanna remind you right upfront, if you wanna talk to Grant and ask questions of your own, you just go to askthelawyers.com, Click the button at the top of the page that says, "Ask A Lawyer," and it'll walk you right through the very simple process. Or you can call the phone number that's on the screen during our conversation. Grant, it's always good to see you. Thank you for helping us out again.

Grant Lawson: 

You bet, Rob. Thanks for letting me join you guys again.

Rob Rosenthal: 

So I'm seeing news stories about really high winds there in Wyoming and they are causing them to even shut down some roads. Tell us what's going on.

Grant Lawson: 

Yeah. So we've had literally hurricane force winds going on over the last week here in Wyoming. A lot of it has to do with the jet stream and the way that the weather pattern off the West Coast is set up. And it's causing, essentially a wind tunnel effect here in Wyoming, and we're getting these just awful, awful winds, sustained 50-70 mile an hour winds with gusts above that even in certain areas, and it's making it dangerous on our roads. And we're having a lot of truck blow overs, we're having wrecks, we're having all sorts of safety issues, and the roads are getting closed down and have been closed down for days on end. So yes, it's been a really tough situation, especially during the Christmas and holiday season when our trucking industry is so dependent on being able to get through Wyoming and be able to deliver those loads. So it's a challenging time.

Rob Rosenthal: 

So are there some vehicles that are more affected? I know you've mentioned the trucks. I'm guessing because of the high-profile, they're especially vulnerable to these things?

Grant Lawson: 

Yeah, absolutely. So a lot of the closures have been at least for high-profile, light loads or light trucks. So a lot of times, not every truck or tractor trailer is at the same weight. There's different kinds of loads. And so some loads are lighter than others, or some trucks with their trailers are empty. Those are the most susceptible. Anything that's very high, high-standing trailer without weight in it, whether it's empty or just a light load, those are dangerous. The wind, it just wreaks havoc on those and can send those tractor trailers sent on their side or all over the road, which makes it even more dangerous for other drivers because it can cause interaction between those vehicles. So yes, the higher the profile, the taller a trailer stands and the lighter it is, the more susceptible it is to those big winds coming in and just knocking them over or cause them to be all over the road.

Rob Rosenthal: 

So let's say someone is in a crash with an 18-wheeler, they're injured, and it's determined that it's because of the high winds. Is that something the driver could be held responsible for? Or is that just, "Well, it's an act of nature nobody could do anything about?"

Grant Lawson: 

No, absolutely, these truck drivers are required to comply with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulation 392.14, which is taking extreme caution in hazardous weather conditions. So for example, here in Wyoming, and other States are doing this too, they're issuing these warnings. WYDOT is doing a great job putting out an app, a new Wyoming 511 app, and tweeting multiple different tweets about what is going on with our weather. There's all sorts of resources for the trucking industry, truck drivers and the companies to be able to track what's going on and what the forecasting is gonna be. And so these truck drivers know and should know well in advance coming into Wyoming that they're gonna be encountering these high winds and planning accordingly, which means either staying off the road or they're gonna have to drive a lot, lot slower and safer. That's their requirement. That's their duty under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regs and their CDL requirements and the State laws. That they either, one, wait it out if they're light, their load is too light and too tall. Or they have to slow down considerably and take extreme caution in driving across our State to prevent those types of wrecks and accidents from happening. Not only to protect themselves from getting hurt, but to protect the other motorists out there, the traveling public.

Rob Rosenthal: 

You were talking earlier about the pressure to get these loads delivered, and we've talked in the past about the pressure that sometimes the trucking companies put on the drivers to maybe push the limits of safety. I gotta think if they're going, "Oh, no, we may be sitting still for a day or two or three because of these winds," there's probably pressure being put on to take a chance.

Grant Lawson: 

Yeah, absolutely. Unfortunately, most truck drivers out there are being paid by the mile, so they're incentivized that they gotta get those miles in. They gotta make a load trip from point A to point B, from picking it up to dropping it off, and they get paid by those miles that they travel. And so the incentive is for them to be on the road and be driving as much as they can, legally and safety-wise that they can. But when they're at this juncture where, "Well, it's windy. I don't know. Should I drive? I gotta get paid. This load needs to be there. My supervisor, the dispatcher's calling me. They're on my case." It puts pressure on these drivers. And that's not talked about enough out there in the industry, that these drivers are forced to drive long hours, sometimes in dangerous conditions, and they're being pressured, not only by their paycheck, but by their companies to get those loads transported. So yeah, unfortunately, the system is set up in a way that puts a lot of pressure on these drivers, and there needs to be a lot of thought going into how can we make this safer? How can we make this better? What's a change to the overall industry, that holds these employers accountable too, not to force drivers to take chances and risks when they don't need to do that, when it's too dangerous?

Rob Rosenthal: 

From what you and I were talking before, it doesn't seem like snow has been an issue yet, but I would imagine if you have these high winds and you mix with snow, that could create even more hazardous conditions.

Grant Lawson: 

Yeah, especially here in Wyoming. And any truck driver who's been through Wyoming on I-80 in the winter time knows that even a two inch snow storm, when those winds pick up to 50, 60 mile an hour plus, two inches of snow is... You might as well have had a foot of snow, it's a full on ground blizzard. It's dangerous. And so any time we get these snow storms, not only is it dangerous during the snow storm, but after the storm, when the wind finally kicks up, it's even worse, that's the most dangerous period is when the roads are getting caked and covered in ice, and the visibility is reduced. And then also, of course, the wind pushing these trucks around, that is why we see not only many days, weeks of time in Wyoming where the interstates are shut down every winter due to these dangerous conditions.

Rob Rosenthal: 

What's your advice, Grant for people in passenger vehicles who are on the roads at the same time as some of these high-profile vehicles, what's your advice for them?

Grant Lawson: 

Any local in Wyoming, somebody who's lived here will say, "You know, I don't drive I-80 in the winter time," and that may be an exaggeration, 'cause everybody probably has to drive it at some point, but I think you gotta take real due care. You gotta take time to plan out, "Hey, am I gonna have to drive on this with these trucks with bad weather, am I gonna have to slow way down? Are there different routes that I can take? Will I have the time to stop and wait it out if I need to? How much is it worth me driving?" [chuckle] Number one, should I really be making this trip? But what other alternative routes are available and will I have the time to be able to drive slow and be patient and practice just absolute defensive driving?" 'Cause you're gonna be in a lot of white knuckle conditions driving through Wyoming the winter, especially if you do it quite a bit. And so those are all considerations for people who are gonna be driving on our interstates and roads during the winter time here in Wyoming and all through the Rocky Mountain West, Colorado, Montana, you name it.

Rob Rosenthal: 

What if someone is in a crash and injured, say with a truck, Grant, and they're not sure if the winds or other weather conditions contributed, what's your advice, What should they do?

Grant Lawson: 

Well, I think they need to contact somebody to help them look into that immediately, a lot of times the Highway Patrol or law enforcement that's involved, they may be too busy to really do a thorough investigation into what happened, or they may be dealing with multiple crashes as we see here in Wyoming, a lot of times when the roads get bad, it's not just one accident, there's an entire chain of accidents throughout the area where the roads are dangerous, and so your best bet, if you're involved in a crash, you've been injured, seriously injured or somebody in your family is tragically killed in one of these wrecks on our interstates and highways, you gotta call a qualified, trained, experienced lawyer who knows how to get an investigator involved, how to get the information preserved and the data preserved and the records and the evidence preserved and get all the information put together so that everything is being protected for your interests, for your family's interests, so that everything is done the best way it can possibly get done.

Rob Rosenthal: 

Really helpful information as always, Grant, thank you for making some time to help us out and answer our questions.

Grant Lawson: 

Yeah, absolutely. Thanks Rob and everybody out there, please stay safe, really think about what you're doing when you're driving in the winter through the mountain States in the Rocky Mountains, so thanks guys.

Rob Rosenthal: 

Great advice. And that's gonna do it for this episode of Ask the Lawyer. My guest has been Wyoming attorney Grant Lawson with the Metier Law Firm. And I remind you, if you'd like to ask Grant questions about your situation, go to askthelawyers.com, click the button at the top that says, "Ask a Lawyer." And it doesn't cost you anything to ask questions or you can call the phone number that was on the screen during our conversation. Thanks for watching, I'm Rob Rosenthal with Ask the Lawyers.

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