As a motorist, you may not be aware of an extreme danger caused by poorly regulated log trucks traveling most of our roads and highways in South Georgia.
Our firm successfully represented the family of a young mother who was unnecessarily killed in an accident with a log truck and more recently, we represented a man severely injured by a dangerously loaded log truck.
A log protruding more than 30 feet off the rear of the log truck, crashed through our client’s windshield, striking the driver and causing multiple life-threatening injuries while the entire section of log continued through the passenger compartment exiting diagonally through the right rear passenger window. Thankfully, there were no passengers in the car at the time.
Our client had done nothing wrong. The log truck, with its load hanging 30 feet off the back end of the truck, was in a left turn lane and in the process of making a left turn. Our client, innocently driving to work, was in the lane to the truck’s right when the overhanging logs swung over into his lane crashing through his windshield causing serious bodily harm. The term for this is "tail swing" and it is extremely dangerous!
The photographs below illustrate how the load of an improperly loaded log truck endangers all motorists in its vicinity, and our investigation of this case confirmed that grossly overloading log trucks in our area is a widespread practice. Georgia law only requires that the length of the loaded vehicle not exceed 100 feet, but there are no restrictions on how far logs may protrude off the rear of the vehicle.
Our best advice is to not ever drive close or even in the next lane to a truck whose load extends more than a few feet past its rear wheels. If the truck turns, the load will not follow the truck, but will swing over into the next lane, striking anything in its path-tail swing! Our client, who was driving below the speed limit, in his own lane, is only alive today because an EMS unit was at the same intersection at the exact time the collision occurred and was able to render immediate aid. After much investigation, locating an eyewitness and doing extensive discovery, we were able to successfully settle this “tail swing” case through mediation for our client.
The Nash Law Firm represents many people injured or killed in serious truck and automobile accidents and we welcome any questions you may have. There is no charge for an initial consultation.