Issues on the Road

Driving a car is a rite of passage in many San Antonio communities and families. It is part responsibility and part fun, both a freedom and a taxation. This balance of safety and exploration is a goal most drivers try to maintain throughout their driving careers, but for a variety of reasons, that standard is not always as easy to meet as might be expected. The lawyers at Carabin Shaw have years of experience dealing with a wide range of issues on the road. Let our San Antonio truck accident attorney put those numerous winning strategies and countless hours of erudition to use for you.

Semi truck accidents and 18-wheeler accidents are leading the auto accident statistics in causation, especially those involved in the oil and gas industry. Over 300 oil and gas workers have been involved in highway accidents that led to fatal injuries for one or both drivers. This is one of the largest issues on the road today, and unfortunately, these numbers are expected to increase alongside continued oil drilling and fracking operations up and down the Eagle Ford Shale.

Safety advocates and federal officials estimate that more than 200,000 new oil and gas wells will appear across the nation over the course of the next decade. Several thousand of those will be installed near San Antonio, which means this threat will continue to grow year after year. Fortunately, our lawyers are prepared to handle this expected increase in trucking accidents, starting with you and your situation.

Another of the leading causes behind issues on the road is driver fatigue. Fatigue accounts for more accidents than any other cause among trucking crash statistics. Like any other trucking operation, more emphasis is put on speedy delivery of goods than the safe driving practices that adhere to state and federal regulations. As such, oil and gas lobbyists have asked representatives at several levels of government to grant what are called oil field exemptions to drivers travelling to and from oil and gas drilling and fracking sites. These would exempt such drivers from the safety standards governing hours worked, meaning that a driver originally contracted for 7 12-hour shifts in a row can now, by law, drive for 16, 18, or even 24 hours at a stretch without legal impunity.

However, as our attorneys are quick to point out, while that exemption may extend a trucker’s hours beyond a safe point, that does not indemnify them from justice when those practices lead to the harm of another San Antonio driver. Shifting the entire trucking industry’s focus from speed to safety is happening, but it takes time – sometimes too much time – to happen.

Our lawyers are prepared to make sure each and every victim we represent gets as much compensation as the law allows. Every time we win a case like this, it sends a message to trucking companies that use fatiguing practices that there will be a large financial price for such conduct and that victims who chose Carabin Shaw for representation will not be denied their rights.

If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of truck driver fatigue, even if you are unsure if fatigue was a factor, give our San Antonio office a call today. We will set up a free consultation to listen to your story, determine what evidence can be used to prove neglect or fatigue, explain how we might investigate other causes that led to your accident, and develop a legal strategy that ensures justice for you and your family members. Contact us at 210-222-2288 or toll-free at 800-862-1260 today.