What Some Jury Members and Clients
Say About Ammons Law Firm Lawyers
-Michael G., Former Client
-Veronica A., Former Client
"Thank you very much for all the work that you did on our behalf. I really appreciate everything that you all did, as well as your professionalism and the timely manner in which you got things done.
Also, please give our thanks to your staff who were so helpful when we had questions! If we have need of your services or if we know anyone else who does anytime in the future, we will certainly give you a call! Thank you again for everything."
-Lynda P., Former Client
"A little over two years ago I received a telephone call that all parents dread to hear. The person on the other line simply said, “Your daughter has been in an accident”. Well here I was 1500 miles away from her , trying to absorb the rest of the conversation, trying to stay focused enough to get the details. Shortly after I arrived in Texas my lovely daughter of 38 years passed away from injuries sustained from a motorcycle accident.
I won’t continue this story, however what I will say is, when things calmed down a little, I knew I must become a voice for my daughter. Though a chain of events our family was introduced to the Ammons Law Firm of Houston, Texas.
From the first initial contact with Mr. Robert Ammons and his staff, I hung up the telephone feeling as if I and my family were in good hands. We had constant contact from Ohio to Texas via the telephone and the computer for two years. The staff made all the arrangements anytime I had to fly to Texas and made sure I had comfortable accommodations while I was there.
My family and I were kept abreast of the progress for our case on a regular basis. Anytime I had any questions, the staff was polite, informative, and punctual with the answers.
I am very satisfied with the level of concern and commitment Mr. Ammons and his staff displayed from the beginning to the conclusion of our association.
I would highly recommend this law firm to anyone who might be seeking one.
Thank You Mr. Ammons and your staff."
-Sandra T., Former Client
"I would like to thank you and your staff for all that you have done for us. When we started talking to you, we started to feel confident that it would be handled with understanding and care. You and your staff showed us the utmost courtesy and kindness, even when I broke down in the bathroom. I would like to thank you again for your understanding, caring and the swiftness that you handled this matter."
-Bobby and Jody H., Former Client
"The tragic events of a car accident left my wife paralyzed and diagnosed as a quadriplegic for the rest of her life. In my mind, I had settled in for a long hard road that only God was going to get us through. My wife suggested we obtain law counsel, but I refused, having engaged with lawyers in the past that left a bad taste in my mouth. After about a month, I relented and got in contact with the Ammon’s Law Firm. From day one, the Firm has been professional and courteous; from the administrative person that answers the phone, to the lawyers working the case, everyone is at the top of their game – they are the best!"
-Clarence J., Former Client
"I felt that Ammons and Midlo did a really great job - especially Mr. Ammons. He was the BEST to my eyes! He was very convincing and lead the trial - no doubt! It was very easy to follow his reasoning. I never knew if it was the right amount....Anything less, I felt, would have been a slap in the face. The family deserved it.
This was my first case to be on a jury. I really connected to the attorneys and the family."
-Alondra T., Jury member
"Rob believed in my case and my family from the start and was by my side until the very end. I appreciate all the effort and hard work Rob put in during my trial. Rob was a passionate advocate for my children and me. I felt secure knowing he was representing me, and I was definitely glad he was on my side!
Bennett cares for the well being of my children and me, and is truly sincere. During the two years of my lawsuit and throughout the trial, Bennett was there to answer any questions or concerns I had. I am grateful for all of his hard work, advice, and support.
The Ammons Law Firm believed in my late husband and what I was fighting for. They brought out the truth, and brought justice to his name. The friendships that were made with the attorneys of the Ammons Law Firm will be life long. I could not have done this without them."
-Candee P., Former client
"I was totally happy with Rob Ammons and the lawyers at the Ammons Law Firm. Rob Ammons went the extra mile. I am beside myself. I feel so good with the settlement they obtained."
-Christopher R., Former Client
"Thank you for everything, this [incident] has been the worst thing that can ever happen to anyone. But thank God we have a great support system. Again thank you sooo much from the bottom of our hearts."
-Monica S., Former Client
"I was truly amazed by Ammons' and Midlo's presentation and their knowledge of the case. They were well prepared and had everything they needed to present the case. They had great exhibits. It was very easy to follow their reasoning. I really enjoyed my experience on the jury."
-Teressa H., Jury member
2003-2011
Trucking Accidents
10/22/2010 2:50 PM
Man Ejected From Truck During Accident Files Lawsuit Against Ford Motor Company For Seat-Back and Seatbelt Failure
HOUSTON,TX October 15, 2010: Accident attorney Rob Ammons of the Ammons Law Firm and Jason Gibson of The Gibson Law Firm have filed a lawsuit against Ford Motor Company on behalf of Michael Williams after he became a paraplegic after a truck accident.
Williams was a passenger in the 2000 Ford F-150 Truck when the driver fell asleep and the truck overturned three times. Williams was ejected from the truck even though he was wearing his seatbelt. Williams is now paralyzed from the waist down.
"Ford Motor Company failed to safely design, manufacture, and inspect the seat and seatback of the truck Michael Williams was a riding in and it cost my client his ability to walk. " says Ammons. "Ford Motor Company defectively designed the seatback and the seat belt/restraint system making it unreasonably dangerous for its intended use."
Unit Texas Drilling, LLC and L.C. Jones, employers of Michael Williams are also named in the lawsuit for failing to maintain policies and procedures that ensured workers received enough rest between shifts.
Rob Ammons is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, in addition to being Board Certified in Civil Law by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Rob Ammons' law practice, The Ammons Law Firm, is located in Houston, Texas. The Ammons Law Firm practice is exclusively personal injury law, handling such cases as: tire defects, oil rig explosions, truck accidents, plant explosions, refinery accidents, wrongful death, post-collision fires, seat belt defects, airbag defects, SUV rollovers and workplace negligence.
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Posted by The Ammons Law Firm
Teen Drivers Who Text Target of National Teen Driver Safety Week
10/20/2010 7:30 AM
National Teen Driver Safety Week runs from October 17-24 and is a part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's ongoing Teen Safe Driving Campaign.
Statistics show that distracted driving is a serious problem among teen drivers.
In 2008, more than 3,750 teenagers ages 15 through 19 died in automobile crashes of all types, and almost 660, or 18 percent, of those were killed in crashes involving some form of distracted driving, according to the NHTSA.
The use of electronic devices while driving is one of the leading distractions among teen drivers. Although there's nothing wrong with listening to music on an iPod, talking on a cell phone or sending a text message - is incredibly dangerous to do it while you're behind the wheel.
In a study by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, almost half of the teens interviewed said they had been in an automobile with a texting driver. One in three teens said that they had texted while driving.
Highway safety advocates are hopeful anti-texting laws, strong police enforcement and public awareness campaigns will help to reduce distracted driving accidents involving teen drivers.
At least 30 states have passed legislation that bans texting while driving, including Michigan, which made texting behind the wheel a civil infraction that carries a $100 fine for the first offense and a $200 fine for subsequent offenses. The law took effect in July.
Posted by The Ammons Law Firm
Should Shippers Share Blame in Trucking Accidents?
08/30/2010 8:05 AM
Whenever someone is injured on the highway and a truck is involved often the driver shoulders the lions share of the blame or the owner of the truck.
But what about the shipper? Should it bear any responsibility in cases involving an unsafe piece of equipment or unqualified driver?
Carriers who insist highway safety needs to be a systematic effort from the entire supply chain would say "yes."
"Where is the due diligence on the part of the shippers to make sure that these people are running equipment that is safe?" asks Claude Robert of Robert Transport.
Mark Seymour of Kriska Transport says that as long as their product gets to market, many shippers aren't interested in what their transport providers are doing. "They're in survival mode right now so the mandate from their corporate is to get it done as cost effectively as possible."
Truckers often bear the lowest hanging settlement in trucking accident cases.
Legally, however, shippers and logistics companies would do well not to turn a blind eye.
Suing the shipper for a truck accident isn't unheard of. It is uncommon, though.
Attorneys would have to show that a shipper who continuously uses bad carriers "knows or ought to know" the carrier is not following the rules.
"I don't think it would be enough to say that a shipper is liable because they use a company with a bad record," says one attorney. "But if I can prove that they know or reasonably ought to know [the carrier] cuts corners because that's how they do it so cheap, then I could see potential for flow-through [liability]."
What a company "ought to know" about the competency of its service providers is, of course, up to lawyers to prove and judges to decide.
That shouldn't be a risk any shipper would want to take.
Still, many logistics companies fail to make a connection or bear any responsibility for safety on the highways -- at least not until something significant occurs and the spotlight turns on them too.
"It's an enigma," says Frank Gentile of Titan Cartage. "You expect to have to best service, but yet you hire the cheapest carrier. And when you're wife and kids are out driving on the highway you don't want them to be in jeopardy, right? You don't often relate it, unfortunately."
Posted by The Ammons Law Firm
Congress Considering Making Black Boxes Mandatory in New Vehicles
08/23/2010 7:36 AM
The U.S. Congress is currently debating whether to require all car manufacturers to include Event Data Recorders, more commonly known as "black boxes," as standard safety features in all vehicles. Several automobile makers began installing black boxes as standard features in 2005, but they are not mandatory and are not regulated. While black boxes can be helpful tools in accident forensics, they are still surrounded by controversy because of the skill needed to interpret the recorded data and possible motorist privacy violations.
Motor Vehicle Safety Act
The Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2010 was introduced to the Senate in May of this year and was referred to the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee in June, where it currently resides. The bill aims to impose additional motor vehicle safety standards and penalties on car manufacturers, including requiring black boxes and standardizing how much data they record. The bill could also make vehicle safety hazards and defects more readily available to the public through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) .
Posted by The Ammons Law Firm
Crackdown on Truck Safety
08/03/2010 7:51 AM
The N.C. Highway Patrol launched a program Tuesday morning to
crack down on safety compliance by tractor-trailer drivers on the
state's highways.
Operation Road Watch is a 48-hour program, scheduled through Thursday morning in Iredell County, the Highway Patrol says.
Troopers launched the effort at 6 a.m. Tuesday on Interstate 77,
but they said authorities will be checking on trucks on other roads,
too. The Highway Patrol says it plans to take the program to other
counties later this year.
The goal is to reduce collisions involving the big trucks and other vehicles, troopers say.
The inspections will focus on several areas:
-- Aggressive driving around commercial motor vehicles
-- Unsecured load violations
-- Hazardous materials being taken across state lines
-- Motor carrier fuel violations
Many hope North Carolina's aggressive effort to reduct trucking accidents will encourage other states to do the same.
Posted by The Ammons Law Firm
US Truck Safety Check Figures Announced
07/30/2010 9:47 AM
US - CANADA - MEXICO - Results from the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's (CVSA) Roadcheck 2010 are a reliable indicator as to the attitude of truck and bus drivers and operators and the figures show that the industry is maintaining the state of health it achieved last year when the statistics showed record low ‘out-of-service' rates. The roadside checks are similar to those undertaken by VOSA in the UK. The CVSA is an international not-for-profit organization comprised of local, state, provincial, territorial, and federal motor carrier safety officials and industry representatives from the United States, Canada, and Mexico dedicated to promoting commercial vehicle safety.
Drivers are pulled over and asked to show their commercial driver's license, medical examiner's certificate, and record of duty status. These questions are asked in an effort to reduct the incidences of trucking accidents . Continuing resistance to a technological upgrade to the tachograph system common in Europe means the driver must keep his log book complete. The vehicles Brakes, tires, lights, and major components and general condition are then thoroughly examined. The CVSA sponsors Roadcheck each year with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA), Transport Canada, and the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (Mexico) and is supported by organisations such as the American Trucking Associations (ATA).
During the 72-hour inspection blitz, which took place from Canada to Mexico from June 8-10, 2010, drivers were stopped and this year Roadcheck achieved a stop rate of 15 trucks or buses inspected, on average, every minute, as roadside inspectors focused on the North American Standard (NAS) Level I inspection, safety belt enforcement, and motorcoach inspections. More than 9,856 CVSA -certified inspectors at 2,482 locations across North America performed 65,327 truck and bus inspections. Of that total, there were 48,970 NAS Level I inspections, the most comprehensive roadside inspection. Inspections are additional to the roadside examinations which routinely occur throughout the year but provide a concise and accurate model of how the industry is performing at a given point in time.
"The number of CMV inspections is an indicator that, even in these continued tough economic times, state, provincial, local and federal agencies are committed to enforcing truck and bus safety standards ," said CVSA's Interim Executive Director Stephen A. Keppler. "Roadside enforcement remains committed to this critically important role in saving lives on North America's highways and helping to provide all travellers a safe and secure place to travel."
Data from 2010 against last year show the overall vehicle compliance rate at 80% down 0.4% with an overall driver compliance rate of 95.6% (unchanged from last year). For NAS Level I inspections, the compliance rates were 76.7% (down 1.1%) for vehicles and 96.3% (up 0.2%) for drivers. In addition there were 1,159 safety belt violations, 189 more than there were last year (up 19.5%). Hazardous materials inspections compliance was up 0.7% for vehicles at 83.7% and for drivers up 0.5% to 97.5%. There were 26,605 CVSA decals issued to vehicles that passed the inspection, which was down from the number issued in 2009 (29,972).
"Brake-related defects continue to account for half of all out-of-service violations," said CVSA Region V (Canada) President Steve Callahan. "As such, we strongly encourage governments, industry associations, owner-operators, motor carriers and drivers alike to take an active part in the upcoming 2010 Brake Safety Week, September 12-18. We need all industry players to continue working together to achieve a further sustained drop in the OOS rate in the years ahead."
"Every time an inspector checks the brakes, tires, tie-downs, a driver or other items while conducting an inspection, what's in the back of their minds is this - what I'm doing will save a life. The people who we read about in the news are "our" family members and we are here to protect them," said CVSA's President Buzzy France. "There is no one person, agency or organization that feels we can achieve zero fatalities alone. We need partners to solve this complex problem. All of us have an important role to play."
Posted by Ammons Law Firm
Trucking Industry Campaign to Curb Distracted Driving Scrapped
07/08/2010 6:05 AM
According to Truckinginfo.com, plans by lobbyist firm the Seward Square Group to counter distracted driving campaigns have been abandoned, according to published reports.
Last week, non-profit publication FairWarning obtained a 10-page presentation by the DRIVE Coalition, Seward's proposed group. The document outlines the group's goal of addressing distracted driving through increased driver education and enforcement, rather than regulations banning mobile technology. DRIVE stands for Drivers for Responsibility, Innovation and Vehicle Education.
"In less than 6 months, a benign debate about teens and texting has morphed into a full-throttle assault on mobile technology," the presentation said. "Auto, tech, and insurance industries, among others, have become collateral damage in this transportation battle. Failure to act will result in a scenario with 51 separate battles, instead of just one where a coalition can lead the debate."
The coalition ceased its efforts after Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood held a press conference Wednesday addressing the group.
"The concept has met its goal of expanding dialogue on distracted driving , therefore the coalition is no longer being pursued," the group told the Washington Post.
In response to FairWarning's initial release of the group's intentions, LaHood said in his blog, "DOT and the safety community will not be stalled by a new effort to rile up corporate America and undermine the achievements of our campaign against distracted driving. Regardless of what a powerful lobbying group has to say, the simple fact is that texting and talking on cell phones behind the wheel is a deadly epidemic."
According to the group's presentation, it was in the process of recruiting manufacturers, wireless providers, car makers, associations, and GPS providers, such as Motorola, Nokia, Apple, Verizon, AT&T, GM, Ford, the Auto Alliance and TomTom, to name a few.
The group also said Jim Hall, former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, would be the face of DRIVE. Hall said the group was misrepresented to him, according to the Post. In fact, he stood with LaHood during the press conference, denouncing their efforts.
"The only effort I'm going to have anything to do with is to support Secretary LaHood and these safety advocates," he said.
"Are you really going to tell Jennifer Smith of Texas, who lost her mother, that states should continue to allow drivers to focus on their cell phones and not on the road in front of them?," LaHood said in his blog. "Well, I won't do that. And real safety advocates won't do that. When it comes to safety, this DOT is holding firm."
Posted by Ammons Law Firm
New Georgia Driving and Texting Ban Could Spread
07/01/2010 6:27 AM
The Associated Press writes today about a new Georigia state rule banning texting and driving. Georgia State Patrol troopers will wait until Aug. 1 to crack down on texting drivers as they focus their efforts on educating the public and determining how to enforce the new ban that starts this week.
State Patrol Commanding Officer Maj. Mark McDonough says the department's efforts are going to be "very compassionate" over the next few weeks while troopers and drivers get used to laws that bar adults from texting while driving , ban texting and talking for drivers under 18 and require pickup truck drivers and passengers to wear seat belts.
During a question and answer session on Tuesday, McDonough acknowledged that enforcing the texting ban could be a challenge.
He said, for example, that while the law clearly says teens are not allowed to text or call while driving, determining who is a teenager might not be so easy.
"That would be very difficult for a trooper to just effect a stop based upon a person's age," McDonough said, according to a transcript of the session provided by the State Patrol.
Troopers will not receive specific new training, he added, but will have to be vigilant before making traffic stops for a texting or talking driver who may be distracted and not staying in the proper lane or following too closely.
"If he's wrong, he's going to have to let that person go," McDonough said. "The number one thing we have to have in our job is the ability to observe. Is it impossible? No, but it's going to require the trooper to do some observation in order to develop the reason why he pulls them over."
McDonough says the situation will be more clear-cut for drivers involved in accidents resulting from texting or from pickup truck drivers not wearing seat belts.
Drivers found guilty of violating the laws on texting or talking while driving face a $150 fine and a point added to their driver's license.
The new laws take effect July 1, which marks the beginning of the Fourth of July holiday, a busy travel weekend when traffic enforcement is an increased priority.
McDonough said he thinks the laws are good ones, and that the grace period will be effective. He also said he thinks the state's decision to end the ban on seat belts for pickups could save the lives of 100 people a year who would otherwise die on Georgia roadways.
Georgia was the last state to end the pickup exemption for seat belts. McDonough said about 20 percent of fatal vehicle accidents occur in pickup trucks statewide each year, and that in those circumstances, 75 percent of the time people are not wearing seat belts.
Two dozen other states have passed bans on texting while driving.
In Georgia, the adult law is named for Caleb Sorohan, a Morgan County college freshman who was killed in a head-on collision last year because he was texting while driving. The family of the 18-year-old has pushed state lawmakers to pass the texting ban since his death in December.
The Illinois-based National Safety Council estimates that 28 percent of crashes - or 1.6 million annually - are caused by drivers talking or texting on cell phones.
The push to address such dangerous driving practices has garnered the attention of celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and organizations like the United Nations. Both launched campaigns to discourage drivers from using cell phones while behind the wheel.
Amy Stracke, a spokeswoman with AAA Auto Club South based in Tampa, Fla., said the law will mainly work as a deterrent.
"Most people are law-abiding citizens, so if there is a law on the books, most people are going to abide by that law," Stracke said. She added that the law is enforceable and that educating drivers will be key. "There's not a lot of history on it, but these laws have been shown to reduce the amount of texting that's done behind the wheel."
Posted by Ammons Law Firm
Trucking Safety Plan Brings Praise, Concern
06/25/2010 6:31 AM
Fleetowner.com has a very informative article today about a new plan designed to standardize safety and reduce trucking accidents for long haul truckers, but it is drawing some criticism as well as praise.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) revealed its roll -out plan to Congress this week for its revamped safety scoring process for the trucking industry called Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 (CSA 2010). While the new program drew praise from truckers and safety experts, concerns were also expressed-- namely over the data collection and analysis portion of the new rules.
The new Carrier Safety Measurement System (CSMS) will replace the current safety scoring system, SAFESTAT, and will measure carriers more thoroughly through the use of all safety violation data, weighted by crash risk.
"CSMS will give our investigators a more robust tool to use in identifying high risk carriers for review," Ferro stressed. "It also will be the basis for the selection system roadside enforcement officers will use to focus their roadside inspections."
With regard to process, CSA 2010 introduces a new strategy known as the "intervention," and frames it at four levels: comprehensive on-site reviews (much like today's compliance review); focused on-site investigations; off-site investigations; and warning letters.
"Through a mix of these interventions, combined with roadside activity, we will increase the number of carriers we "touch" and catch unsafe behaviors before it leads to a crash," Ferro said.
Finally, for maximum effect, Ferro said CSA 2010 will be grounded on a new piece of regulation, known as the Safety Fitness Determination Rule.
"This rule will decouple the carrier safety rating from today's on-site compliance review [and] will enable FMCSA to propose carrier safety ratings through the CSMS, thereby increasing the number of carriers we rate annually ten-fold," Ferro explained.
The notice for proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for this new regulation is expected in early 2011 and Ferro noted that much of CSA won't be fully active until next year..
"The roll-out for CSA 2010 officially began in April this year with the launch of the data preview, with the actual CSMS system to be previewed in late August, followed by full view to the public at the end of the year," she said. "Remaining components - warning letters, the NPRM, intervention process and more - will continue to the end of fiscal year 2011."
By that time, CSA 2010 will be known only by its initials "CSA," which will stand for "Compliance, Safety, Accountability," Ferro added.
While the American Trucking Assns. (ATA) said it supports CSA 2010's overall objectives, it contends that there are major "flaws" relating to how the new program will actually work . These flaws could harm safe carriers while allowing unsafe ones to continue operating, stressed Keith Klein, executive vp & COO of truckload carrier Transportation Corporation of America, testifying on behalf of ATA.
To avoid these consequences, Klein said that FMCSA should delay the implementation of CSA 2010 until the agency gets a chance to review an evaluation study of the program currently underway by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.
In particular, ATA has three major concerns: Crash accountability or "causation" determinations should be made on truck-involved crashes before entering them into a carrier's record so drivers and carriers are held accountable only for crashes they cause; vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and not number of trucks or power units should be used as a carrier's "exposure measure"; and the agency should focus on using only actual citations for moving violations, not un-adjudicated "warnings" issued by law enforcement.
Klein said that in addition to those issues, ATA is also concerned about how the severity weights for violations are assigned; measuring carriers based on violations committed by drivers who have since been terminated; measuring carriers based on citations that have been dismissed in a court of law; inequitable measurement of open deck or flatbed carriers; overly broad peer groups; and inconsistent state enforcement practices.
"A system that is based on inconsistent data and a flawed scoring methodology will not achieve its objectives," Klein stressed. "Instead, it will create inequities for some safe carriers and inappropriately allow some unsafe carriers to avoid scrutiny and consequences."
Industry observers also caution fleet owners and others to expect glitches to crop up in the CSA 2010 process as it gets rolled out. "With a program of this size and scope there are bound to be some bumps along the way," said Stephen Keppler, interim executive director of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA).
Posted by Ammons Law Firm
Lawsuit Filed Against Trucking Company And Driver
Release dateline: January 5, 2012
Workplace Negligence Attorney Settles Fatal Scaffolding Collapse Lawsuit
Release dateline: January 5, 2012
Suit Filed Against Cooper After Tread Sepearation Causes Deadly Rollover
Release dateline: January 4, 2012
Article - Update On The Ammons Law Firm Scholarship Recepient Devon Wade.
Release dateline: December 21, 2011
Suit Filed Against Car Dealer That Failed To Warn
Release dateline: December 13, 2011
Michelin Rollover Crash Suit Settled
Release dateline: December 13, 2011
Lawsuit Filed Against Trucking Company In Jack-Knife Crash
Release dateline: December 6, 2011
Rollover Crash Suit Settled Against Bridgestone And Ford
Release dateline: December 6, 2011
Product Defect Attorney Rob Ammons Files Suit Against General Motors LLC After Seat Back Collapses in Crash
Release dateline: November 30, 2011
Product Defect Attorney Settles Suit Against German Auto Manufacturer in Deadly Rollover Crash
Release dateline: November 30, 2011
Product Defect Attorney Settles Suit Against Nissan in Deadly Rollover
Release dateline: November 30, 2011
Bus Accident Attorney Rob Ammons and Jarod Bonine of the Ammons Law Firm Investigate Bus Rollover
Release dateline: November 15, 2011
Toyota Recalls 420K
Cars in U.S.
Release dateline: November 9, 2011
Suit Filed Against Ford After Fatal Explorer Rollover
Release dateline: November 2, 2011
Tire Defect Lawyer Rob Ammons Files Suit After Tread Separation Causes Deadly Rollover Accident
Release dateline: October 21, 2011
Truck Accident Attorney Rob Ammons Files Lawsuit Against Trucking Company and Chrysler in Highway Crash
Release dateline: October 10,2011
"Benefits Of A Grief Counselor's Testimony" Is Rob Ammons Latest Publication In The October 2011 Edition of Trial Magazine
Release dateline: October 2011
Industrial Accident Attorney Rob Ammons Files Lawsuit After Crane Collapse at Port Arthur Refinery Injures Worker
Release dateline: September 28, 2011
Attorney Rob Ammons Files Lawsuit for Seriously Injured Toddler
Release dateline: September 28, 2011
Tire Defect Attorney Rob Ammons Files Suit Against Michelin and Dealership After Tread Separation Causes Fatal Crash
Release dateline: September 28, 2011
Attorney Rob Ammons Settles Suit Against Ford In Deadly Rollover Crash
Release dateline: September 22, 2011
Attorney Rob Ammons Files Lawsuit Against Wenzel Downhole Tools, U.S., Inc., and Driver for Causing Rollover
Release dateline: August 30, 2011
Product Defect Attorney Rob Ammons Files Suit Against GM After Fatal Rollover
Release dateline: August 26, 2011
Rollover Attorney Files Suit Against Honda After Fatal Rollover
Release dateline: August 25, 2011
Lawsuit Filed After Fatal Rollover
Release dateline: August 19, 2011
Roof Crush Seatbelt Defect Attorney Rob Ammons Wins Settlement After Truck Rollover
Release dateline: July 22, 2011
Injury Attorney Rob Ammons Wins Settlement for Ship Worker Injured at Work
Release dateline: July 21, 2011
SUV Rollover Attorney Rob Ammons Files Suit Against Ford After Fatal Rollover
Release dateline: July 11. 2011
A Tanker Truck has exploded in a Chambers County refinery. The explosion was reported around 4:20pm cst near FM1405 and FM2354.
Click here for more on this story.
Release dateline: June 24, 2011
Truck Accident Attorney Rob Ammons Files Lawsuit After 18-Wheeler Slams into Wrecker Driver Fixing Flat
Release dateline: June 23, 2011
Crash Tests Indicate Jeep Fire Risk
Release dateline: June 16, 2011
Taking On Toyota
Release dateline: 11/19/10
Trial Magazine recently published an article written by Rob Ammons and April Strahan of the Ammons Law Firm about Toyota's troubles with sudden acceleration and the resulting lawsuits. Pursuing these cases in the courtroom will require a smart strategy and the willingness to face a tough, well-financed defendant.
November 15, 2011
Bus Accident Attorney Rob Ammons and Jarod Bonine of the Ammons Law Firm Investigate Bus Rollover
On November 4th an Abilene Christian University-owned bus veered off a Texas Highway and overturned, killing one passenger and critically injuring four others. The ElDorado National-manufactured bus was carrying 12 students and 4 faculty members to do mission work at a children's home.
Read full story about the bus rollover investigation here
August 30, 2011
Attorney Rob Ammons Files Lawsuit Agaisnt Wenzel Downhole Tools, U.S., Inc., and Driver for Causing Rollover
The Ammons Law Firm has files a lawsuit on behlaf of a Texas man who was injured when his Suburban was rear-ended with such force that it rolled over. The bullet vehicle was drilling tool company truck being operated by Wenzel Downhole Tools, U.S., Inc.
Read full story of the rollover lawsuit here
August 26, 2011
Product Defect Attorney Rob Ammons Files Suit Against General Motors LLC Following Death of Wife and Mother
Click here to learn about this product defect lawsuit
August 25, 2011
Rollover Attorney Rob Ammons Files Suit Against Honda and Dealership After Fatal Rollover
On behalf of the surviving wife and parents of a 24-year-old Arizona architect, Rob Ammons has filed suit against Honda and an automobile dealership.
The young man was a belted rear seat passenger in a 2002 Acura MDX that rolled over when its driver lost control of the SUV after a tire failure. His wife was seated next to him. As the Acura rolled, the man's seat belt became detached from its anchor point, resulting in the man being thrown from the vehicle. Blunt force head and torso injuries led to his death.
Click here to read about this rollover lawsuit
August 19, 2011
Lawsuit Filed After Fatal Rollover
On behalf of the surviving parents and children of a 39-year-old Texas man, Rob Ammons has filed suit against Ford as well as a commercial truck driver and his employer whose conduct contributed to causing a rollover accident. The lawsuit cites defects in an F250 pickup for the man's death and for injuries to another of the vehicle's occupants, a co-worker of the man who died.
Click here to learn more about this Ford lawsuit
August 10, 2011
Chrysler Recall
Chrysler has issued a recall of approximately 300,000 vehicles due to a front airbag sensor defect. Certain 2008 Grand Voyager, Town and Country and Dodge Grand Caravan vehicles manufactured from June 24, 2007 - July 30, 2008 may contain a defect that causes leakage from the HVAC system to impact the Occupant Restraint Control causing the airbag warning light to illuminate. This could cause an inadvertent deployment of the airbags, posing a great risk to passengers in the vehicle.
The recall is expected to begin during August 2011
Click here to learn more about product recalls
July 22, 2011
Roof Crush Seatbelt Defect Attorney Rob Ammons Wins Settlement After Truck Rollover
On June 21, 2008 three people were traveling on a Mexican highway in a 1995 Chevrolet C1500 when suddenly the driver lost control of the pickup and it partially left the roadway. As the driver unsuccessfully attempted to regain the roadway, the C1500 rolled ove r and came to rest on its wheels. During the incident, the roof structure of the C1500 deformed and the side window glazing broke out.
Click here to learn more abnout this roof crush lawsuit
July 20, 2011
Injury Attorney Rob Ammons Wins Settlement for Ship Worker Injured at Work
On October 3, 2007 a crew member aboard the M/V Galena Bay ship tripped on chains improperly stored on a ship's deck.
Click here to read about this injury lawsuit
July 11, 2011
SUV Rollover Lawyer Rob Ammons Files Suit Against Ford After Rollover
On behalf of the surviving husband, children and parents of a Nebraska woman, Rob Ammons has filed suit against Ford. The lawsuit cites defects in the family’s 2002 Ford Explorer for her death and for serious injuries the vehicle’s three other occupants.
Click here to learn more about this SUV rollover lawsuit
June 23, 2011
Truck Accident Attorney Rob Ammons Files Lawsuit After 18-Wheeler Slams Into Wrecker Driver Fixing Flat
A Houston wrecker driver had pulled onto a highway shoulder in Harris County, Texas to assist a motorist with a flat tire. As he was standing by the disabled vehicle, the driver of a Borden milk tractor-trailer approaching that area of the highway stopped looking at the road and reached for something to eat in his cab. The 18-wheeler left the main lanes and plowed into the wrecker driver, critically injuring him. He was life-flighted to the hospital.
Click here to learn more about this 18-wheeler lawsuit
June 6, 2011
Teen Driver's Deadliest Days
Summer is here and that means that the kids are out of school and summer vacation plans are in full gear. It also means that the 100 deadliest days of the year for teen drivers have begun.
In 2009, about 3,000 teens in the United States aged 15-19 were killed and more than 350,000 were treated in emergency departments for injuries suffered in motor-vehicle crashes. Nine of the 10 deadliest days for youth on our nation's highways were between the months of May and August.
Click here to learn more about the deadly days of summer
May 20, 2011
Explosion Attorney Rob Ammons is Interviewed by NBC About Dangerous Neighborhood Pressure Vessels
In a sharply worded letter, the federal government is asking the city of Houston to reconsider its lack of action on a recommendation that is "greatly needed to protect the lives of the residents and workers of the city of Houston." Robert Arnold reports.
Click here to watch the NBC interview about dangerous pressure valves
March 23, 2011
KPRC Interviews Ammons Law Firm's Bennett Midlo About an SUV Seatback Lawsuit
A lawsuit leads to a dangerous revelation that could threaten families who drive SUVs everyday. Personal injury attorney Bennett Midlo talks to KPRC investigative reporter Robert Arnold about what this safety concern could mean for families and their SUVs.
Click here for more information
March 11. 2011
Kia and Sweetwater Country Club Suit Settled
Christine Watson was returning home after a family visit in December of 2007 when her car was struck from the rear by an intoxicated driver. As a result of the collision, Watson's seatback collapsed into a reclined position. Watson was wearing the available lap and shoulder belts but sustained serious injuries in the crash, including a spinal cord injury that rendered her paraplegic.
Click here to read more about the settlement
March 10, 2011
Accident Attorney Settles Suit Against Driver and Metals Company
Accident Paralyzes 88 Year Old
Armando Mendoza was driving his
Volvo southbound in the far left lane of North Wayside Drive on a rainy
morning in July 2009. As Mendoza approached the 400 block, Milford
McGruder pulled out of a private drive in a commercial tractor-trailer
and failed to yield the right of way. The cab of the tractor-trailer
made it safely across three lanes, but the trailer portion still
obstructed the left lane, when Mendoza's vehicle and the trailer
collided.
Click here to read more about the settlement
January 22, 2010
Lawyers USA Names Rob Ammons Among Top 2010 Jury Verdicts
Rob Ammons' work on a case involving the workplace death of a man killed in a gas explosion is distinguished among the top ten in the nation.
Click here to learn more
January 17, 2011
Bridgestone Americas Tire Failure Suit Settled
A lawsuit claiming Bridgestone Americas and Ford Motor Company were responsible for the death of Roy Irwin Heck has been settled.
Heck was a passenger in a 1998 Ford Explorer when the vehicle's left rear tire- a Firestone Wilderness AT suffered a tread separation. The vehicle became uncontrollable, entered into a skid and overturned twice, coming to rest on its drivers' side. During the incident, Roy Heck sustained injuries from which he later died.
Click here to learn more about the Bridegstone suit settlement
January 2, 2010
Mediation Resolves Lawsuit After Tree Trimmer's Roadblock Causes Deadly Accident for Motorcyclist
January 2, 2010 Houston, Tx:
On October 21, 2007, Darian Gonzalez was operating his motorcycle
eastbound on Hufsmith when he encountered traffic that was forced to
stop due to a road block created by a laborer working for James Spurlin
and his business, Saddlebrook Ranch, LLC. Mr. Gonzalez was unable to
avoid contacting a vehicle that had unexpectedly stopped because of the
roadblock, was thrown from his motorcycle, and was struck by an oncoming
car. He sustained serious
injuries from which he died later that day.
Click here to read more
December 27, 2010
Mammoth Crane Collapse Claims Settled by The Ammons Law Firm
The Ammons Law Firm has long been engaged in the fight against corporations whose violations of safety rules result in oftentimes catastrophic injuries to and deaths of workers in Texas and elsewhere. That is why the law firm was retained to represent 22 men and one woman who were injured in the collapse of the second largest crane in the world several years ago in Houston, Texas. Those claims were recently successfully resolved.
Click here to learn more about the crane collapse settlements
November 18, 2010
Taking on Toyota
Click here to read our new book about litigation arising from Toyota recalls.
November 10, 2010
Local 2 Investigates Interviews Rob Ammons About Dangerous Pressure Valve Explosions
Pressure vessels are metal containers that house pressurized liquids and gases. Many are found in and around Houston neighborhoods. A recent series of explosions in Houston has resulted in lawsuits and lawmakers critical of how the city is regulating these dangerous explosive threats. Explosion attorney Rob Ammons shares his concerns for the legal rights of people living near these dangerous facilities.
Click here for more on pressure valve dangers
September 30, 2010
Rob Ammons Named 2010's Best Civil Attorney
Rob Ammons of the Ammons Law Firm has just been named the Best Civil Attorney according to a Houston Press "Best Of" readers poll.
Filed under Awards Click here for more
September 17, 2010
Rob Ammons Talks to KPRC's Robert Arnold About Air Bag Defects
Filed under Air bag Defects Click here for more
August 9, 2010
CBS News Talks to Rob Ammons About New School Bus Seat Belt Law
July 2, 2010
Tire Defect Attorney Bennett Midlo Talks to Fox News About the Dangers of Aging Tires
Ammons Law Firm attorney Bennett Midlo appeared on Fox news this morning to talk about the dangers of aging tires and how to determine if your tires are too old to drive on this holiday weekend.
Click here to watch the news clip.
Filed under Tire Defects Click here for more
June 9, 2010
Plant explosion attorney Rob Ammons talks to Fox news about his verdict for the family of a man killed in a Cleburne natural gas explosion
Click here to watch the video
June 7, 2010
Natural Gas Facility Explodes Near Cleburne, In Johnson County
A natural gas facility has exploded near Cleburne in Johnson County killing three, according to the Cleburne city manager.
At least 10 people are missing, he said.
A lot of people have been transported to hospital with burn injuries.
Click here for more
June 3, 2010
Follow Us!
Follow the Ammons Law Firm for all the latest on dangerous product recalls, drug defects and everything else you need to know to keep you and your family safe and protect your legal rights.
May 31, 2010
Car Tire Defect Lawyer Rob Ammons Tells CBS News Tires At Risk on Memorial Day
Click here for more
Trucking Accidents
10/22/2010 2:50 PM
Man Ejected From Truck During Accident Files Lawsuit Against Ford Motor Company For Seat-Back and Seatbelt Failure
HOUSTON,TX October 15, 2010: Accident attorney Rob Ammons of the Ammons Law Firm and Jason Gibson of The Gibson Law Firm have filed a lawsuit against Ford Motor Company on behalf of Michael Williams after he became a paraplegic after a truck accident.
Williams was a passenger in the 2000 Ford F-150 Truck when the driver fell asleep and the truck overturned three times. Williams was ejected from the truck even though he was wearing his seatbelt. Williams is now paralyzed from the waist down.
"Ford Motor Company failed to safely design, manufacture, and inspect the seat and seatback of the truck Michael Williams was a riding in and it cost my client his ability to walk. " says Ammons. "Ford Motor Company defectively designed the seatback and the seat belt/restraint system making it unreasonably dangerous for its intended use."
Unit Texas Drilling, LLC and L.C. Jones, employers of Michael Williams are also named in the lawsuit for failing to maintain policies and procedures that ensured workers received enough rest between shifts.
Rob Ammons is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, in addition to being Board Certified in Civil Law by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Rob Ammons' law practice, The Ammons Law Firm, is located in Houston, Texas. The Ammons Law Firm practice is exclusively personal injury law, handling such cases as: tire defects, oil rig explosions, truck accidents, plant explosions, refinery accidents, wrongful death, post-collision fires, seat belt defects, airbag defects, SUV rollovers and workplace negligence.
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Posted by The Ammons Law Firm
Teen Drivers Who Text Target of National Teen Driver Safety Week
10/20/2010 7:30 AM
National Teen Driver Safety Week runs from October 17-24 and is a part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's ongoing Teen Safe Driving Campaign.
Statistics show that distracted driving is a serious problem among teen drivers.
In 2008, more than 3,750 teenagers ages 15 through 19 died in automobile crashes of all types, and almost 660, or 18 percent, of those were killed in crashes involving some form of distracted driving, according to the NHTSA.
The use of electronic devices while driving is one of the leading distractions among teen drivers. Although there's nothing wrong with listening to music on an iPod, talking on a cell phone or sending a text message - is incredibly dangerous to do it while you're behind the wheel.
In a study by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, almost half of the teens interviewed said they had been in an automobile with a texting driver. One in three teens said that they had texted while driving.
Highway safety advocates are hopeful anti-texting laws, strong police enforcement and public awareness campaigns will help to reduce distracted driving accidents involving teen drivers.
At least 30 states have passed legislation that bans texting while driving, including Michigan, which made texting behind the wheel a civil infraction that carries a $100 fine for the first offense and a $200 fine for subsequent offenses. The law took effect in July.
Posted by The Ammons Law Firm
Should Shippers Share Blame in Trucking Accidents?
08/30/2010 8:05 AM
Whenever someone is injured on the highway and a truck is involved often the driver shoulders the lions share of the blame or the owner of the truck.
But what about the shipper? Should it bear any responsibility in cases involving an unsafe piece of equipment or unqualified driver?
Carriers who insist highway safety needs to be a systematic effort from the entire supply chain would say "yes."
"Where is the due diligence on the part of the shippers to make sure that these people are running equipment that is safe?" asks Claude Robert of Robert Transport.
Mark Seymour of Kriska Transport says that as long as their product gets to market, many shippers aren't interested in what their transport providers are doing. "They're in survival mode right now so the mandate from their corporate is to get it done as cost effectively as possible."
Truckers often bear the lowest hanging settlement in trucking accident cases.
Legally, however, shippers and logistics companies would do well not to turn a blind eye.
Suing the shipper for a truck accident isn't unheard of. It is uncommon, though.
Attorneys would have to show that a shipper who continuously uses bad carriers "knows or ought to know" the carrier is not following the rules.
"I don't think it would be enough to say that a shipper is liable because they use a company with a bad record," says one attorney. "But if I can prove that they know or reasonably ought to know [the carrier] cuts corners because that's how they do it so cheap, then I could see potential for flow-through [liability]."
What a company "ought to know" about the competency of its service providers is, of course, up to lawyers to prove and judges to decide.
That shouldn't be a risk any shipper would want to take.
Still, many logistics companies fail to make a connection or bear any responsibility for safety on the highways -- at least not until something significant occurs and the spotlight turns on them too.
"It's an enigma," says Frank Gentile of Titan Cartage. "You expect to have to best service, but yet you hire the cheapest carrier. And when you're wife and kids are out driving on the highway you don't want them to be in jeopardy, right? You don't often relate it, unfortunately."
Posted by The Ammons Law Firm
Congress Considering Making Black Boxes Mandatory in New Vehicles
08/23/2010 7:36 AM
The U.S. Congress is currently debating whether to require all car manufacturers to include Event Data Recorders, more commonly known as "black boxes," as standard safety features in all vehicles. Several automobile makers began installing black boxes as standard features in 2005, but they are not mandatory and are not regulated. While black boxes can be helpful tools in accident forensics, they are still surrounded by controversy because of the skill needed to interpret the recorded data and possible motorist privacy violations.
Motor Vehicle Safety Act
The Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2010 was introduced to the Senate in May of this year and was referred to the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee in June, where it currently resides. The bill aims to impose additional motor vehicle safety standards and penalties on car manufacturers, including requiring black boxes and standardizing how much data they record. The bill could also make vehicle safety hazards and defects more readily available to the public through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) .
Posted by The Ammons Law Firm
Crackdown on Truck Safety
08/03/2010 7:51 AM
The N.C. Highway Patrol launched a program Tuesday morning to
crack down on safety compliance by tractor-trailer drivers on the
state's highways.
Operation Road Watch is a 48-hour program, scheduled through Thursday morning in Iredell County, the Highway Patrol says.
Troopers launched the effort at 6 a.m. Tuesday on Interstate 77,
but they said authorities will be checking on trucks on other roads,
too. The Highway Patrol says it plans to take the program to other
counties later this year.
The goal is to reduce collisions involving the big trucks and other vehicles, troopers say.
The inspections will focus on several areas:
-- Aggressive driving around commercial motor vehicles
-- Unsecured load violations
-- Hazardous materials being taken across state lines
-- Motor carrier fuel violations
Many hope North Carolina's aggressive effort to reduct trucking accidents will encourage other states to do the same.
Posted by The Ammons Law Firm
US Truck Safety Check Figures Announced
07/30/2010 9:47 AM
US - CANADA - MEXICO - Results from the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's (CVSA) Roadcheck 2010 are a reliable indicator as to the attitude of truck and bus drivers and operators and the figures show that the industry is maintaining the state of health it achieved last year when the statistics showed record low ‘out-of-service' rates. The roadside checks are similar to those undertaken by VOSA in the UK. The CVSA is an international not-for-profit organization comprised of local, state, provincial, territorial, and federal motor carrier safety officials and industry representatives from the United States, Canada, and Mexico dedicated to promoting commercial vehicle safety.
Drivers are pulled over and asked to show their commercial driver's license, medical examiner's certificate, and record of duty status. These questions are asked in an effort to reduct the incidences of trucking accidents . Continuing resistance to a technological upgrade to the tachograph system common in Europe means the driver must keep his log book complete. The vehicles Brakes, tires, lights, and major components and general condition are then thoroughly examined. The CVSA sponsors Roadcheck each year with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA), Transport Canada, and the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (Mexico) and is supported by organisations such as the American Trucking Associations (ATA).
During the 72-hour inspection blitz, which took place from Canada to Mexico from June 8-10, 2010, drivers were stopped and this year Roadcheck achieved a stop rate of 15 trucks or buses inspected, on average, every minute, as roadside inspectors focused on the North American Standard (NAS) Level I inspection, safety belt enforcement, and motorcoach inspections. More than 9,856 CVSA -certified inspectors at 2,482 locations across North America performed 65,327 truck and bus inspections. Of that total, there were 48,970 NAS Level I inspections, the most comprehensive roadside inspection. Inspections are additional to the roadside examinations which routinely occur throughout the year but provide a concise and accurate model of how the industry is performing at a given point in time.
"The number of CMV inspections is an indicator that, even in these continued tough economic times, state, provincial, local and federal agencies are committed to enforcing truck and bus safety standards ," said CVSA's Interim Executive Director Stephen A. Keppler. "Roadside enforcement remains committed to this critically important role in saving lives on North America's highways and helping to provide all travellers a safe and secure place to travel."
Data from 2010 against last year show the overall vehicle compliance rate at 80% down 0.4% with an overall driver compliance rate of 95.6% (unchanged from last year). For NAS Level I inspections, the compliance rates were 76.7% (down 1.1%) for vehicles and 96.3% (up 0.2%) for drivers. In addition there were 1,159 safety belt violations, 189 more than there were last year (up 19.5%). Hazardous materials inspections compliance was up 0.7% for vehicles at 83.7% and for drivers up 0.5% to 97.5%. There were 26,605 CVSA decals issued to vehicles that passed the inspection, which was down from the number issued in 2009 (29,972).
"Brake-related defects continue to account for half of all out-of-service violations," said CVSA Region V (Canada) President Steve Callahan. "As such, we strongly encourage governments, industry associations, owner-operators, motor carriers and drivers alike to take an active part in the upcoming 2010 Brake Safety Week, September 12-18. We need all industry players to continue working together to achieve a further sustained drop in the OOS rate in the years ahead."
"Every time an inspector checks the brakes, tires, tie-downs, a driver or other items while conducting an inspection, what's in the back of their minds is this - what I'm doing will save a life. The people who we read about in the news are "our" family members and we are here to protect them," said CVSA's President Buzzy France. "There is no one person, agency or organization that feels we can achieve zero fatalities alone. We need partners to solve this complex problem. All of us have an important role to play."
Posted by Ammons Law Firm
Trucking Industry Campaign to Curb Distracted Driving Scrapped
07/08/2010 6:05 AM
According to Truckinginfo.com, plans by lobbyist firm the Seward Square Group to counter distracted driving campaigns have been abandoned, according to published reports.
Last week, non-profit publication FairWarning obtained a 10-page presentation by the DRIVE Coalition, Seward's proposed group. The document outlines the group's goal of addressing distracted driving through increased driver education and enforcement, rather than regulations banning mobile technology. DRIVE stands for Drivers for Responsibility, Innovation and Vehicle Education.
"In less than 6 months, a benign debate about teens and texting has morphed into a full-throttle assault on mobile technology," the presentation said. "Auto, tech, and insurance industries, among others, have become collateral damage in this transportation battle. Failure to act will result in a scenario with 51 separate battles, instead of just one where a coalition can lead the debate."
The coalition ceased its efforts after Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood held a press conference Wednesday addressing the group.
"The concept has met its goal of expanding dialogue on distracted driving , therefore the coalition is no longer being pursued," the group told the Washington Post.
In response to FairWarning's initial release of the group's intentions, LaHood said in his blog, "DOT and the safety community will not be stalled by a new effort to rile up corporate America and undermine the achievements of our campaign against distracted driving. Regardless of what a powerful lobbying group has to say, the simple fact is that texting and talking on cell phones behind the wheel is a deadly epidemic."
According to the group's presentation, it was in the process of recruiting manufacturers, wireless providers, car makers, associations, and GPS providers, such as Motorola, Nokia, Apple, Verizon, AT&T, GM, Ford, the Auto Alliance and TomTom, to name a few.
The group also said Jim Hall, former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, would be the face of DRIVE. Hall said the group was misrepresented to him, according to the Post. In fact, he stood with LaHood during the press conference, denouncing their efforts.
"The only effort I'm going to have anything to do with is to support Secretary LaHood and these safety advocates," he said.
"Are you really going to tell Jennifer Smith of Texas, who lost her mother, that states should continue to allow drivers to focus on their cell phones and not on the road in front of them?," LaHood said in his blog. "Well, I won't do that. And real safety advocates won't do that. When it comes to safety, this DOT is holding firm."
Posted by Ammons Law Firm
New Georgia Driving and Texting Ban Could Spread
07/01/2010 6:27 AM
The Associated Press writes today about a new Georigia state rule banning texting and driving. Georgia State Patrol troopers will wait until Aug. 1 to crack down on texting drivers as they focus their efforts on educating the public and determining how to enforce the new ban that starts this week.
State Patrol Commanding Officer Maj. Mark McDonough says the department's efforts are going to be "very compassionate" over the next few weeks while troopers and drivers get used to laws that bar adults from texting while driving , ban texting and talking for drivers under 18 and require pickup truck drivers and passengers to wear seat belts.
During a question and answer session on Tuesday, McDonough acknowledged that enforcing the texting ban could be a challenge.
He said, for example, that while the law clearly says teens are not allowed to text or call while driving, determining who is a teenager might not be so easy.
"That would be very difficult for a trooper to just effect a stop based upon a person's age," McDonough said, according to a transcript of the session provided by the State Patrol.
Troopers will not receive specific new training, he added, but will have to be vigilant before making traffic stops for a texting or talking driver who may be distracted and not staying in the proper lane or following too closely.
"If he's wrong, he's going to have to let that person go," McDonough said. "The number one thing we have to have in our job is the ability to observe. Is it impossible? No, but it's going to require the trooper to do some observation in order to develop the reason why he pulls them over."
McDonough says the situation will be more clear-cut for drivers involved in accidents resulting from texting or from pickup truck drivers not wearing seat belts.
Drivers found guilty of violating the laws on texting or talking while driving face a $150 fine and a point added to their driver's license.
The new laws take effect July 1, which marks the beginning of the Fourth of July holiday, a busy travel weekend when traffic enforcement is an increased priority.
McDonough said he thinks the laws are good ones, and that the grace period will be effective. He also said he thinks the state's decision to end the ban on seat belts for pickups could save the lives of 100 people a year who would otherwise die on Georgia roadways.
Georgia was the last state to end the pickup exemption for seat belts. McDonough said about 20 percent of fatal vehicle accidents occur in pickup trucks statewide each year, and that in those circumstances, 75 percent of the time people are not wearing seat belts.
Two dozen other states have passed bans on texting while driving.
In Georgia, the adult law is named for Caleb Sorohan, a Morgan County college freshman who was killed in a head-on collision last year because he was texting while driving. The family of the 18-year-old has pushed state lawmakers to pass the texting ban since his death in December.
The Illinois-based National Safety Council estimates that 28 percent of crashes - or 1.6 million annually - are caused by drivers talking or texting on cell phones.
The push to address such dangerous driving practices has garnered the attention of celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and organizations like the United Nations. Both launched campaigns to discourage drivers from using cell phones while behind the wheel.
Amy Stracke, a spokeswoman with AAA Auto Club South based in Tampa, Fla., said the law will mainly work as a deterrent.
"Most people are law-abiding citizens, so if there is a law on the books, most people are going to abide by that law," Stracke said. She added that the law is enforceable and that educating drivers will be key. "There's not a lot of history on it, but these laws have been shown to reduce the amount of texting that's done behind the wheel."
Posted by Ammons Law Firm
Trucking Safety Plan Brings Praise, Concern
06/25/2010 6:31 AM
Fleetowner.com has a very informative article today about a new plan designed to standardize safety and reduce trucking accidents for long haul truckers, but it is drawing some criticism as well as praise.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) revealed its roll -out plan to Congress this week for its revamped safety scoring process for the trucking industry called Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 (CSA 2010). While the new program drew praise from truckers and safety experts, concerns were also expressed-- namely over the data collection and analysis portion of the new rules.
The new Carrier Safety Measurement System (CSMS) will replace the current safety scoring system, SAFESTAT, and will measure carriers more thoroughly through the use of all safety violation data, weighted by crash risk.
"CSMS will give our investigators a more robust tool to use in identifying high risk carriers for review," Ferro stressed. "It also will be the basis for the selection system roadside enforcement officers will use to focus their roadside inspections."
With regard to process, CSA 2010 introduces a new strategy known as the "intervention," and frames it at four levels: comprehensive on-site reviews (much like today's compliance review); focused on-site investigations; off-site investigations; and warning letters.
"Through a mix of these interventions, combined with roadside activity, we will increase the number of carriers we "touch" and catch unsafe behaviors before it leads to a crash," Ferro said.
Finally, for maximum effect, Ferro said CSA 2010 will be grounded on a new piece of regulation, known as the Safety Fitness Determination Rule.
"This rule will decouple the carrier safety rating from today's on-site compliance review [and] will enable FMCSA to propose carrier safety ratings through the CSMS, thereby increasing the number of carriers we rate annually ten-fold," Ferro explained.
The notice for proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for this new regulation is expected in early 2011 and Ferro noted that much of CSA won't be fully active until next year..
"The roll-out for CSA 2010 officially began in April this year with the launch of the data preview, with the actual CSMS system to be previewed in late August, followed by full view to the public at the end of the year," she said. "Remaining components - warning letters, the NPRM, intervention process and more - will continue to the end of fiscal year 2011."
By that time, CSA 2010 will be known only by its initials "CSA," which will stand for "Compliance, Safety, Accountability," Ferro added.
While the American Trucking Assns. (ATA) said it supports CSA 2010's overall objectives, it contends that there are major "flaws" relating to how the new program will actually work . These flaws could harm safe carriers while allowing unsafe ones to continue operating, stressed Keith Klein, executive vp & COO of truckload carrier Transportation Corporation of America, testifying on behalf of ATA.
To avoid these consequences, Klein said that FMCSA should delay the implementation of CSA 2010 until the agency gets a chance to review an evaluation study of the program currently underway by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.
In particular, ATA has three major concerns: Crash accountability or "causation" determinations should be made on truck-involved crashes before entering them into a carrier's record so drivers and carriers are held accountable only for crashes they cause; vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and not number of trucks or power units should be used as a carrier's "exposure measure"; and the agency should focus on using only actual citations for moving violations, not un-adjudicated "warnings" issued by law enforcement.
Klein said that in addition to those issues, ATA is also concerned about how the severity weights for violations are assigned; measuring carriers based on violations committed by drivers who have since been terminated; measuring carriers based on citations that have been dismissed in a court of law; inequitable measurement of open deck or flatbed carriers; overly broad peer groups; and inconsistent state enforcement practices.
"A system that is based on inconsistent data and a flawed scoring methodology will not achieve its objectives," Klein stressed. "Instead, it will create inequities for some safe carriers and inappropriately allow some unsafe carriers to avoid scrutiny and consequences."
Industry observers also caution fleet owners and others to expect glitches to crop up in the CSA 2010 process as it gets rolled out. "With a program of this size and scope there are bound to be some bumps along the way," said Stephen Keppler, interim executive director of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA).
Posted by Ammons Law Firm
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