18 Wheeler Truck Wrecks in Georgia

Image via Wikipedia18 Wheeler Dangers:

The size of a tractor-trailer means that they handle much differently than a passenger vehicle. One of the biggest differences is stopping distance. At 65 mph, a car requires approximately 160 feet to stop. A semi-truck, on the other hand, needs approximately 420 feet to stop.

A big rig also has huge blind spots, commonly referred to as "no zone" areas. We are all used to the blind spot in our own car, but trucks have multiple blind spots, including in the front and the back. This makes it difficult for the driver to spot surrounding vehicles, which could lead to a collision.


In addition, semi-trucks make wide turns. A driver often has to swing in the opposite direction before negotiating a turn. For example, before making a right turn, a tractor-trailer driver may first swing the truck left to accommodate the wide turning radius. This can endanger vehicles on either side of the truck.

The height and weight distribution of an 18-wheeler makes it particularly susceptible to rollovers. Although often caused by speeding, truck rollovers can occur even at very low speeds, especially when going around corners and up or down a steep pitch. Rollovers may also occur when a tire goes off the pavement and a driver tries to return the semi-truck to the road.

Driver Error

Aside from the physical limitations of 18-wheelers, other factors can lead to truck accidents. Although truck drivers by and large are skilled, attentive, courteous drivers, even minor lapses in judgment on their part can lead to a catastrophic situation. Actions such as speeding, tailgating, swerving, failing to signal, and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol can all lead to a truck accident.

There are also a number of factors inherent to the trucking business that can lead to a big rig accident. Truck drivers often operate within a system of compensation that encourages driving faster and for more consecutive hours than is safe. They may also drive through hazardous conditions in order to meet deadlines. Additionally, drivers may receive inadequate training that does not prepare them for the danger of driving a tractor-trailer.

Jones County Truck Wreck

Electricity has been restored to 350 Georgia customers in Jones County after a tractor-trailer carrying frozen chickens bound for Savannah hit a power pole off Gray Highway near Creekside Drive.
The power came back on at about 9:45 a.m., said Georgia Power spokesman Jeff Wilson.

Marco Carswell, the owner of the rig, said driver Brent Gooden was parking on the side of the road when the rig rolled on the muddy shoulder, slid on its side down an embankment, and came to rest on the pole at about 6:15 a.m. about four miles into Jones County.
Gooden was not hurt in the incident but northbound traffic detoured in the southbound lanes on Ga. 11 so crews could lift the rig. The road reopened at about noon.

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Beware of phony Tamiflu sold online warns FDA

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In an attempt to protect consumers from internet medication fraud, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning on June 17 alerting consumers about fake Tamiflu being sold through illegal internet pharmacies which could prove to be perilous to the health of the user.

According to the health regulators, the fraudulent drug is being sold as “generic” Tamiflu online.

Dr. Margaret Hamburg, the U.S. commissioner of food and drugs, stated, "A rogue internet website marketing drug products may look like a professional and legitimate website but may actually be an illegal operation.
"Medicines purchased from websites operating outside the law put consumers at increased risk due to a higher potential that the products will be counterfeit, impure, contaminated, or have too little or too much of the active ingredient.”

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Chatham County: Traffic Fatality Arrest

Police have arrested one man for a traffic fatality that took place at Fort Argyle Road on Friday evening.

The accident claimed the life of 53-year-old Dena Lee Sargent of Bloomingdale. See Police investigating late night traffic fatality.

Savannah-Chatham police investigators said that 42-year-old Donald Lamar Pippin of Ellabell was going west on Fort Argyle Road when he struck Sargent while she was crossing the roadway.

Police say Pippin left the scene of the accident and was later found at his Ellabell home. With the assistance of Georgia State Patrol and the Bryan County Sheriff's Office, SCMPD traffic investigators arrested Pippin and brought him back to Chatham County.

Source here.

Chatham County: Traffic Fatality Arrest

Police have arrested one man for a traffic fatality that took place at Fort Argyle Road on Friday evening.

The accident claimed the life of 53-year-old Dena Lee Sargent of Bloomingdale. See Police investigating late night traffic fatality.

Savannah-Chatham police investigators said that 42-year-old Donald Lamar Pippin of Ellabell was going west on Fort Argyle Road when he struck Sargent while she was crossing the roadway.

Police say Pippin left the scene of the accident and was later found at his Ellabell home. With the assistance of Georgia State Patrol and the Bryan County Sheriff's Office, SCMPD traffic investigators arrested Pippin and brought him back to Chatham County.

Source here.

Chatham County: Traffic Fatality Arrest

Police have arrested one man for a traffic fatality that took place at Fort Argyle Road on Friday evening.

The accident claimed the life of 53-year-old Dena Lee Sargent of Bloomingdale. See Police investigating late night traffic fatality.

Savannah-Chatham police investigators said that 42-year-old Donald Lamar Pippin of Ellabell was going west on Fort Argyle Road when he struck Sargent while she was crossing the roadway.

Police say Pippin left the scene of the accident and was later found at his Ellabell home. With the assistance of Georgia State Patrol and the Bryan County Sheriff's Office, SCMPD traffic investigators arrested Pippin and brought him back to Chatham County.

Source here.