Yesterday, on January 10, 2017, another senseless death of two innocent people happened because of inexcusable driving by an 18 wheeler. The lives of an Orange County couple returning home from Beaumont were taken because an 18 wheeler failed to control his speed near mile marker 858 on IH 10 and ran up the rear end of a flat bed trailer and then catapulted over the concrete dividing barrier for East and West traffic entering the lane where Donald and Laura Blevins were driving. This didn’t have to happen. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Blevins family.
So why did this accident happen in the first place? And why do so many 18 wheeler accidents happen in Orange and Jefferson County along Interstate Highway 10? The answer is because it is a highly congested area and 18 wheeler drivers fail to control their speed. There are obviously other reasons that an 18 wheeler driver on Interstate 10 between Beaumont, Texas and the Louisiana border would cause a collision including inattention to road conditions, distractions by texting and other activities in the cab, and poor mechanical condition of the truck and trailer as well as many others.
But why do these horrific accidents occur? Do we have the technology on January 10, 2017 to prevent two deaths from happening because of a runaway 18 wheeler? High end cars are currently equipped with computers that not only alert the driver about front end danger (a potential rear end collision) but also actually cause the vehicle to brake to avoid a collision. So why are 18 wheelers that carry payloads up to 80,000 pounds or 40 tons set loose on the roadways to travel 75 miles per hour? Why does the general public have to be terrorized by a driver that may or may not be in good health? Or who is under the influence of drugs or alcohol? Or is distracted on his cell phone? Or is in a hurry?
Dugas Law Firm has been fighting 18 wheelers and big trucking companies in Orange and Jefferson County and throughout Texas. Clay Dugas has fought the big trucking companies in cases where drivers have been sexting and killed four innocent people. Clay Dugas continues to fight and demand that the 18 wheeler trucking industry implement safety precautions and safety devices that would save thousands of lives every year. And Clay Dugas will continue fighting for those changes in safety until the public and the 18 wheeler industry finally decide that safety matters more than the bottom line.
The 18 wheeler accident on January 10, 2017 in Orange County, Texas did not have to happen, but since these accidents do occur, Clay Dugas is here to fight for safer driving conditions.
Photograph courtesy of KBMT/http://www.12newsnow.com/news/local/victims-identified-in-18-wheeler-wreck-that-blocks-east-and-westbound-traffic-in-rose-city/384822625