Icy weather causes deadly truck crashes in Iberville.

A Texas man was driving a 2004 Ford pickup truck on Interstate 10 eastbound near Ramah in Iberville Parish when he lost control and struck the guardrail. Stepping out of the vehicle he could not make it to safety and was hit when a semi-truck rammed into his pickup.

Just after the collision, another semi-truck came to a controlled stop but was struck from behind by a third 18-wheeler. According to a Post South report of the accident, the Louisiana State Police do not think alcohol was a factor, but black ice certainly was, and I-10 was later closed to traffic.

The weather can change very quickly in Louisiana, and conditions are often extreme with rain, snow, sleet and ice in the winter, or storms or blinding sun in the summer.

As we have mentioned regularly before, trucking companies are subjected to detailed safety regulations, and one of them, section 392.14, deals with weather conditions.

Titled Hazardous conditions; extreme caution, this section of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) rules instructs the truck driver to reduce speed or even to discontinue operating the truck if hazardous weather conditions adversely affect visibility or traction.

Key words in this rule are “extreme caution,” putting the responsibility for what might happen squarely on the truck driver’s and motor carrier’s shoulders.

All too often, motor carriers and truck drivers consider these compulsory FMCSA safety regulations as secondary to the all-important goal of making money, delivering on time and expanding business. In extreme weather conditions, this attitude has devastating consequences.

If you have been hurt in a Louisiana truck accident, contact the attorneys of the Young Firm immediately for a FREE consultation on your case at (504) 680-4100 (local) or (866) 660-7220 (toll free) or by sending us an e-mail.