Logging Miles In Mississippi: Log Trucks And Log Truck Accidents In The Magnolia State

In late October, 2022, in Rankin County, Mississippi, a terrible accident involving a log truck claimed a log trucker’s life and injured at least one other driver. According to local reports, several drivers were heading eastbound on Mississippi’s Highway 18 near Puckett around 9:35 am on October, 20, when they came to a stop behind a stopped trash hauler. Behind the line of cars that had stopped behind the trash hauler, a log truck collided into the back of another tractor-trailer truck. The driver of the log truck suffered fatal injuries at the scene and was pronounced dead. The driver of a Jeep that was involved in the crash was transported to the hospital with unknown injuries, while others involved in the collision were, fortunately, uninjured.

The tragic accident, still under investigation at the time of reporting, brings an important issue to light: the prevalence of log trucks on the road in Louisiana and the dangers that such large trucks can cause to both log truck operators and occupants and other drivers on the road.

Log Trucks on the Road in Mississippi

According to the American Loggers Council, the forestry industry, which includes logging, is a $12.8 billion dollar industry to the Mississippi economy, and is the second most valuable agricultural commodity. Mississippi loggers harvested over 31.5 million tons of lumber from 2014 to 2018, with large log trucks being the primary method of transporting logs during that time and still at present. During the 8-year period from 2014-2018, log trucks made 1.2 million loaded trips in Mississippi and an equivalent amount of empty return trips. Simply put, logging is an important and valuable industry in Mississippi, and one that requires log trucks to be constantly out on the road moving lumber products. It is, unfortunately, no surprise, that there are approximately 275 log truck accidents that are estimated to occur in Mississippi per year, based on past data. In addition, approximately 3.6% of log truck accidents are estimated to occur on interstate roadways.

The Dangers of Log Truck Accidents

Undoubtedly, log truck accidents pose the same types of dangers that any other tractor-trailer truck poses when involved in a motor vehicle accident. In order to drive a log truck, a driver must have a Class A commercial driver’s license, which is required to operate vehicles with a weight of over 26,001 pounds. Indeed, log trucks are extremely heavy machines and, consequently, can cause very serious, potentially fatal, injuries when involved in a collision. In addition, log trucks and other trucks may be poorly maintained, may have unsecured loads, and may be negligently operated, all of which may lead to fatal accidents on the road.

Mississippi Personal Injury Lawyers Help Truck Accident Victims

Trucking accidents can be very dangerous and even fatal, and truck accident survivors may have life-lasting injuries. Fortunately, Mississippi personal injury laws provide justice to truck accident victims when they are injured due to a truck driver and/or trucking company’s negligence. If you or a family member have been injured by a truck in Mississippi, and it was the truck driver or trucking company’s fault, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries. Contact the experienced Jackson personal injury lawyers at Lunsford Baskin & Priebe today to learn about your rights and to see if they can help you recover money under the law for your trucking accident.

Source:

wlbt.com/2022/10/20/multi-vehicle-wreck-kills-log-truck-driver-rankin-county/