Crash on I-80 in Wyoming Involves 27 Vehicles

This video features Tom Metier, a Personal Injury attorney based in Colorado.

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On March 20th, there was another devastating vehicle crash on I-80 in Wyoming. It occurred east of Laramie near milepost 331. There were 27 vehicles in the crash, and 23 of them were commercial trucks. This is not the first massive chain-reaction car crash to occur this year on this stretch of road.

This legal brief features attorneys Tom Metier and Grant Lawson. Tom Metier is the President Elect of the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys and founder of Metier Law Firm based in Colorado. Grant Lawson is a truck accident attorney based in the Metier Law Firm’s Wyoming office. They say truck drivers need to remain extra alert on icy highways during colder months.

To learn more, contact the attorneys directly by calling 888-634-7366 or by submitting a contact form on this page. The consultation is free and confidential, and you owe no out-of-pocket attorney fees.

Poor driver training is a common and severe issue within the trucking industry.

A breach of safety which occurs when a company sends an unprepared/undertrained driver onto the road. Keeping an open and helpful line of communication between the truck driver and the company is also essential to providing a safe journey for the truck driver himself/herself as well as for other drivers on the road.

Trucking companies and drivers have a responsibility to remain aware of driving conditions.

Every vehicle operator has a responsibility to remain aware of the weather and how that weather affects driving conditions. Trucking companies and their drivers must exercise an even greater level of responsibility regarding these factors in order to keep themselves and other drivers safe. Trucking companies know better than to send their drivers out in unsafe driving conditions, and the intentional oversight of the risks involved in a decision like this can lead to devastating truck crashes and pileups.

Training truck drivers to adjust to real-time driving conditions is imperative.

When a truck driver has not been trained for how to deal with ever-changing driving conditions, the consequences can be severe and traumatic. A truck driver needs to be trained to handle their vehicle in any condition, whether this means further training regarding how to handle their vehicle in icy/snowy conditions, or even just their ability to know better than to go out in impassable conditions. Increasing the quality of their training and communication are two of the surest ways trucking companies can reduce the instances of multi-vehicle wrecks.

To learn more, contact the Metier Law Firm directly by calling 888-634-7366 or by submitting a contact form on this page. The consultation is free and confidential, and you owe no out-of-pocket attorney fees.

Video Transcript:

Just how dangerous are some highways in the state of Wyoming? I’m Rob Rosenthal and this is an AskTheLawyers.com™ Legal Brief.

Once again, a snowy pileup on Interstate 80 in Wyoming caused the roadway to be completely shut down for more than 12 hours. Late last week, a 27-vehicle crash east of Laramie resulted in numerous injuries and many damaged vehicles. The Wyoming Highway Patrol says 23 of the 27 vehicles in the pileup were commercial trucks.
According to authorities, a state trooper had stopped to check on a truck that was stalled in the roadway. That’s when another truck crashed into the rear of the stalled one, and then the chain reaction happened. So far, no deaths have been reported in this collision. But earlier in the month, a 100-vehicle pileup on the same interstate resulted in three deaths.

Attorneys Tom Metier and Grant Lawson, truck accident specialists with the Metier Law Firm, say: "Sadly, we again see the breakdown in communication and driver training, which occurs within the trucking industry. Trucking companies and their drivers are responsible for knowing the driving conditions they are heading into. They have a responsibility, especially in the winter, to know what the road conditions are ahead of them for proper planning."

They go on to say:

"On top of this, responsibility is the utmost duty to adjust to real-time driving conditions. Driving a tractor-trailer in icy and snowy conditions requires drivers to slow down, keep control of their trucks, and maintain safe stopping distances. Making our highways and roadways safer is the mission of those few attorneys and law firms who have the knowledge, training, and expertise with trucking and commercial vehicle operations. We will continue to strive for this goal so that all users of our highways make it safely to their destinations every time."

The Wyoming Department of Transportation says the number of times Interstate 80 has already been closed during this winter season is setting five-year records. WYDOT says over 50% of the traffic on I-80 is heavy trucks. This has been an AskTheLawyers.com™ legal brief.

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