Shoppers are not the only ones rushing to meet deadlines during the week before Christmas – truck drivers are, too. Known as “peak week,” Dec. 19-24 is the busiest shipping week of the year. Tractor-trailer drivers moving packages across the country will be out in force, and other drivers should take extra caution to avoid a serious accident. 

UPS expects to handle nearly 120 million packages during the week, and on Dec. 22 its drivers will deliver almost 300 packages per second, according to the shipping company. Kentucky residents traveling near the Louisville International Airport should be especially cautious as truckers move packages into and out of UPS’s Worldport, the company’s worldwide air hub. According to a UPS press release, “The UPS Airlines will add more than 400 additional flights per day and on its busiest day, process 3 million express shipments in a 24-hour period through its Louisville Worldport facility.” 

FedEx expects to deliver over 260 million packages between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The United States Postal Service estimates that it will deliver 16.5 billion letters, packages and cards between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve. The post office’s busiest day was expected to be Dec. 20, when over 600 million cards and letters will be processed. All this means there will be a large number of trucks on the road with drivers rushing to pick up their next load. 

A Dec. 18 article in the Missoulian raises concerns over the increased number of commercial trucking accidents, some of which happen during this peak delivery time. The article cites a 2008 accident where a contract driver for FedEx en route from New Jersey to Portland, Ore., slammed into a car on the side of the road in Montana. The driver of the car died instantly. The FedEx truck driver was found to be speeding and was sentenced to 20 years in state prison for negligent homicide. 

Unfortunately, when a passenger vehicle is in an accident with an 80,000-pound big rig, the results can be devastating. Many large truck accidents result in catastrophic personal injuries, including spinal cord injuries, brain and neck trauma, broken bones and severe organ damage.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, more than 3,600 people were killed and another 93,000 were injured in large truck and bus accidents in the U.S. in 2009. In Kentucky, more than 100 motorists died and over 900 suffered injuries in commercial vehicle accidents. In 2010, nearly 8,500 Kentucky automobile accidents involved commercial vehicles.

The Kentucky State Police added a Commercial Vehicle Enforcement (CVE) Division in 2009. The CVE focuses on safety on Kentucky highways, with its primary emphasis on commercial traffic. This year, the division participated in the national “Operation Safe Driver” campaign from Oct. 16-22, with a goal of increasing commercial vehicle and non-commercial vehicle traffic enforcement.

While there are federal and state safety guidelines in place, such as the hours-of-service provision, not all drivers or their companies follow them. It is important for other drivers to be aware of the trucks around them and to follow some basic safety tips:

• Stay out of a truck driver’s blind spots. Trucks have three primary blind spots — along the side of the vehicle, in front of the vehicle and behind the vehicle. If you can’t see the driver’s mirror, he can’t see you either. Avoid a trucker’s blind spots as much as possible to limit the chance of an accident.
• Keep a safe distance between your vehicle and a tractor-trailer. Leave at least five seconds between you and the truck and never tailgate. Federal regulations require that large trucks leave a space of at least 400 feet between their truck and the vehicle in front of them. Cars should do the same.
• Give trucks space at turns. Trucks make wide, slow turns, and giving them extra room to maneuver can help prevent accidents. 

Our Lexington truck accident attorneys wish everyone a happy holiday and a prosperous New Year. We also encourage all Kentucky drivers to take extra caution when traveling during these extremely busy times of the year. Drive safely and drive sober.