May 2005

5/23/05, Pooler, GA – Two tractor trailer drivers have been charged in connection with a series of wrecks on I-16 near I-95 last week that snarled traffic for hours. Nineteen vehicles were involved in seven crashes, injuring seven people, in a one-mile section of road within less than an hour on May 17. One truck driver has been charged with driving too fast for conditions in the rain. See article.
A Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulation. 49 CFR 392.14, requires that:
“Extreme caution in the operation of a commercial motor vehicle shall be exercised when hazardous conditions, such as those caused by snow, ice, sleet, fog, mist, rain, dust, or smoke, adversely affect visibility or traction. Speed shall be reduced when such conditions exist. If conditions become sufficiently dangerous, the operation of the commercial motor vehicle shall be discontinued and shall not be resumed until the commercial motor vehicle can be safely operated.”

Near Boston on 5/12/05, a burning truck driver was forced to leap 60 feet into the water below after his tractor-trailer truck smashed through the guardrail of an Interstate 495 bridge over the Merrimack River, causing the truck to explode into flames. State police said the driver managed to swim to an island in the middle of the river. He suffered second- and third-degree burns to his upper body, and was flown to a Boston burn unit. The news story does not explain the cause of the crash. See Boston Herald article.

Senate Bill 3 says that the offer of judgment rule should apply to pending cases. However, a Florida case found that similar “loser pays” rule was substantive rather than merely procedural. See Timmons v. Combs, 608 So.2d 1 (Fla.1992) If followed in Georgia, that would exclude retroactive application in cases arising before the effective date of SB 3. See Polito v. Holland, 365 S.E.2d 273, 258 Ga. 54, (1988).