South Texas Drivers Put Their Lives In Their 'Own Hands,' Says Karnes County Sheriff
South Texas drivers, now forced to "share" the road with oil and gas trucks in one of the more than dozen counties covered by the Eagle Ford Shale, must also contend with the possibility of getting into a serious accident.
SAN ANTONIO, TX, July 16, 2012
"You take your life in your own hands by being out on the road right now," said Karnes County Sheriff David Jalufka, as Hailey Konnath reports for the Houston Chronicle. Jalufka's talking about the Eagle Ford Shale traffic - 18-wheelers and oil tankers and other commercial trucks - going to and from the wells.There's so much of it that Texas 239 is known, according to Konnath, as the "death trap," while U.S. 181 is "clogged."
The words "death trap" and "clogged" aren't overblown: if the numbers are right, McMullen County alone has had a 1,050 percent increase in the number of fatal wrecks with commercial trucks.
And Karnes County has seen its fatal truck accidents multiply by a factor of 12 since 2008, around the time the natural gas and oil boom really started taking off in South Texas.
"This isn't the small town it was a year and a half ago," said the chief of police in Kenedy, Texas, where 500 trucks travel daily and elsewhere on deteriorating South Texas roads.
Oil and Gas Truckers Too Tired For the Road
South Texas drivers, now forced to "share" the road with oil and gas trucks in one of the more than dozen counties covered by the Eagle Ford Shale, must also contend with the possibility of getting into a serious accident.
All of the usual suspects come into play, in terms of what causes a truck accident, especially driving while sleepy. Fatigued driving is playing a big role in South Texas, as truckers (and other oil and gas company employees) are often driving much longer than allowed under the hours-of-service rules.
Generally, a commercial truck driver has a 10- or 11-hour driving limit, depending on the type of truck, which should not be exceeded.
At the Law Office of Tyler & Peery, we have been committed to achieving fair and just results for trucking accident victims throughout Texas since 1990.
Four of our Attorneys (Dennis C. Peery, John N. Tyler, James Shaffer, and Jeffrey w. Jones) are Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
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