Texas road construction project site of two wrongful death truck accidents

A bridge road construction project has been the site of two wrongful death truck accidents in a month.  The two accidents, other wise unrelated, happened when a tractor trailer plowed into a line of cars that were slowing to enter the road construction zone.  In both accidents, there were multiple deaths from the road construction zone accident.

The primary cause of each of the truck accidents was driver inattention -- the simple failure of the truck driver to recognize that traffic was slowing ahead of him.  The loss of attention and concentration is often associated with driver fatigue from many hours of driving on the road.

Another interesting issue with regard to these truck accidents is the role of the construction zone in causing the accidents.  Obviously, the lane configuration had to be changed for the project.  What will be interesting to see if there was any analysis done after the first accident as to whether the configuration of the project contributed to cause the accident and if any changes were implemented.

Road construction contractors have an obligation to keep the motoring public safe as they enter and pass through road construction zones.  After a horrible fatal truck accident, the contractor should have looked at the issue of whether its project played a larger role in causing the first accident and made changes to prevent further accidents.