In mid November in North Dakota people were trying to remember their winter driving skills as the rain fell and the temperatures dipped below zero.

On top of the rain and the icy roads, snow and sleet fell and accompanied by heavy winds the drivers were having a hard time staying in their lanes.

All of the patrol officers were attending accidents nonstop and on Thursday, November 19 there were 23 accidents within the city limits of Grand Forks with the collisions increasing as the day went on. Things improved a little as the sanding crews went through the intersections.

Luckily most of the accidents were fender benders and there were no major injuries but even a minor accident can lead to thousands of dollars of expense and a great deal of inconvenience. Hence the need for everyone to brush up on their winter driving skills.

If you have been injured in an auto accident please call the Bismarck accident attorneys of Maring Williams Law Office, P.C. at (800) 492-5297 or contact us online today to schedule your free initial consultation.

Joey Romero, aged 26, who works for Fargo Cargo, went for his required annual physical as a truck driver and he was diagnosed with mild sleep apnea, a condition in which breathing stops and starts while sleeping and causes drowsiness the next day.

He had to spend $2,500 to undergo an expensive sleep study and was told to purchase an AutoPAP machine that was supposed to regulate his breathing, but Romero said that it made no difference.

And Romero is not alone, as many local truck drivers have had to have expensive sleep studies since the federal policy changed last year which affects every trucking company in the state of North Dakota.

Last year, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration established a list of doctors who are qualified to conduct physicals for truck or bus drivers after taking an online course.

However, many recommend the sleep apnea tests based solely on the driver’s neck size with different doctors saying the cut off is 16, 17 or 18 inches. Romero was recommended for a study after his neck was measured at 18.5 inches. Some think that many clinics are just trying to make additional money and local trucking companies are outraged with up to 20% of their drivers having to take the test and very few have actually been diagnosed with sleep apnea.

Obviously if a driver does have sleep apnea it can be dangerous to themselves and others on the road but Romero maintains he feels exactly the same whether he uses the machine or not and in addition, given that the mask is uncomfortable, when people first start using it they actually get less sleep as it take a while to get used to.

If you have been injured in an auto accident please call the Bismarck accident attorneys of Maring Williams Law Office, P.C. at (800) 492-5297 or contact us online today to schedule your free initial consultation.

The 2014 crash report for major North Dakota highways, prepared by the state Department of Transportation, has been published and shows that U.S. Highway 85, which is the artery through the state’s major oil production zone, is the top of all the lists for fatal accidents, injury accidents and property damage accidents.

The heaviest used roads by volume of traffic are parts of U.S. 85 as well as the Interstate 94 east of Valley City and Interstate 29 from Grand Forks through Fargo. That is not only for cars and standard trucks but in addition there are on average 200 permits issued every single day for oversize trucks to be able to travel on U.S. 85 which are usually for oil and gas and construction equipment.

The DOT is constantly looking for ways to improve safety on U.S. 85 and there is now a 42 mile stretch of four lanes between Watford City and Williston and bypass truck reliever routes around Watford City and Alexander. In addition they are looking at slowly speeds to 55 mph, and to install traffic signals, lighting and delineator reflectors on U.S. 85 where it intersects with N.D. Highway 68.

If you have been injured in an auto accident please call the Bismarck accident attorneys of Maring Williams Law Office, P.C. at (800) 492-5297 or contact us online today to schedule your free initial consultation.