Blocking the Road – Duty to Maintain a Proper Lookout

Blocking the Road - Duty to Maintain a Proper Lookout

You can't block the road simply to talk with someone who is on the shoulder.

In this report we have a two-truck accident on eastbound I-80 at the 138.5 mile marker. According to the ISP report there is a car legally stopped on the shoulder. For an undisclosed reason an 18-year-old driver of a 1998 Ford CRN Vic either slows or stops right next to the car parked on the break down lane. Behind him is the crest of a hill and beyond that crest is an oncoming semi-truck being driven by Richard Quentin Hoefs, Grand Meadow, Minnesota. He's 84 and driving a 1999 International Semi-truck for Jacobson Transport, Inc.  

Here is the narrative:

UNIT 1 WAS EAST BOUND WHEN IT STOPPED ON THE TRAVELED PORTION NEXT TO A NON-CONTACT VEHICLE THAT WAS LEGALLY PARKED ON THE SHOULDER. UNIT 2 CRESTED THE HILL AND REAR-ENDED UNIT 1. UNIT 1 CAME TO A REST ON THE SOUTH SHOULDER. UNIT 2 ROLLED OVER AND LEFT THE ROADWAY, COMING TO REST ON ITS TOP IN THE SOUTH DITCH.

In Iowa every driver has a duty to drive with a proper lookout and with due care. That applies equally to stopping on a busy road and especially Interstate 80.

You can read the entire report by following this link.

• Date: 3/22/2011
• Time: 11:51 p.m.
• Place: Polk County, Iowa on I-80, Eastbound 138.5 Milemarker
• Driver 1: J. Liggins (18) Des Moines.
• Driver 2: R. Hoefs,(84) Grand Meadow, MN 55936.

Description or Narrative: See above or follow this link or this link.

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Minnesota truck driver killed in I-80 crash

...of a crash in the eastbound lanes of Interstate Highway 80 northeast of Des Moines late Tuesday night. from DesMoinesRegister.com - NEWS - Mar 24, 2011 4:12 AM