Trucking Case: Deposition of Truck Driver

Truck Drivers know the traffic rules. Most truck drivers study the rules, take their training in safe driving seriously, and operate their trucks safely and consistently. Truck drivers are set up for success when trucking companies give them all the equipment and training they need to operate their trucks safely. Unfortunately, there are exceptions. The truck driver in this case drove all over the state but did not have a place to park his tractor-trailer. So, the truck driver started parking his tractor-trailer at his house, which would have been fine except in order to park there, he was backing the tractor-trailer across a rural, five-lane US highway, sometimes at night in an area with no streetlights. One night, it happened: a pickup truck didn't see the trailer in time and crashed into the side of it. Police officers investigated the collision and cited the truck driver with improper backing and improper stopping. The driver of the pickup truck died from his injuries, and his family asked us to take the case. This is our cross-examination of the truck driver. For more about the trucking cases that our firm handles, visit https://butlerfirm.com/georgia-truck-.... We’d love to hear what you think! It helps our clients if people watch these depositions and leave comments, because that helps us to know what jurors will take away from the depositions, and what questions jurors will have after watching them. So please feel free to comment with your thoughts (good or bad) and let us know what other questions you wish we’d asked. That’s why we post these depositions to YouTube. ► MR. BUTLER: ► Q. Have you ever given a deposition before, Mr. Reed? ► A. No. ► Q. Ever testified in court before? ► A. No. ► Q. I suspect that Mr. Treese has got you well- prepared for what a deposition is, but I usually will say it's not a complicated thing. It's just questions and answers. I'll ask a bunch of questions, and you'll, I hope, give a lot of answers, and we'll try to be done as fast as we can. If it's any consolation to you, I normally don't take very long depositions, at least by the standards of my profession. ► A. Okay. ► Q. If I ask a question that you don't understand, just let me know, and I'll try to rephrase it. If at any time you need to take a break, like you need to use the bathroom or something like that, let us know, and we'll take one. ► A. Okay. ► Q. All right. How long have you had a commercial driver's license? ► A. 27 years. ► Q. Have you been driving a truck that whole time? ► A. Yes. ► Q. How long have you been driving 18-wheelers specifically? ► A. That whole time, 27 years. ► Q. How long have you been working with Evans Delivery Company or Allegiant? ► A. The end of July was a year. ► Q. Okay. So you started driving with Evans Delivery Company or Allegiant -- ► A. The last week of July, last year. ► Q. All right. We have a court reporter. Ms. Nearman is taking down everything we say; so if you will, let me get out the question before you answer it. The way you just did is perfectly normal and the way people usually talk. We have to be a little more formal here so we can get a clean record. Let me try it again. Did you start driving with Evan Delivery Company or Allegiant in July of 2019? ► A. Yes. ► Q. Thanks. And who did you drive for -- when you tell somebody who you drive for, do you normally say Evans Delivery Company or Allegiant? ► A. I drive for Allegiant now. I started -- like I said, I started with them at the end of July. ► Q. Okay. Is Allegiant, as far as you understand it, a brand of Evans Delivery Company? ► A. They're an agent. ► Q. So your understanding is Allegiant is an agent of Evan Delivery Company? ► A. Yes. ► Q. Who did you drive for before Allegiant? ► A. Mercury Transport. ► Q. How long did you drive for Mercury? ► A. I think about a year. ► Q. And why did you move from Mercury to Allegiant? ► A. Prior to them? Hub Group. ► Q. Say that again. ► A. Hub Group. ► Q. Oh, no. Why did you move from -- ► A. Oh, from Mercury to them? ► Q. Yeah. Yeah. ► A. They weren't working me enough. ► Q. All right. And then who was it before -- you said Hub Group was the person or entity that you drove for before Mercury? ► A. Yes. ► Q. And why did you leave Mercury and go to -- excuse me. I messed up. Why did you leave Hub Group and go to Mercury? ► A. They were weeding out their own operators. ► Q. How long did you drive for Hub Group? ► A. Ten years. ► Q. Do you still drive with Allegiant and Evans Delivery Company today? ► A. Yes. ► Q. Tell me what happened in this collision. ► A. I was in a turn lane in front of my house. I always wait for the traffic to pass where there's no traffic on either end. And when I set up to back in, I started backing in, and came over the hill, and he was moving pretty -- pretty fast, and I didn't have enough time to move to get out his way before he hit.