According to Schumer, about 200 commercial vehicles crash into overpasses each year and 80 percent of those are as a result of faulty GPS routes that took drivers down roadways with overpasses to short for their vehicles.

Property Damage, Personal Injury, and High Expenses Caused

Beyond vehicle damage, some of these truck accidents cause major injury to drivers. The overpass crashes forces roads to become backed up causing traffic jams and increased risk for more auto accidents.

In an effort to combat overpass crashes, the state of New York spent $3 million on signs and a campaign educating truckers about low overpasses. These signs have not proved to be very helpful because truck drivers increasingly rely on their GPS devices and fail to even notice the signs warning them of a low overpass.

Right now, GPS devices used in commercial vehicles are of the same type used in passenger vehicles with no consideration taken for the size differences between commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles. This is a problem because many overpasses, particularly in Long Island on the Northern State Parkway, the Southern State Parkway, and Meadowbrook Parkway, simply are not made for commercial vehicles.

The Senator is calling for a federal investigation and says that it is imperative that there is a nationwide standard requiring GPS devices in commercial vehicles to have different data than those in passenger vehicles in order to avoid the unnecessary property, monetary, and human costs of overpass crashes.

Unfortunately, for now, commercial and automobile drivers alike must deal with the potential risk of injury and expenses associated with overhead crashes.

Drivers who are injured in overpass crashes, however, have options and may be entitled to compensation. Contacting a personal injury attorney knowledgeable in these affairs is advised.