Ep. 91 - Mapping Indiana's Semi Crash Hotspots, Times, and Causes || After the Crash Podcast

You can now see where semi crashes happened on your commute in 2025, before the federal government has even published that data. That lag has frustrated David Craig for years, so his firm built something to close it. In this episode of After the Crash, Board-Certified Truck Accident Attorney David Craig sits down with Nick Perin, the senior software engineer who turned an idea most people said couldn't be done into a working, patent-pending tool. Nick grew up in Indiana, earned his degree in computer science with a minor in mathematics, and built everything from diabetes education games for Riley's Children's Hospital to collaboration software before joining Craig, Kelley & Faultless. Together, David and Nick break down SemiCrashMap.com, an interactive map that tracks commercial motor vehicle wrecks across all 50 states, and what the 2025 and early 2026 Indiana numbers actually reveal. ✔️ Why I-65 (193 wrecks), I-70 (115), and I-465 (98) topped Indiana in 2025 ✔️ How Marion County led the state with 314 commercial vehicle wrecks ✔️ The most dangerous days and times to drive (Monday and 3 PM in 2025) ✔️ Why "following too closely" is really about driver fatigue and distraction ✔️ How unsafe lane movement and semi blind spots cause preventable crashes ✔️ What the ECM "black box" reveals about speed, braking, and steering after a wreck David Craig is one of the few attorneys in the U.S. who is Board-Certified in Truck Accident Law by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and accredited by the American Bar Association. With 39+ years handling semi-truck wreck cases, that means he meets rigorous experience, ethics, and knowledge standards to hold trucking companies and unsafe drivers accountable. David also shares how he took the attorneys at CKF to a trucking school in Montana to drive semis, watch stopping distance tests, and learn firsthand how a loaded tractor-trailer behaves differently than an empty one. That kind of hands-on understanding shapes how the firm reads crash data, and why so many of these wrecks were never supposed to happen. 👉 Key takeaway: When you know where, when, and why semi crashes happen, you can make safer decisions, and hold the right people accountable when they don't. — 00:00 – The Idea: Crash Data Before the Government Publishes It 00:45 – Meet Nick Perin, Senior Software Engineer at CKF 01:25 – From High School Computer Labs to Building Software for a Law Firm 04:37 – Why Law Firms Are Slow to Adopt Technology 08:20 – The Frustration That Sparked SemiCrashMap.com 09:59 – Building the Proof of Concept & Filing a Patent 12:29 – How the Semi Crash Map Actually Works 14:48 – Clustering Markers & Filtering Thousands of Wrecks 16:09 – 2025 Data You Can See Before the Feds Release It 21:20 – Which Indiana Highways Have the Most Semi Wrecks? 25:23 – Marion County Leads the State in Crashes 28:18 – The Most Dangerous Days & Times to Be on the Road 31:01 – Top Causes: Unsafe Lane Movement & Following Too Closely 41:16 – Speeding Too Fast for Weather & What CDL Rules Require 42:57 – Pulling the ECM "Black Box" After a Crash — If you or someone you know has been involved in a truck crash, don’t wait. Visit https://ckflaw.com or call 1-800-ASK-DAVID for experienced legal help. — Why Listen to After the Crash? Navigating the aftermath of a trucking accident can feel overwhelming, but you don’t have to face it alone. This podcast is designed to educate and empower victims and their families, helping you make informed decisions about your future. — Learn About the Firm: At Craig, Kelley & Faultless, LLC, we’ve dedicated over 30 years to fighting for trucking accident victims. From preserving evidence to holding negligent trucking companies accountable, our mission is to protect your rights and secure the justice you deserve. — Download Semitruck Wreck for FREE: https://www.ckflaw.com/truck-accident-ebook/ Follow Us on Socials: Website: https://www.ckflaw.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ckflaw LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/craig-kelley-&-faultless-attorneys-at-law Contact Us: Email: [email protected] Phone: 1-800-ASK-DAVID #TruckAccident #TruckingSafety #SemiCrashMap #IndianaTrucking #DavidCraig #CraigKelleyFaultless #AfterTheCrash #TruckAccidentLawyer #RoadSafety #I65 #I465 #I80 #I70