So part of the responsibility for preventing truck accidents is on the shoulders of other drivers. It is not an onerous weight however, because most of the things we can do to avoid being in any truck accident are things we should be doing anyway for the sake of safe and courteous driving.

1.) Stay out of the truck driver’s large blind spots. A big rig has four blind spots much bigger than those of a small vehicle, one on each side of the truck. Because the trucker is seated so high relative to other drivers, he needs you to be further away from him to be visible. The general rule is that if you cannot see the trucker directly or in one of his mirrors, he cannot see you, and though you can obviously see his vehicle, he cannot see yours.

2.) Never dart in front of a big rig. You may suddenly realize your exit is coming right up, but if there is an 18-wheeler blocking your access to the exit lane, slow down and let it pass rather than speeding up and darting in front of it to make the exit. If you misjudge the time you have in that maneuver, the truck may well be unable to slow down for you to cross in front of it. In such a collision, the smaller vehicle always fares worst and truck accident injuries tend to be more severe than those of other accidents

3.) Change lanes if you see a big rig speeding down the hill behind you. Never assume that it will slow down before hitting your vehicle. Sometimes, on a downhill grade, the truck’s massive weight overpowers the driver’s ability to stay within the speed limit. Or in some cases there is a mechanical failure that prevents the driver from braking effectively. You might also want to use your horn to alert other drivers further down the hill. In mountainous areas there are always extra truck lanes running uphill next to the downhill highway and a good trucker can always steer into one of these lanes to stop his vehicle. In the flatter areas such as are found in mid-western states like Missouri and Kansas, visibility and safety can be greater.

4.) Always allow a trucker to change lanes if you see him signaling. Again, because of the truck’s size and weight, the driver needs extra time and distance to change lanes and cannot do it impulsively, as so many small vehicles do. It is good driving courtesy to stay out of the trucker’s way and allow him to get his behemoth to where he needs it to be. He may be preparing to exit and needs to start early so as to be ready when the exit comes up. Or he may be behind schedule and wanting to get into the fast lane and be off to his next drop-off point. There is no benefit to getting in his way.

Truck accidents are increasing as the number of 18-wheelers increases. As a passenger car, SUV, or light truck driver, you will almost certainly sustain severe injury should you be involved in a truck accident. Typically, a person injured in a truck accident needs an attorney to fight for their full and fair compensation to cover medical costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

Truck accident personal injury cases can be complex and time-consuming. There may be a lot of discovery required, to examine the trucker’s log book, ascertain facts about his driving qualifications, delivery schedule and job history, about the truck’s load and maintenance, about your emergency medical care and injury complexities, and many other factors.

If you are in the area of Kansas City, St. Louis, or Jefferson City in Missouri and have indeed been injured in a truck accident, you will be well-served by the Bradley Law Firm, where attorneys are highly experienced in litigating truck accidents and can fight to obtain fair compensation for you.

• Over 23.2% of trucks inspected had mechanical defects
• Driver fatigue accounts for many of the truck crashes

When a truck hits a passenger car the resulting damage can be horrific and the injuries sustained by the occupants of the car often fatal.

There are many reasons why collisions occur between large trucks and cars. It can be as simple as negligence and poor driving on behalf of the truck driver or one of many other factors such as the truck driver being tired, trying to meet unrealistic schedules, aggressive driving, using a mobile phone while driving, poor maintenance of tires, brakes or lights.

A large truck is any vehicle over 10,000 pounds in weight and as such it is governed by specific rules and regulations. All truck drivers must get a commercial truck license and are subject to drug and alcohol tests in a limited capacity.

Truck accidents have increased over the last 10 to 15 years mainly due to driver fatigue, the carrying of unsafe loads and dangerous vehicle operation. Truck crashes caused by tired drivers have become such a concern that regulations were brought in to limit the number of hours that drivers can be on the road. These rules have helped reduce the number of truck accidents but it still thought that between 20 and 40% of truck crashes are caused by driver fatigue. Alcohol and drugs are also involved in many of the fatal truck crashes.

Trucks going above the allowed speed limit of 55 mph are much more likely to jack knife or roll over, causing serious accidents.

Large trucks have blind spots or ‘no-zones’ to the front, rear and sides of the vehicles. A truck driver cannot see a car in these spots and may turn right into the car. Accidents can also occur if trucks are following other vehicles too closely as a large truck requires forty percent more room to stop than an normal passenger car.

Out of an inspection of 2 million trucks on the roadside a massive 23.2% were found to have serious defects. This is a leading cause of truck accidents.

Occupants of cars involved in collisions are at high risk of serious injury if not death. For legal information on claiming for injuries caused by a truck accident you can click here to visit the website of the Barber Law Firm of Dallas, Texas.

]]> http://truckaccidentattorneys.org/collisions-with-trucks-lead-to-serious-if-not-fatal-injuries/feed/ 0 http://truckaccidentattorneys.org/truck-vs-other-vehicle-accidents/ http://truckaccidentattorneys.org/truck-vs-other-vehicle-accidents/#comments Fri, 28 Aug 2009 17:16:30 +0000 admin http://truckaccidentattorneys.org/?p=46

The size of large trucks puts all other types of vehicles and even pedestrians at a serious disadvantage when it comes to a collision. To be classified as a large truck it must be over 10,000 pounds, but most United States highways allow for a maximum weight of 80,000 pounds. Compare that to a passenger vehicle which weighs roughly 3000 pounds, or even worse, to a human body.

Truck vs. Car Accidents

When there is a collision between a large truck and a car, the damage is almost always more significant to the passenger vehicle. A large truck can very easily crush a compact car, and oftentimes the driver of the truck cannot even see the car. All large trucks have “blind-spots” that other drivers should be aware of. Drivers of passenger vehicles must also be aware that it is more difficult to maneuver a large truck, they can’t stop or turn as quickly as a car.

Truck vs. Motorcycle Accidents

While large trucks have an advantage over passenger vehicles, the advantage is even greater over a motorcycle and it’s passengers. Trucks are the largest vehicles on the road, and motorcycles are the smallest. When there is a collision between a large truck and a motorcycle the majority of damage and injury will always be to the motorcycle.

Motorcycles are difficult for drivers of passenger cars to see, so this is doubly true for the drivers of large trucks. Motorcycle drivers need to be even more aware of the “blind-spots” that all large trucks have.

Truck vs. Pedestrian Accidents

The bulk of a large truck’s time on the road is driven on highways and freeways. However, once a large truck gets to its destination city it then has to leave the highway and travel along roads that are shared with pedestrians.

The “blind-spots” that large truck drivers have to deal with regarding other vehicles like passenger cars and motorcycles are added to additional “blind-spots” when dealing with pedestrians. A large truck can be much taller than a person trying to cross the street so it’s possible to be in a blind spot simply by walking in front of a large truck.

This article does not contact legal advice. Please contact a truck accident lawyer in your area for specific rules and regulations.

If you live in Florida, please contact the Tallahassee truck accident lawyers at Searcy Denny (based in Tallahassee).