Timing and time play a bigger role than you might think in car and truck accidents in Hollywood and South Florida. When it comes to sharing the roads with larger commercial vehicles, especially, you need to consider timing in three crucial ways:
1) The timing of your drive.
How much time are you giving yourself to get to your destination? If it’s not enough, you could be putting yourself at risk for a trucking accident. When you leave earlier than you need to, you give yourself some wiggle room in case there’s bad weather, bad traffic, or road condition issues on your drive. With extra time on your side, you don’t have to hurry or worry, and you may be less tempted to speed and to weave in and out of lanes.
Leaving with too little time, on the other hand, can mean you’re distracted because you’re always looking at the clock and worrying about arriving on time rather than thinking about your driving. When you’re stressed over time, you may also be more prone to road rage or even driving mistakes.
2) The difference in stop time between you and a truck.
The amount of time it takes you to get up to speed and come to a stop is much shorter than that of a tractor trailer or big rig. When you don’t respect the timing differences, you could find yourself in a trucking collision.
When you don’t consider that large trucks handle differently, you might not see any problems in cutting off a truck or cutting in front of a larger truck. Unfortunately, these maneuvers could lead to a tragic rear-end collision, simply because the truck driver may not be able to stop in time.
3) The time of day.
The time you drive can have a big impact on your accident risk. For example, mornings and afternoons can mean much heavier traffic as Hollywood and Florida residents head to work and school. Mornings and late afternoons can also mean more of a glare as the sun sets and rises, so you need to be alert and aware of the added risks.
If you’re driving very early, you could be on the road at the same time as commercial trucks, which could put you at risk of a collision – especially if you don’t give these larger vehicles extra room. Similarly, if you’re driving on the weekends, you may encounter more trucks and cars on the roads, especially during the early and evening hours. Weekends also pose a danger because drunk driving is more likely to occur on weekends and on holidays.
You may not be able to avoid driving at certain higher-risk hours, but knowing what the risks are and being prepared for them can help you drive as safely as possible.
If you have been injured in a trucking accident in Hollywood or South Florida and think your accident may have been caused by someone’s negligence or recklessness, contact Flaxman Law Group for a free accident consultation. Our law firm in South Florida has three convenient locations to serve you and our attorneys and paralegals have spent decades working on personal injury and traffic accident cases in South Florida. We understand how to pursue trucking accident claims and we can offer honest, thorough information in a consultation so you can make the right decision for you.