Articles Posted in Trucking Accidents

According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, American roads were the site of over 350,000 crashes involving commercial trucks in 2007 alone. Truck accidents tend to occur on highways, where many trucks drive, and where speed is often a factor as well. Speed, combined with the large size of most commercial trucks, ensures that most truck collisions result in tragedy. Many trucking accidents result in spinal cord injuries, loss of life, amputations, broken bones, burn injuries, brain injuries, and other serious injuries and damages.

Being in a truck accident is far more deadly than being in a car accident. While two cars tend to be fairly well matched and tend to weigh only about 3000 pounds, a fully loaded commercial truck can weigh over 80,000 pounds. In an accident, such a truck can completely crush a passenger vehicle and everyone in it. While the truck driver is often somewhat protected in the cab, simply because he or she is elevated and in a larger vehicle, those in a passenger vehicle have very limited protection against such a massive force.

According to The National Transportation Safety Board, the major causes of trucking accidents tend to be poor driver training, driver fatigue, and speeding. In addition, overloaded or oversized trucks, poor weather conditions, mechanical failure, defective parts, and driver inexperience contribute to many truck accidents. Finally, some truck accidents occur due to reckless driving. Drivers may not give right of way, may drive aggressively, or may even be driving under the influence.

Research has shown that experienced drivers are less likely to be involved in accidents. Experienced drivers are simply better able to anticipate certain driving situations and better know how to react to avoid collisions. As a result, experienced drivers and their passengers are less likely to be trucking accidents and are less likely to sustain serious injuries, such as burn injuries, spinal cord injuries, head injuries, and other injuries.

One of the best things you can do as a truck driver is to get additional training in order to become more familiar with your truck and the roads. There are many ways to get additional training. Many dealerships and car manufacturers offer training and driving courses. Local driving schools and truck driving institutes offer partial or refresher courses for drivers who are already licensed. Some licensed driving instructors also offer private lessons. For a small hourly fee, these instructors will drive with you in your truck and offer you additional tips and help.

Getting additional training can make you safer on the road and may also qualify you for lower insurance rates in your area. Call your insurance company to find out whether you can save money by getting additional truck training. You may find that the cost of your additional training is covered or nearly covered by your savings on insurance.

According to The National Transportation Safety Board, driver inexperience, poor driver training, poor driver choices (like speeding) and driver fatigue are major causes of trucking accidents. Unfortunately, when you are sitting behind a truck driver on the highway, you may not always know which drivers are dangerous and which are responsible and safe. If you want avoid truck accidents and the personal injuries they cause, look for these red flag signs of poor driving in trucks:

1) Abusive language. If a truck driver is yelling outside his window at passers-by or other drivers, he or she may be in the throes of road rage or may be simply an aggressive driver. In either case, by focusing on abusive language and not on the road, this type of driver is extremely dangerous.

2) Extra activity in the cab. Truck drivers who have too many cab passengers or who are eating, texting, talking on the cell phone or doing something else while driving do not have their full attention on the road. This means that they may not have time to react to avoid an accident. It may also mean that they are not aware of everyone and every car around them.

Each year across the country, more than 1.1 million Americans need medical help for burn injuries. About 4500 victims die directly as a result of their burn injuries and another 10 000 die from complications caused by their injuries. Burn injuries can be caused by anything from hot water to a fire, but many burn injuries are also caused by trucking accidents.

Many commercial trucks are used to carry flammable substances and chemicals. Some trucks on the road even carry fuels. These large trucks contain large amounts of fuel or flammable substances. If a truck carrying such dangerous cargo is in a car accident, the resulting collision can cause the fuel or flammable substances to leak, explode, or catch on fire. Any driver or pedestrian in the near vicinity can experience severe burn injuries as a result.

Trucking accident burn injuries are especially dangerous because the size of the truck and the impact of the collision can cause very hot fires and explosions that can cause damage over a wide area. Worse, trucks carrying flammable substances usually carry large amounts of these chemicals. If these trucks are in a collision, the large amount of fuel can feed a fire, causing it to burn very hot and to grow quickly out of control. Fatalities caused by truck accident burn injuries are very common as a result.

Many motorists eventually decide to buy a truck. Many people enjoy the idea of being able to carry more items and some drivers assume that trucks are safer. If you want to buy a truck, however, you should consider more than the make, price, and color of your new vehicle. You also want to ensure that your new vehicle is safe and can be safely operated by you. Here’s how:

1) Learn about truck manufacturers and their safety records. Before purchasing a truck, read magazines, truck reviews, and publications such as Consumer Reports to find out about the safety standards and reputations of any trucks you are interested in. Look for trucks and manufacturers that get good grades in safety from independent testers. Also, keep in mind that different models from the same manufacturer may have different safety ratings. Look for the safest models.

2) Get licensed for trucks. Even if you are buying a small truck that does not require additional licensing, it is a good idea to get some additional classes and licensing in a larger vehicle than you will be getting. Trucks – even smaller ones – do handle differently than sedans or economy-sized passenger cars. The more training you have with larger vehicles, the safer you will be behind the wheel of your new truck.

If you drive a truck, you may at some point wish to add a trailer to your vehicle to transport additional items. While trailers are very handy, they can also be dangerous. Using trailers incorrectly can cause a truck accident which can result in head injuries, spinal cord injuries, other serious personal injuries, and even fatalities. Here’s how to use trailers correctly:

1) Hitch the trailers to your truck correctly. Read the manuals included with your trailer and ask for help if you need it. Make sure that the lighting connector is properly installed and make sure that the lights work correctly on the trailer. Use safety chains for added security.

2) Before you use the trailer, inspect the trailer and truck. Before each use, check that the wheel bearings are properly lubricated and the tires are in good condition. Make sure that if your trailer has brakes, they are working correctly. Trailers can sustain more stress on the road because they are pulled along, so check each time to make sure the trailer is in good condition.

Most farms rely on trucks for farm work and for transporting goods. However, trucking accidents on farms are a common cause of brain injuries, fatalities, and other serious personal injuries. Trucks can easily rollover or collide with other farm machinery. The uneven ground on most farm lands can make collisions especially dangerous. There are several things you can do to help prevent farm truck accidents:

1) Use extra caution on hills. If you are driving a truck on a hilly far, travel up and down hills or along the top of hills rather than traversing the hilly area. Be especially cautious if your truck is heavily loaded – objects may shift on a hill, causing the truck to become front or back heavy.

2) Inspect your truck regularly. If you are driving your truck on muddy back roads, unpaved roads, and over fields, your truck may need more frequent maintenance to keep things safe. Do not scrimp on inspections and maintenance.

Many people rent trucks for moves, small jobs around the house, and even vacations. Unfortunately, rental truck accidents are serious and can cause fatalities, serious brain injuries, broken bones, spinal cord injuries, and other serious injuries. Some accidents involving rental trucks occur due to mechanical failure, but many experts also note that many rental truck accidents occur because drivers renting these trucks do not always know how to handle the vehicles safely. Professional truck drivers get specialized training and licensing, but many rental companies rent trucks – even very large trucks capable of hauling many tons – to people who only have a regular driver’s license. If you don’t have experience with trucks but want to rent one, consider these tips for a safer experience:

1) Consider hiring a driver as well as a truck. If you need to move a heavy load, it is often much safer to hire a professional driver who is licensed for trucks. Often, it costs only a little bit more to rent a truck and driver than to rent a truck itself. It is, however, much safer. A professional driver experienced with trucks knows how these vehicles perform and is better prepared to avoid accidents.

2) If you need to rent a truck, get training before you drive. If hiring a driver is not an option for you, at least consider getting some training before you drive the truck. A local school or instructor may be willing to even offer a few lessons so that you can master the basics of driving a truck safely.

Although it happened far from Florida, the truck accident that took place in Lockport, New York this past week should serve as a reminder to truck drivers across the country. Nicholas Sparks crashed his flatbed truck into a car and a swimming pool. According to authorities, Sparks was speaking on one cell phone and texting on another at the time of the accident.

Niagara County sheriff’s deputies note that Sparks may have been distracted by talking and texting when he hit a car, then smashed through a fence, brushed by a home and rolled into a pool. The passengers of the car Sparks hit included an 8-year old girl and an elderly woman. The child suffered minor injuries while the woman sustained head injuries as a result of the crash.

Sparks has been charged with talking on a cell phone while driving, following too closely, and reckless driving. It is unknown how he will plead at this time. However, the case does point to larger problems that need to be addresses to prevent other such truck accidents.

Lift trucks can lead to workplace accidents and pedestrian accidents. A study by Hyster Co. has found that employers can reduce serious accidents involving workplace lift trucks by using some safety precautions:

1) Improve workplace layout. Creating separate travel zones for pedestrians and lift trucks is important and can reduce the number of pedestrian accidents, especially in situations where there are many pedestrians or many lift trucks present in a small area. It is important to keep in mind, too, that many pedestrian accidents involving lift trucks involve workers who are working with the lift truck operator at the time of the accident. Therefore, it is a good idea to create separate areas for employees working on foot and employees working in lift trucks.

2) Increase visibility, especially at the rear of the lift truck. Reflector lights, lights, and visible signs or colors are important. Many pedestrians involved in lift truck accidents simply did not see the lift truck at the time of the accident, according to the Hyster study. It is especially important to improve visibility on the back of a lift truck, since lift truck drivers are likely to have more blind spots when reversing.