Florida Injury Lawyer Blog
According to the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles report, in 2010 there were 3,329 collisions in Florida in 2010 involving large trucks. Of these, 58 lead to fatal injuries and 1,800 led to some injuries. If you are a driver of a passenger car in Hollywood, you need to be especially aware of the risks of truck accidents because you are more likely to be injured in this type of accident when compared with a truck driver. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 16% of fatalities involving truck accidents involved passengers of trucks while 66% involved passengers in other vehicles.
Truck drivers are put through careful training, testing, and screening and they are expected to show an obligation and responsibility to others who share the roads. Truck carriers have a duty to hire responsible drivers, maintain their fleets, and secure cargo correctly. Of course, drivers of passenger cars also have a duty to drive safely and to share the road safely, and this is an even bigger priority when one realizes that passenger car drivers and passengers are most likely to be injured in any collisions involving a big rig or tractor trailer.
If you drive a car, there are several things you can do to prevent a truck accident in Hollywood or your community:
1) Give commercial trucks plenty of room. The larger vehicles need it if they want to change lanes or merge. Giving extra room also ensures that trucks can see you and ensures that trucks can stop in time to avoid a rear-end shunt accident in Hollywood or your community.
2) Never try to drive by a tractor trailer making a right hand turn. Larger trucks often have to turn from the left lane and swing wide when making a turn, so when you try to squeeze by you could find your car crushed between the truck and the curb.
3) Avoid driving directly behind a truck or right up along the sides of a truck. It is likely that a commercial truck driver will not see you in these spots since large trucks and tractor trailers have such large no zones or blind spots. A good rule of thumb is to drive so that you can see the truck driver in his or her mirrors and try to make eye contact. Remember that if you cannot see the truck driver they likely cannot see you.
4) Avoid driving directly behind or in front of a truck. Large big rigs can weight 80 000 pounds when fully loaded and this means that they can take longer to brake. If you are directly in front of the truck, the truck may crash into you because it cannot stop in time. Similarly, if you are directly behind a big rig and you are on a hill, the truck may slow down suddenly or even slide backwards as they change gears, and this can cause a collision. If you are too close behind a truck, the truck driver may also not notice you when backing up the vehicle.
5) Give trucks extra room when changing lanes or passing. If the driver truck needs to brake suddenly, they will not be able to do so unless you give them extra room, since trucks take longer to come to a complete stop.
If you have been injured in a truck accident, you can always reach Flaxman Law Group to arrange for a free, no obligation case evaluation.