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Whether you’ve spotted them on long interstate road trips or navigating the smaller streets of your city, we’ve all seen the big semi-trucks traversing roads across the U.S. Few things can make your vehicle feel smaller and more vulnerable than when it is driving in close proximity to these big rigs. It can be quite intimidating and with good reason. These oversized vehicles are reportedly up to 80,000 pounds when fully loaded, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. This means that a crash at any speed involving a semi-truck could cause massive destruction and catastrophic injuries.
Truck Accident Risk Factors
Drivers, there are many things that you can do to help avoid involvement in big truck accidents. For starters, you can avoid the blind spots of these semi-trucks. Due to the size and nature of a semi-truck, they have some prominent and sizable blind spots along both sides, the back, and the front of the rig. This means, if you are in one of these zones, the truck driver cannot see you. As such, you should avoid them as much as possible. Leave plenty of room between you and a semi-truck in front of you. If you need to change lanes to pass the truck, do so as quickly, but safely, as possible to avoid lingering in a blind spot. Try to avoid driving in front of a semi-truck as well unless you are a sizable distance in front of them.
Engaging in reckless driving behaviors around a truck can also increase the risk of an accident occurring. This means drivers should avoid things like distracted driving. Put down your cell phone and wait to check your texts later. Avoid eating and drinking as well as messing with your music selections or engaging in any activity that takes your full attention away from the road.
You should also avoid speeding and tailgating. Tailgating a semi-truck, in particular, can prove fatal. For starters, this means that you are driving in the truck’s rear blind spot. It also means that if the truck comes to a sudden stop, you could not only crash into the truck, but your car could go straight underneath the truck as the truck’s increased height can allow for this. It may come as no surprise that this type of crash would likely be fatal to all in your vehicle.
Truck drivers should also avoid engaging in dangerous driving behaviors like distracted driving, speeding, and tailgating. They should also avoid fatigue driving. Additionally, there are things specific to the truck that can help avoid truck accidents from occurring. For example, loading a truck properly can help make the truck safer. Improperly loaded trucks can easily fall off balance on the roadways and be much more difficult to safely operate. Properly maintaining a truck and making repairs as needed can also render these big rigs much safer on the roadways.
Personal Injury Attorneys
We all have a responsibility to each other to be as safe as possible out there on the roads. If you have been injured in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, the team at CDH Law is here to fight for you. Contact us today.