According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reports that more than 13% of all fatal motor vehicle accidents on U.S. roadways involved at least one large commercial truck or bus.
Not surprisingly, of all the individuals killed in accidents on United States roadways involving a truck, 70% were the occupants of other vehicles. Trucks are an important part of commerce however, it’s obvious that they have the potential to be very dangerous.
Below, Koenig Pierre, a New York truck accident lawyer discusses which types of truck accident cases are most common. If you’ve been injured in a New York truck accident, call or contact Koenig online for a free case evaluation.
- Rear-End Collisions
A tractor-trailer driving in the lane next to you weighs anywhere between 10,000 and 80,000 lbs. Therefore, a truck’s collision with a passenger vehicle can result in serious injuries or death. The massive difference in size and weight between a large commercial truck and a sedan or SUV can result in a passenger vehicle being crushed upon impact. Tractor-trailers are heavy and slow to maneuver, so truck drivers need much more time and distance to slow down, avoid road hazards, or come to a safe stop behind other vehicles. Collisions involving trucks and passenger vehicles are normally caused by inexperienced, reckless, and negligent truck drivers, that do not observe FMCSA-recommended following distances.
Common Reasons A Truck Driver Causes A Rear-End Collision
- Bad Breaks: truck drivers and truck companies are liable for collisions resulting from faulty breaks on the truck. Due to the immense size of a semi-truck, if a truck wants to come to a halt, it requires an incredible amount of braking. Therefore, the slightest amount of wear on the brakes may cause the system to fail and result in a fatal crash. Truck companies are mandated by federal regulationsto conduct a thorough inspection of commercial trucks before it hits the road. Important information concerning the braking system must be recorded in the brake report.
- Inadequate Lighting: Poor visibility contributes to a large number of semi-truck accidents. Federal safety lawrequires that large vehicles must have a variety of visible lights so others can identify them. Despite these laws, semi truck accident attorney understands that many trucks function without required lights and reflectors which reduces their visibility to others and causes accidents. Also, rear-end accidents caused by semi-truck drivers normally occur at night on roads with inadequate lighting.
- Fatigued Driver: truck drivers often carry large loads over long distances and across state lines. During the course of a long haul, a trucker may become tired and fall asleep behind the wheel. In order to meet company expectations, truckers may feel pressured to drive in violation of federal regulations governing hours of service rules.
- Distracted Driver: truck drivers may engage in negligent or reckless behavior as much as operators of passenger vehicles, such as speeding. A speeding semi-truck on the road poses an immense danger for other motor vehicles since an increase in speed may result in the inability of the truck driver to stop when necessary.
- Jackknife Wrecks
The phrase “jackknife accident” is used to describe a dangerous situation where a tractor-trailer skids and the trailer swings out to one side as a truck slows down. A “jackknife” involving a truck creates a 90-degree angle that is created by the swinging trailer, which acts like a blade. Similar to a sharp jackknife blade, an out-of-control trailer can be very dangerous to any other motorist entering its path. Common causes of jackknife accidents include: excessive speed, driver fatigue, unbalanced load, inexperienced and poorly trained driver, and weather conditions.
- Head-on Collisions
A head-on truck collision occurs when the front end of a truck collides with the front end of an oncoming car. While these accidents are rare, head-on collisions are the most deadly. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), nearly 3 in 10 occupants of passenger vehicle killed in fatal truck accidents were struck head-on by large trucks. Statistics estimate that only 2% of motor vehicle accidents involve head-on collisions, but they account fo over 10% of road fatalities. The most common types of injuries involving head-on collision include spinal, brain injuries, broken bones, paralysis or catastrophic injuries.
- T-Bone Accidents
Side impact collisions, also known as T-Bone accidents, can be devastating, inflicting serious injuries or death on the occupants of the impacted motor vehicle. Car manufacturers design many of the safety features to protect drivers and passengers from front and rear-end collisions, but not side-impact collisions. For older vehicles without side airbags, there is little to no protection for the occupants from side-impact collisions. However, car manufacturers have since taken into account the importance of protecting occupants of newer models from t-bone collisions. Newer model vehicles have become safer due to the installation of door and side panel airbags, designed to prevent serious injuries upon side impact accidents.
Victims of t-bone accidents endure substantial catastrophic injuries and property damage. The severity of the t-bone accident depends upon numerous factors, including the region or area the vehicle that is struck, whether the impacted vehicle has side impact safety features, the speeds at which both vehicles involved were traveling at impact and the weights of both vehicles. All these factors will determine the scope of the impact. A t-bone accident involving a truck impacting a passenger vehicle can be disastrous. Truck drivers who are speeding, distracted, fatigued, or under the influence of drugs or alchohol may illegally run through intersections and cause T-bone wrecks. Also, side-impact collisions may also occur when a trucker makes an improper turn across one or more lanes of traffic, causing other vehicles to slam into the side of the trailer.
If you have been injured in a side-impact collision, you do not have to suffer alone. You can take action to protect yourself and your future. Call Koenig to help you seek the justice you deserve.
- Truck Rollovers
A truck rollover involves an incident where a truck or tractor-trailer turns over on the road. A truck rollover may cause another vehicle to be pinned underneath the truck’s trailer, lead to spilled cargo that creates a dangerous obstacle course for other drivers and block many lanes of traffic, resulting in a massive traffic buildup.
Truck accident rollovers pose an elevated risk of serious injury or death. Trucks may weigh as much as 30 times more than a passenger vehicle and are top-heavy because of their size and cargo. When a massive tractor-trailers have to make quick maneuvers, travel down a steep curve road, they can easily roll over and cause immense damage, severe injuries, and terrible losses of life. A truck rollover incident presents a major hazard to other drivers and pedestrians. If you or your loved one has suffered serious injuries or loss of life due to a truck rollover Call Koenig, a New York truck accident lawyer, and he will help you get the compensation you and your family deserve.
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), in a recent year, 17,000 truck rollover accidents were reported where the rollover was the “most harmful event” in the collision. Recent studies have demonstrated that truck rollovers caused an increased number of fatalities and rollovers kill hundreds of truckers every year.
- Sideswipe Accidents
Sideswipe accidents are very common accidents that can occur and fault is often contested. Generally, a sideswipe accident involves two vehicles traveling in the same direction however, a sideswipe accident may also involve two vehicles traveling in opposite directions or one moving vehicle crashing into a parked vehicle. Sideswipe accidents involving a truck and a passenger vehicle may result from the trucker’s failure to completely check their blind spots before changing lanes or merging into traffic. Other common causes of sideswipe accident results from the following:
- Inclement weather resulting in skidding, hydroplaning, slipping
- Aggressive driving
- Failure to properly estimate the distance between two vehicles
- Failure to yield when necessary
- A distracted driver who drifts across lanes.
Sideswipe truck accidents may result in disastrous road conditions. A sideswipe collision may propel an impacted vehicle into an adjacent lane causing multiple crashes and blocked traffic lanes.
Common injuries from New York sideswipe accidents
A driver or passenger of a vehicle may suffer from all sorts of injuries as a result of a sideswipe accident. The most common injuries include the following:
- A whiplash injury is described as an injury to your neck. It is caused by your neck bending forcibly and backward, or vice versa. It injury normally involves muscles, spinal discs, nerves, and tendons in your neck.
- Spinal Cord Injuries.A spinal cord injury is described as a damage to any part of the spinal cord or nerves at the end of the spinal canal, cauda equina. Injuries to the spinal cord may cause permanent changes in strength, sensation, and other body functions below the site of the injury. If you’ve recently injured your spinal cord, from an accident involving a truck on a New York roadway, it might seem like every aspect of your life has been affected. You might feel the effects of your injury mentally, emotionally, and socially.
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).Traumatic brain injury is a sudden injury that causes damage to the brain. It may happen when there is a blow, bump, or jolt to the head. This is a closed head injury. A TBI can also happen when an object penetrates the skull. This is a penetrating injury. Symptoms of a TBI can be mild, moderate, or severe. Concussions are a type of mild TBI. The effects of a concussion can sometimes be serious, but most people completely recover in time. More severe TBI can lead to serious physical and psychological symptoms, coma, and even death.
- Wide Turn Accidents
When commercial trucks and tractor-trailers make a wide turn, all vehicles within the surrounding must exercise caution. Often, drivers need to stop to wait for the turn to be completed before moving forward. Other times, it may be best for a driver to pull over to the side, safely reserve to make room for a truck driver in the middle of a wide turn.
How Wide Turn Truck Accidents Happen
If you have experience driving alongside a large commercial truck, you know that they need wide room to make complete a turn, more than average vehicles. The tractor-trailer may need to start in one lane and swing into the next lane therefore, all cars in front of, behind, or besides the truck must safely clear the way in order to avoid an accident.
Large trucks have a wide turning radius meaning that they cannot execute a right turn as simply as an ordinary car. To turn right, a truck driver may need to first swing the truck to the left before turning it back to the right. A driver in a car may assume that the trucker is turning left when they begin this maneuver, especially if the driver has not signaled that they are turning right. As a result, they may try to pass the truck in the right lane. When the truck driver turns the truck back to the right, the car may be trapped between the truck and the curb in what is known as a “squeeze play.”
Moreover, a truck driver who does not pay attention to vehicles surrounding their tractor trailers puts surrounding motorists at risk for serious injuries or fatalities. Not allowing enough space or time for a wide turn can lead to devastating results for accident victims. Negligent truck drivers may be held liable for injuries that result from these accidents.
Semi-truck accidents involving passenger vehicles can result in serious injuries, ranging from broken bones and several weeks of recovery to life-altering injuries such as paralysis or dismemberment. If you or a family member were hurt due to a tractor-trailer’s improper right-hand turn, you may be able to recover compensation to pay for your medical bills and other accident-related expenses Call Koenig , a New York truck accident attorney, and schedule a free case evaluation today.