Big Trucks Carry Big Risks On the Road For Other Drivers
Commercial vehicles help transport large groups of people and large quantities of merchandise, goods and supplies from one end of the country to the other. Their massive size makes them an efficient means of transporting cargo over land. It is a fact–big trucks carry big risks!
Unfortunately, their size also makes them a significant source of danger to others on the road. There are a number of ways that big vehicles create a serious personal injury risk for people in smaller passenger vehicles on shared public roads.
Being taller and wider means that these trucks have big blind spots
There is a simple reason that many truck drivers have huge side mirrors with numerous extensions added to them. It is nearly impossible for a driver in a commercial truck to see all the way around the sides of their trailer. Those big blind spots could mean that a truck driver could cause catastrophic damage to a smaller vehicle when merging in traffic or performing a turn.
Big trucks carry big risks for rollovers
The height of a truck increases the amount of wind resistance that the vehicle has on the road. In high-wind situations or inclement weather, commercial trucks are at higher risk than lower passenger vehicles are for being buffeted by the wind and possibly knocked over. What they carry inside can also contribute to their likelihood of the truck tipping over as they drive. Both hard goods and liquid contents can shift or move when a trucker drives, possibly shifting the center of gravity and leading to the truck tipping over.
Call us today
Weighing so much means that it takes a long time to stop
Even without its trailer filled to capacity, a commercial truck could easily weigh multiple times what a smaller passenger vehicle weighs. The extra weight increases the amount of space it takes for a truck to stop. Vehicles merging in front of a big truck may not leave enough space, drastically increasing the likelihood of a collision.
Truck drivers are humans who make mistakes
Just like people in passenger vehicles, truck drivers can choose to send a text, update social media, get into an argument on the phone, eat a meal or drive while feeling so tired they can barely keep their eyes open. When truck drivers make mistakes at the wheel, the people in smaller vehicles are frequently the ones that pay the price.
Anyone who gets hurt or loses a loved one because of commercial trucking dangers may want to look into their rights to compensation either through an insurance claim or a lawsuit against the truck driver or trucking company responsible for the crash. If you have been injured in a truck crash, contact us today.
