Truck accidents: More deadly than accidents between ordinary cars

A car just doesn’t stand much of a chance against a commercial truck if they’re in an accident together. The typical commercial truck outweighs the average typical car by 25 times or more.

No matter what the size of the personal vehicle, it’s still likely to be dwarfed by the sheer size and weight of the commercial truck that it gets into an accident with — and that spells disaster for the occupants of the car.

And far too many accidents happen involving commercial trucks, despite efforts to stop them. Accidents can happen because of a myriad of things, some inside the driver’s control and some not:

• Poor weather conditions, like black ice on the road
• Speeding
• Taking a bend too quickly
• Inexperienced drivers pushed into driving long distances on their own before they’re ready due to a growing shortage of drivers
• Holiday rushes with lots of shipping that puts tired truckers on the road
• Companies that force drivers to falsify log books and lie about the amount of sleep they’re getting
• Improperly loaded trucks — which topple when the load shifts
• Loads that aren’t tied down properly and break loose (like tree logs), crushing the passenger car next to it
• Distracted driving as the trucker pays more attention to his or her cellphone, GPS, CB radio or other devices

For example, one trucker was recently charged with involuntary manslaughter, a felony-level crime, in the death of a woman in a crash that involved five different passenger vehicles.

The trucker was charged with a crime because there is no evidence that the trucker even tried to brake — which leads police to believe that the trucker was either impaired or distracted when he crossed lanes. The woman died while trapped in her car. Another three people from other cars also had to be hospitalized.

Just that single accident shows how devastating a truck accident can be. If you or a loved one has been injured in a trucking accident that wasn’t your fault, talk to an attorney today.