Why are commercial trucks more dangerous than other types of motor vehicles?

• It is more difficult for trucks to brake. Compared to cars, large trucks need much longer stopping distances to bring the vehicle to a full stop. Recent studies show that large trucks are more likely to cause rear-end collisions simply because the truck driver was not able to stop in time.

• Another problem is caused by trucking companies failing to properly maintain and replace brakes. Over 53% of the trucks causing fatal accidents had at least one brake safety violation, according to a Michigan study. On wet and slippery roads, especially at high speeds, large trucks are much harder to stop than smaller motor vehicles.
  

• Oversized or shifting truck loads create hazards. Oversized trailers or extra-wide loads are hazardous when they infringe on the lanes of other traffic. Shifting truck loads can cause dangerous unexpected swerving into other lanes or rollover accidents. Rollovers are one of the major causes of injury and death in trucking accidents.
  
• Large trucks make wide turns. The need to make wide turns causes large trucks to move unexpectedly into the lanes of other traffic, sometimes surprising other drivers. Collisions can also happen when a driver tries to pass a truck on the right, not realizing that the truck is in the process of making a wide right-hand turn.
  
• Jackknifing. Jackknifing occurs when a large truck comes to a sudden stop, the load shifts, and the trailer goes sideways toward the tractor. The trailer may flip and roll. Jackknifing can happen at speeds as low as five miles per hour.
  
• Driver fatigue, alcohol or drug impairment. A study by the Federal Highway Administration (Driver Fatigue and Alertness Study) showed that tired professional truck drivers get only a little more than half the sleep they need to remain alert while driving. While most people require 7.5 to 8 hours of sleep a day, the average truck driver gets only 4.8 hours of sleep.
• Another study showed that of 168 truck drivers who died in crashes, 67% were found to have some sort of drug in their system, and one-third had alcohol or mind-altering drugs (such as marijuana) in their bloodstreams (studies by the National Transportation Safety Board and The National Institute on Drug Abuse).
• Driver Inexperience/Training. Commercial truck drivers are required by law to have special licensing, training, and experience. Drivers lacking these special requirements are more likely to cause accidents as they struggle to maneuver large complex and difficult trucks through traffic.

Our attorneys have extensive experience representing individuals injured in commercial trucking accidents, in both jury trials and settlement negotiations. We are well versed in conducting thorough investigations, as well as dealing directly and firmly with trucking and insurance companies.

To contact an experienced attorney at Kershaw, Cutter & Ratinoff and to get a free and confidential case evaluation, please fill out and submit the contact form on this page or call us toll-free at (888) 285-3333.