Common Causes of Truck Accidents
Being involved in a truck accident can leave you with serious injuries. These types of accidents generally involve large vehicles carrying significant amounts of cargo, which makes them more dangerous than other types of accidents. Drivers of these vehicles must carry special commercial licenses that indicate they know how to control such large and heavy vehicles. However, truck accidents occur with frequency and can be catastrophic when other vehicles are involved.
Main Contributors to Truck Collisions
Some of dangers related to driving commercial vehicles come from their size and weight. Whether the accident was the fault of the passenger or commercial vehicle, the commercial truck is likely to cause significant personal injury and property damage.
Due to the nature of the job, there are many different ways accidents can occur. Companies that employ truckers often require that they get to their destination within a tight window of time or may not pay them as much for slower deliveries. Drivers will often forego sleep and increase speeds to meet these standards. Further, many trucks are not owned by the truck driver or the company that hired the driver, so their maintenance is the responsibility of outside party.
Some of the most common causes of truck accidents include:
- Improper training on how to operate a commercial vehicle
- Consecutive hours of truck operation without breaks
- Lack of sleep or fatigue
- Work scheduling that encourages speeding
- Equipment failure
- Manufacturing mistakes
- Design errors
- Improper vehicle maintenance
Due to the increase in commercial truck accidents, federal rules and regulations have been enacted to hold drivers, companies, and truck leasing companies liable for their actions.
Trucking laws can be complicated, but the fact of the matter is that an accident with a truck can result in serious injuries. Our firm can fight for you in a truck accident case in order for you to get the compensation needed to recover from a truck accident.