Truck Accident Statistics

Did you know that one in eight deaths on the road are caused by large commercial trucks? How about knowing that 4% of injuries caused on the road are created by these massive machines? Each year trucks are getting larger and heavier, this has contributed to a significant rise in these statistics year on year. If you have been injured by a truck and you choose truck accident attorneys, we will be able to fight the truckers and their companies responsible for their reckless driving that has cost you a significant part of your life. Let’s take a little look at some of the claims we hear on a daily basis.

Large trucks are a deadly weapon, if you get hit by one of those then you are not going to get away unscathed, at the very least you will be severely injured, but most of the time it does sadly result in death. The first case means that there will be a large medical bill coming your way for all the rehabilitation you would have to go through, the second situation would mean that your family would be due some compensation for the losses that they have suffered.

The majority of cases that are referred to us as Truck Accident Lawyers are down to the fact that the person driving the truck was doing so recklessly. You do need a special license and to follow special procedures in order to drive a commercial vehicle, but all too often people flaunt the regulations and this is what leads to truck accidents. These are the common reasons that are related to negligence:

1.    Aggressive Driving, we have all seen it on the roads. People look like they have a mission to get somewhere, quite often caused by unrealistic targets set by the trucking companies. Sure truckers can get away with this for some time, but sooner or later it is going to cause a severe accident. This type of driving can also include speeding and ignoring limits that have been put in place for truckers.

2.    Quite often truck drivers have long shifts with targets to reach. This in turn causes driver fatigue which will make them less aware of their surroundings; many accidents have actually been caused by the driver falling asleep at the wheel!

3.    If you pick up a cell phone whilst you are driving then you are distracted, your attention is not fully focused on the road and there is a huge chance that you could end up causing an accident. Police reports will look into whether there has been any cell phone calls made during or slightly before the accident, truckers cannot escape from this.

4.    There are many checks that a trucker needs to carry out before they can hit the road, unfortunately they are time consuming and often truckers don’t complete them, this in turn has the chance to cause an accident.

If you or someone you love has been the victim of a truck accident contact the Zevan and Davidson Law Firm at (314)588-7200 or fill out our online contact form for a free and private consultation.

photo credit: Canfield3