Every year, there are more than 500,000 truck accidents resulting in injuries to hundreds of thousands of victims. More than 5,000 of those victims are so severely injured, that they do not survive. For those that do, their injuries are often catastrophic, resulting in permanent disabilities.
Despite steps the federal government has taken, including more stringent regulations on the trucking industry, these numbers continue to increase. Unfortunately, there are common factors that many truck accident lawyers see in the accident cases they handle.
Fatigue
Anyone who has ever taken a road trip knows how monotonous the road can be when you spend hours behind the wheel watching those white lane lanes go by. Imagine having to do that day in and day out, spending up to 11 hours on the road. This is how truck drivers often spend their workday. Many drivers understandably have a hard time staying focused and alert and may struggle with drowsiness and paying attention to the road. Truck driver fatigue is one major cause of many tragic accidents. It has also been found that many truck drivers also suffer from sleep apnea, which can also cause a driver to fall asleep while behind the wheel.
Speeding
There are two different ways that speeding contributes to truck accidents. There is the obvious issue that arises when a truck driver is speeding, which can happen if the driver is under pressure to meet almost impossible delivery schedules. It takes a truck much longer to slow down or come to a complete stop than it does for other vehicles, so a commercial truck that is speeding can be as deadly as a bullet. But that time it takes to slow down can also come into play if another vehicle driver is speeding or lane jumping. When the speeding driver cuts the truck off, the truck driver may not have enough time to slow down, again resulting in a tragic accident.
Tailgating
Tailgating as a truck accident factor is usually behavior by another vehicle. Following too closely to a truck can be dangerous – again because of the longer time it takes a truck to come to a stop. A vehicle slamming into the back of a truck is not only deadly to that vehicle’s occupants, but this crash can cause the truck to slam into other vehicles, killing, or seriously injuring those motorists.
Contact a Personal Injury Law Firm Today
If you have been injured in a truck accident, you may be entitled to financial compensation for the losses those injuries have caused. You may be able to collect compensation for medical expenses, loss of income, pain and suffering, permanent disabilities, disfigurement, emotional anguish, and more. To learn more, call an experienced attorney, like a Des Moines, IA truck accident lawyer from a law firm like Des Moines Injury Law.
