Truck accidents happen every day, leaving victims facing severe injuries, mental and emotional distress, and financial burdens. In a recent year, over 117,000 trucks were in collisions resulting in injury. Worse yet, that same year, over 4,000 trucking accidents resulted in deaths.
Commercial trucks are large and heavy, with most vehicles weighing up to 30 times more than the average car. For this reason alone, trucks cause extensive damage and harm.
The type of truck accident you experience can have a notable impact on the outcome of the collision, including the injuries you sustain. It helps to understand the different types of truck accidents and the common causes and contributing factors of these collisions, as these details can affect your truck accident claim. If you've been involved in a truck accident, seeking guidance from a knowledgeable San Jose truck accident lawyer is essential to ensure you receive fair compensation for your losses.
Types of Truck Accidents
Truck accidents can involve one other vehicle or multiple other cars, resulting in multi-car pileups.
The following are some of the most common – and dangerous – large truck accidents.
Rear-End Collisions
A rear-end collision involving a truck varies greatly from a rear-end accident involving two small vehicles. The significant size and weight difference between a car and a truck can cause the truck to crush the vehicle in a rear-end collision.
A semi-truck requires more space between itself and the vehicle ahead, as trucks require greater stopping time and distance. When there isn’t a reasonable enough space between the truck and the vehicle ahead, it can have detrimental outcomes.
Head-On Collisions
Head-on trucking collisions are often the result of negligence, recklessness, or loss of control over the truck. In some cases, fatigued and impaired truck drivers drift onto the wrong side of the road, colliding head-on with oncoming vehicles.
Like rear-end collisions, a truck's enormous size and weight can easily crush a vehicle it collides with head-on. However, these accidents typically cause even more serious injury than rear-end collisions, as the driver of the vehicle is closer to the point of impact.
Jackknife Accidents
Jackknife accidents get their name from the position a tractor-trailer ends up in. The large truck folds in half, forming a 90-degree angle with the truck’s cab and attached trailer, causing it to look like a folded jackknife.
These collisions are hazardous because when a truck jackknifes, it veers into other lanes. The trailer’s movements become unpredictable, as drivers usually lose control, bulldozing through traffic and hitting other vehicles along the way.
Underride Accidents
Underride (or undercarriage) accidents occur when a vehicle collides with a truck, normally in the rear, and ends up underneath the truck. These collisions are common, particularly with smaller vehicles that can more easily squeeze underneath the truck.
Nowadays, many trucks feature underride guards that help prevent these types of accidents. Still, a guard may not stop a vehicle from wedging itself underneath the truck, especially in a high-impact crash.
Rollovers
When a truck driver loses control of their vehicle, the truck can roll over on its side. This is extremely dangerous for other vehicles, as the weight of the falling truck can seriously damage and crush cars in the vicinity. Truck rollovers often happen in situations involving driver inattention or negligence.
Wide Turn Accidents
Making a right turn is no easy feat for truck drivers. Large semi-trucks require substantially more space to turn safely, so drivers must pay attention to their surroundings before attempting to turn.
Sometimes, when making right turns, truck drivers swing the vehicle a bit to the left to give themselves enough room. However, doing so can put neighboring vehicles at risk.
Additionally, nearby drivers may not know a truck driver is moving to the left, intending to turn right and try to pass them on the truck’s right side, causing them to get trapped between the front and back of the truck as it turns.
T-Bone Accidents
T-bone accidents, also called side-impact collisions, regularly occur at intersections. Truck drivers often run through red lights and stop signs. As they do so, they run the risk of colliding with the side of a vehicle or getting hit on the truck’s side as they cross the intersection, forming a T.
These accidents are also common among regular vehicles but are more dangerous when a truck is involved. The impact of a speeding truck can have dire consequences.
Truck Tire Blowouts
Tire blowouts can happen to any vehicle, but with the sheer size of a truck’s tire, a blowout can have more severe repercussions.
The tires on a truck can blow out at any time for numerous reasons, including underinflation, overloading, and defects. When a tire blows out, it can cause the truck driver to lose control of their vehicle, causing them to collide with cars surrounding them.
Cargo Accidents
Trucks often carry large amounts of cargo, including construction supplies, groceries, and hazardous materials. Improperly loaded truck cargo can cause several issues, including the truck driver losing control of the vehicle or even cargo spills.
Causes of Trucking Collisions
Truck accidents can happen for various reasons, including driver negligence. Nonetheless, dangerous driving behaviors are not always the only cause of a truck crash, as other issues may contribute to the increased risk of accidents.
Speeding
Speeding is by far one of the most common causes of truck accidents. This is particularly true because truck drivers often run on deadlines, leading them to speed to reach their destinations quicker.
Aggressive Driving
It’s not uncommon for truck drivers to become angered and aggressive on the road. Aggressive driving behaviors include tailgating, weaving in and out of lanes, and cutting other vehicles off. These actions are risky when done with regular vehicles and even more so with large semi-trucks.
Distracted Driving
Truck drivers spend long days on the road, driving hours and hours at a time. Because of this, drivers can become more easily distracted. Common driving distractions include phone use (texting, talking on the phone, emailing), eating, and daydreaming.
Road Rule Violations
Often, truck drivers take traffic laws as mere suggestions. Some truck drivers are comfortable ignoring road signs, lights, and laws, substantially contributing to the increased likelihood of collisions.
Improper Turns and Lane Changes
Turning and changing lanes are two actions that require much care and attention. Still, truck drivers often make tight turns and switch lanes without looking and paying mind to their surroundings, causing unnecessary accidents.
Bad Weather
Bad weather is not within anyone’s control. Even so, truck drivers are in control of their vehicles.
When the weather gets ugly, drivers should adapt to the conditions. This is extra important for trucks, as operating these vehicles is difficult enough – the weather can make it much worse. Engaging in risky driving during inclement weather can have serious consequences.
Hazardous Road Conditions
Not all roads are the same, and some are easier to maneuver.
Hazardous road conditions can contribute to collisions, including:
- Poor lighting
- Faded road markings
- Shoulder drop-offs
- Debris
- Inadequate or missing road signage
- Potholes and sinkholes
- Missing guardrails
- Worn or cracked asphalt
Dangerous road conditions can make driving more difficult for everyone on the road, including truck drivers.
Defects and Malfunctions
Trucks are complicated machines with many moving parts. When just one part isn’t functioning as it should, the whole truck can suffer. Defects and malfunctions, specifically involving the brakes and steering, can cause a truck driver to lose control of their vehicle and crash into other cars around them.
Contributing Factors to Truck Accidents
Often, trucking collisions occur for multiple reasons. Certain factors, like the following, can further heighten the chances of truck drivers causing accidents.
Driver Fatigue
Driver fatigue is a significant issue in the trucking industry. Truck drivers work long hours, often taking little, if any, breaks on their routes. Fatigue can actually have similar effects on the body as alcohol, impairing a driver’s ability to operate their truck safely.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) implemented hours of service regulations to combat driver fatigue. Under these rules, truck drivers are only permitted to drive for a certain amount of time before they must take a break.
Substance Abuse
Substance abuse is a hot topic among truck drivers. The loneliness of life on the road regularly leads truck drivers to alcohol and risky substances. Additionally, some drivers rely on drugs to keep them more awake to work longer hours.
Driving under the influence is illegal in every state as it increases the occurrence of accidents, and it’s no different with truck drivers. It’s arguably even more dangerous for truck drivers to drive impaired, as large trucks can cause so much injury and destruction when involved in collisions.
Blind Spots
Every vehicle has blind spots, but the blind spots on a truck are much more significant. The blind spots along the front, back, and sides of a truck are known as the no zones.
If you notice, trucks are usually equipped with extra mirrors, helping drivers see cars in their blind spots more easily. Truck drivers must pay special attention to their blind spots as they drive and before making turns and lane changes to avoid colliding with other vehicles. Neglecting blind spots easily causes unnecessary accidents.
Strict Deadlines
The nature of the trucking industry regularly involves deadlines for drivers. While trucking companies and employers have a legal responsibility to respect hours of service regulations, they also often put pressure on their drivers to get to their destinations faster. This causes drivers to violate trucking regulations and drive while fatigued just to make it to their destination on time.
Driver Inexperience
Driving commercial vehicles requires unique knowledge, skill, and physical ability. To acquire these, drivers must receive proper training and gain experience, as well as obtain special licensing.
Inadequate training and experience can make it much harder for a driver to safely operate a large truck. This lack of skill can also put others on the road at great risk.
Negligent Hiring
Before hiring a truck driver, trucking companies must ensure drivers have all of the tools they need for success, including training, experience, and licensing. In addition, drivers are commonly subjected to background checks so employers can look into their criminal histories and driving records.
When trucking companies don’t do their due diligence or ignore a driver’s past, they can put unsafe drivers on the road. If they do, they leave themselves open to civil liability in the event of an accident resulting in injuries.
Liability for Trucking Collisions
Aside from the cause and type of accident, liability plays a strong role in truck accident cases.
Some parties that can cause a truck crash include:
- Truck drivers
- Trucking companies
- Truck driver employers
- Truck and cargo owners
- Repair and maintenance companies
- Cargo loaders
- Truck and truck part designers, manufacturers, and distributors
- Cities and governmental entities
Depending on the details of the crash, you can hold one or more of these parties liable for a trucking collision.
Uncovering answers regarding liability can require a thorough investigation. Determining liability ensures you seek financial recovery from the right parties.
Sometimes, liability stems from the law and not negligence or direct conduct of a party. For example, you can hold a trucking company vicariously liable for the negligence of a driver operating one of the company’s trucks. Your truck accident attorney can identify all sources of liability.
Seeking Justice and Compensation With a Truck Accident Lawyer
If you or a loved one have suffered an injury in a truck accident, you should take action against the at-fault party for fair monetary recovery. Compensation can minimize financial stresses and cover your collision-related expenses and losses.
Following a trucking crash, don’t wait to discuss your case with an experienced San Jose personal injury attorney. The right lawyer has the knowledge, skills, and resources to investigate your collision, efficiently handle your case, and represent your best interests to reach the most favorable case result possible.