Large trucks are much more difficult to drive than regular passenger vehicles. With commercial trucks, it is more difficult to control acceleration, visibility, and braking. It is this sheer size that is almost always a contributing factor in truck accidents.
Every single year there are hundreds of thousands of truck accidents, according to research by Hensley Legal Group semi truck accident attorneys. And close to 20% of them are rear-end collisions. Obviously, two types of such collisions exist:
- The truck rear-ends a passenger vehicle.
- The vehicle rear-ends a truck.
The common one is the one involving the truck driver rear-ending passenger vehicles.
Safety Risks
It does not matter what type of rear-end collision you are involved in. Results are always devastating. Such truck accidents often end up catastrophic due to several possible reason. The first and the most obvious one is the fact that vehicles involved have very different sizes. The commercial truck can go up as high as 80,000 pounds. The average vehicle only ways 3,000 pounds. Such size disparity can only lead to really serious injuries. Some of them are fatal.
Such accidents are also severe because of vehicle design. The trailer’s bumper is almost always higher. This means the bumper and even the frame can go into passenger vehicle compartments. As a result, serious injury risks substantially go up. It does not matter what vehicle rear-ends the other one.
Potential Causes
Usually, it is the car that hits the other vehicle from behind that is at fault. Liability theory is very straightforward since drivers are required to always have enough room available in front of them when driving. This is necessary so that the vehicle can be brought to a stop without hitting the other one. The rule also applies to truck accidents.
When the truck is the one rear-ending the passenger vehicle, there is a very good possibility the fault is that of the truck driver or the truck. Usually, such accidents happen because of faulty breaks included in commercial trucks. Commercial truck drivers are very often liable because they need to inspect their brakes on a daily basis. At the same time, mechanics and maintenance companies are also possibly at fault.
There is a higher possibility the rear-end accident will happen on interstates. This is often because drivers are much more relaxed as the drive is long. You are simply more relaxed and you are not as alert. The roadway is mostly straight. Intersections or stoplights do not exist. Basically, the ability to respond fast to a stopped vehicle or a vehicle that slows down is limited.
An important thing to know is that although rear-end collisions caused by trucks are more common, when it is the passenger car that rear-ends the truck, there is a higher risk of fatalities. This is particularly the case when faced with situations that diminish visibility, like when driving at night.
No matter what you might think, rear-end truck accidents are almost always serious. It is vital that you get the help of a truck accident attorney if you want to file a claim since navigating the legal aspects of the case will be difficult.
