How Big Truck Accidents Are Different

Vehicle accidents may be minor or deadly, but one thing they all have in common is their ability to produce injuries among victims.  They also usually share the common factor of one or more drivers being negligent and therefore responsible for the other party’s injuries.  However, not all vehicle accidents are the same in terms of the damage they are capable of causing.

Large trucks are far more likely than other types of vehicles to cause serious injury or death, particularly when they are involved in crashes with passenger cars or motorcycles.  The statistics are frightening when you consider how much damage large trucks are capable of, and how often the victims of these accidents do not receive the full measure of compensation they deserve.

The Facts About Large Truck Accidents

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:

  • Large trucks were responsible for more than 4,000 road fatalities in 2019. Of these fatalities, only 16 percent were truck occupants; 67 percent were occupants of other vehicles, and 15 percent were either pedestrians, motorcyclists, or bicyclists.
  • Between 2009 and 2019, the number of people killed in large truck crashes rose by 31 percent overall, and the number of truck occupants killed rose by 51 percent.
  • In total, 11 percent of all fatal vehicle crashes involved large trucks. About one-quarter of all fatal vehicle crashes involving multiple vehicles involved at least one large truck.
  • Nearly three-quarters of all large truck accidents involved tractor-trailers. The remaining quarter involved mostly single-unit trucks such as delivery vehicles.
  • About half of all deaths in large truck crashes occurred on major roads other than interstates or freeways, while about a third occurred on interstates. Another 15 percent occurred on minor secondary roads.
  • About half of all large truck crash deaths occurred between 6:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. In contrast, only 30 percent of all vehicle fatalities not involving large trucks occurred during those hours.  Large truck crashes were also more likely to occur on a weekday, with only 17 percent occurring on a Saturday or Sunday.  In contrast, more than a third of fatal vehicle accidents involving other types of vehicles occurred on the weekend.

How Victims Are Unprotected In Large Truck Settlements

Victims of large truck accidents are often unprotected from unscrupulous insurance companies and trucking firms.  In many cases, victims are encouraged to think of truck accidents like other types of vehicle crashes, when this is often not the case.

Large truck drivers have different requirements for operating their vehicles than passenger car drivers.  They must keep logs, have working safety features, and meet other requirements.  If they fail to do so, it can change the liability issues surrounding a large truck crash.  However, in order to learn about these facts, victims usually need the help of a personal injury attorney familiar with large truck accidents.

At Barber & Associates, we have been working for many years to help victims of large truck crashes collect the compensation they deserve for their medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages, and other expenses.  If you have been involved in a large truck crash, give us a call today.

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