Indiana Serious Injury Attorneys Discuss Semi Tractor Trailer Accidents

Recently we wrote about the dangers associated with sharing our highways with semi tractor-trailers.  We know the benefits of this arrangement far outweigh the benefits, but that does not mean that passenger cars are in greater danger on the highways of having a semi tractor-trailer collision.  The danger arises from the serious injuries that are more likely in a semi tractor-trailer accident.  Because the trucks are so big and the cars are so small serious injuries such as spinal cord injury, resulting in paralysis, brain  injury, broken bones, blindness and even wrongful death are very real possibilities.

States, and the Federal Government, have been taking steps to protect cars from collisions with semi tractor-trailer.  One such step is median barriers.  There are several different types of barriers including concrete walls, moveable concrete barriers known as “New Jersey” barriers, and more recently a series of reinforced wires.  Beware, however of a false sense of safety.  When a semi tractor-trailer loses control at 55-70 miles per hour it is a multiple ton missile capable of overcoming such barriers.

Take, for example, the multiple car/semi tractor-trailer accident which happened on Interstate 70 on the west die of Indianapolis on April 11, 2011. The accident started when a semi tractor-trailer drove into the “New Jersey” barriers separating traffic.  The force of the impact caused the barriers to be pushed into the opposite lanes of travel.  The drivers on that side of the barriers now had to swerve to avoid hitting the barriers, which just a second before were not in their path. As the first cars began to swerve and brake, they hit other cars, or were hit from behind by other drivers. Unfortunately, Judson D. Dye was killed in the collision.  Four other people were injured, fortunately not with life threatening injuries.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Mr. Dye.

 Please, be careful on our highways.  They are there to benefit us all, but danger still lurks there.