Why are Semi-Tractor Trailer Accidents so Dangerous?
You are driving along the interstate highway system. You are in the right hand lane, travelling at the posted speed limit. You know there is a semi tractor trailer gaining on you, but you are not worried because the left hand passing lane is empty, giving the semi tractor trailer truck a lot of room to pass you. You see the truck starts to move out of your lane and into the passing lane. You think little of this, it happens all the time. Just as you are being passed, POW, in the rear of your car, an explosion which deafens you and sends your car out of control. The craziness slowly stops and you realize, the truck behind the semi tractor trailer has hit you in the rear.
You might say I am making this up, but I am not. This is exactly what happened to one of my clients. Collisions with semi tractor trailer trucks are often the most catastrophic of highway accidents. We are tempted to think the car wreck caused by the drunk driver is the most common of road accidents. However the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) see this a little differently. The data collected indicates these types of highway accidents occur frequently, with frightening consequences. I have placed a link in this blog to the FMCSA 2008 report and crash facts for these types of collisions so you can see for yourself: 2008 preliminary report for deaths and injuries involving large trucks and buses, Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts 2008.
These studies discuss the numbers of automobile accidents, the number of wrongful death accidents and the number of injury accidents. These injuries range from spinal cord injuries, back injuries, paraplegia, quadriplegia, brain injury, burns, and paralysis. Efforts to increase roadway safety has lead to an overall decrease in the number of wrongful death in semi tractor-trailer crashes.
At Young and Young, we have more than fifty five years of experience helping Hoosiers deal with the devastating effects of truck accidents, motorcycle collisions, and all types of traffic accidents. We are accident attorneys and injury attorneys on the side of the people. This is all we do. We do not represent insurance companies, we work for those who cannot work for themselves. Please call us when you are in need. We can help.