Anyone who drives regularly on the roads and interstates has likely come upon a truck accident or crash involving an 18-wheeler with either another semi truck or one or more passenger vehicles. Oklahoma winters can be brutal with frequent freezing temps at night and ice storms that leave our interstates with patches of snow and black ice. Sadly, most of the crashes involving big trucks are preventable if the companies and drivers follow the rules of the road and the federal and state regulations.
Here are a few of the different types of semi-trucking accidents. We help our clients and their families find the root cause of these accidents during the investigation phase of their case:
Head on Truck Accidents –
Commercial Motor Vehicles, especially the 70 foot long tractor-trailer and other combination tractor trailers are supposed to be driven by professional drivers. This means that the drivers are qualified, trained and supervised every time they are on the road. What happens when any one of these three elements is not followed can result in deadly accidents on our roads and interstates. Drivers that are pushed to work shifts that are too long and without breaks are at risk for fatigue. When drivers are fatigued, especially between the hours of midnight and 6:00 AM they can be at risk for drifting into either the shoulder or across the center line and crash head on into another vehicle. When they drift off the side of the road, they are at risk for crashing into another vehicle that is stopped due to car trouble. Fatigued driving, drowsy driving, tired driving- what ever you want to call it – is incredibly dangerous to all of us on the roads and can be prevented by the truck drivers and companies who employ them.
Under-ride Truck Accidents –
Commercial Motor Vehicles, when they are turning at an intersection must have extra room to complete their turns without running over the curb and taking out traffic control devices. The trailers that are pulled do not follow the same track as the cab. Professional drivers know the proper way to turn at an intersection. Drivers who have not been properly trained on how to complete a left or right hand turn can cause deadly accidents at intersections and when pulling out or backing onto the roadway. Always give trucks plenty of room to make a turn, and if you are beside a truck at an intersection avoid being in their blind spots, and never try and outrun a turning truck. One of the most dangerous situations is when a truck is making a u-turn or backing across a multi lane roadway. If it is after dark and a driver does not see the truck or the truck does not have the proper spotter outside the truck helping them back, vehicles are especially to run into the side of the truck and go underneath the truck in what is called an under-ride accident. Many times these are deadly, and are preventable with proper training and supervision, including route planning and getting help backing and turning when needed.
Rear-End Truck Accidents –
Commercial Motor Vehicles, especially the 70 foot long tractor-trailer and other comb
JackKnife Truck Accidents –
When you add rain and ice or snow to the roadway a Commercial Motor Vehicle becomes a moving 80,000 pound missile if not operated at a safe speed or pulled over at a proper stopping place when conditions warrant. Semi trucks are involved in what are called jack-knife accidents where the trailer actually loses its grip on the road and spins to the left or right side of the truck cab. These crashes can take out a number of vehicles and put many lives at risk in a fraction of a second. Truck drivers that are not aware of the rules of the road and worse, companies who force the drivers to operate their vehicles in dangerous conditions are a danger to all of us on the roads across the USA. The Federal and State rules are crystal clear- Truckers must slow down or get off the road if they are operating a semi-truck in hazardous weather.
Blind Spot Truck Accidents –
Commercial Motor Vehicles, especially the 70 foot long tractor-trailer and other combination vehicles have multiple blind spots. These blind spots are areas surrounding the trailer and truck where the driver cannot always tell whether or not anyone is in these “blind spots”. Some Truck have convex mirrors on the front fenders to assist the driver in locating others in their blind spots, but many truck drivers and companies choose not have these types of mirrors mounted on their front fenders or hood. The best rule to remember is if you cannot see a truck driver’s mirrors, they probably have no idea you are in their blind spot. Even when you can see their mirrors, it does not mean that truck drivers see you, even though truck drivers should be checking their mirrors multiple times per minute when operating their trucks.
Rollover Truck Accidents –
Commercial Motor Vehicles, especially the 70 foot long tractor-trailer and other comb
Brake Failure Truck Accidents –
One of the most dangerous types of truck accidents is
Tire Blowout or Tread separation Truck Accidents –
We have all seen a tire tread or “Gator” as truck drivers call them on the interstate or in the emergency lane. When tread separation occurs at highway speeds and the tread ends up in the middle of the interstate another vehicle is likely to hit it before someone is able to remove if from the roadway. These types of tread separation are most dangerous at night when we have limited sight distances. The Federal regulations only require 2/32″ of tread depth on the trailer tires. This is just 1/16 of an inch-tread depth. Think about that while you then consider that most tractor and trailer tires are inflated to about 100 psi. This is high pressure and when a tractor trailer has a blowout they can lose control and have to change lanes quickly or end up cutting off traffic and in the median or bar ditch. The best rule to remember is to never drive beside a semi-truck if you can avoid it, and allow enough distance between your vehicle and a big truck that you can see if they lose a tread and can take action without endangering your life of the lives of other drivers on the road.
Bad Weather Condition Truck Accidents –
We have a saying in Oklahoma- if you don’t like the weather give it five minutes and it will change. Weather conditions on Oklahoma highways can go from good to bad to worse in a matter of minutes. Professional truck drivers- those who have taken the training and worked to get their commercial drivers license must follow the federal and state safety regulations for truck drivers. Here’s the federal rule for truck drivers in bad weather:
The federal regulation states- “speed has to be reduced, and if bad enough, get off the highway until the vehicle can be safely operated…”
Some of the worst crashes occur in these hazardous weather conditions, and the saddest part is that they are preventable most of the time if the truck drivers and companies would pay attention to the weather forecasts and plan a different route or plan to stay off the road until conditions improve. We all share the highways and roads. Professional drivers have a greater responsibility to observe these special rules and regulations. This is why the trucking industry, like the airline industry and railroads are all highly regulated with special rules, regulations and laws by Federal and State Government- the rules protect the safety of everyone traveling across the USA.
Contact Us Today
At Mark Wilson Law, we focus our entire law practice on representing clients who were involved in a trucking accidents. When someone has a traumatic brain injury, we believe our clients are better served by attorneys who understand what it takes to represent clients who are seriously hurt in because of an 18-wheeler accident. We understand the laws established by the Federal government and adopted by the State of Oklahoma, and will make sure that each party who is liable is held accountable. You don’t have to face this alone––call today to schedule your free consultation. 844-652-4878