Why are truck accidents particularly complex?

Any car accident can upend a person’s life, but when those accidents involve large commercial vehicles drivers face additional complexity. What makes trucking accidents so complicated for injured drivers?

Big rigs weigh more than cars, pickup trucks and other vehicles.

Semi-trucks weigh significantly more than other vehicles on the roadway — around 20 to 30 times as much as the average car, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration — and that creates a variety of risks. Not only does this weight mean that large commercial vehicles exert more force than other vehicles when involved in a crash,  they are also more difficult to stop quickly and can accelerate significantly when going downhill. This often leads to more severe injuries and damage during an accident.

Semi-trucks depend on a wide variety of people and businesses to operate safely.

A trucking accident can involve a wide variety of factors. Not only do drivers need to take steps to drive safely, but their carrier company, truck manufacturers and those loading a truck’s cargo all contribute to that safety.

When any of those parties do not uphold that duty, that negligence can contribute to any accidents that result from the truck’s poor condition. As a result, a carrier company that failed to perform legally-mandated inspections and maintenance, a manufacturer of faulty parts, a company that did not properly secure cargo and many others could also be liable. Carriers may also contribute to driver error by improperly training those drivers.

While trucking accidents are complex, drivers do not necessarily have to address those complexities alone. It is possible to take legal action and hold all parties involved responsible for their negligence.