Injured in a Truck Crash?

It may not come as a surprise that the majority of big truck/18-wheeler wrecks are not the sort of wrecks where those involved walk away sustaining little to no injury. Many big truck and 18-wheeler wrecks that occur are caused by entirely preventable causes, including:

• Distracted Driving – Distracted driving is a major cause of big truck wrecks in Texas. Whether the distraction is from talking on a cell phone, texting, streaming a movie/show and/or video while driving, or in the form of a different distraction, any distraction that takes a big truck driver’s eyes and/or attention off the roadway is a serious hazard to the other motorists on the road.
• Truck driver fatigue – This occurs when the truck driver is tired, and typically while working longer hours than legally allowed. State and federal minimum safety rules limit the number of hours a driver can be on duty in a day and in a week; however, these limits are often violated by big truck companies and their drivers.
• Aggressive Driving/Speeding/Failure to Yield Right of Way/Failure to Keep A Safe Following Distance – Aggressive and unsafe driving choices like failing to yield the right of way, ignoring traffic lights and signs, failing to maintain a single lane, following too closely, and passing illegally are all dangerous choices made by big truck and 18-wheeler drivers daily and are extremely dangerous to other motorists on the road. This is a significant factor in traffic wrecks across the United States, and particularly in Texas.
• Driving under the influence – Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is still a major cause of wrecks, despite the fact that some big truck and 18-wheelers drivers undergo random drug testing and medical exams.
• Failure to properly load or secure cargo – If the driver does not follow the minimum safety rules when securing or loading cargo, this can cause an unequal distribution of weight and/or a shift in weight which makes it more likely for a wreck to occur.
• Driving in adverse weather conditions – The minimum safety rules require big truck drivers to alter their driving (and/or get off the road) when they are faced with adverse weather conditions. The reason is that these big trucks take much longer to stop than normal passenger vehicles. Driving in conditions with poor visibility/traction due to fog, rain, sleet, ice, snow, or smoke, among other adverse weather conditions, greatly increases a big truck driver’s chances of causing a wreck.

In addition to the tractor-trailer 18-wheelers, trucking accidents can also involve garbage and dump trucks, flatbed trucks, oilfield trucks, delivery trucks, box trucks, tow trucks, and tanker trucks.

Yes, big truck accidents are often caused by the trucking company’s failure to follow the minimum safety rules regarding hiring and training a truck driver. The minimum safety rules are found in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and require that the trucking company, before putting a driver on the road in a big truck, ensure that the truck driver is qualified to drive. The trucking company has common sense responsibilities, such as

1. obtaining a copy of the truck driver’s driving record
2. reviewing the driving record
3. performing a road test
4. ensuring that the truck driver knows the basic safety rules of driving a big truck, etc. Many times after a serious big truck wreck, an investigation reveals that the truck driver should never have been hired in the first place because his driving history demonstrates an unsafe and dangerous driving history.

Some big truck wrecks are caused by defects on the truck itself. Many times, these defects are due to the trucking company and truck driver performing poor maintenance, or no maintenance at all. For example, big truck wrecks are commonly caused by

1. bald and/or poorly maintained tires
2. improperly calibrated brakes
3. and failure to properly install retro-reflective tape