Residents of Delaware who routinely travel on the state’s highways and byways are probably accustomed to sharing the road with large trucks and other massive vehicles, ranging from buses to snow plows and beyond. Typically, drivers exercise a bit more caution around these huge vehicles for obvious reasons: getting into a wreck with one of these conveyances is often extremely catastrophic. However, when it comes to truck accidents in general, many question what causes them.
What are some of the more common causes of truck accidents? It’s important to know that truck crashes can be caused by a passenger car driver, by a truck driver, by both or by a third party who may or may not have been involved in the crash itself. For accidents caused by truck drivers themselves, some of the more common causes involve driving too fast and driving without the level of alertness needed for a potentially dangerous activity.
Since large semi-trucks are often significantly heavier than passenger cars, they typically need much more time to come to a stop in order to avoid an accident. A truck driver who is simply speeding may be committing a grievous error should he or she need to stop quickly to avoid a hazard.
Likewise, truck drivers or their employers may be at fault for drowsy driving, which results in an accident. Truckers often spend long hours on the road, yet driving is an activity that demands constant attention. Taking one’s eyes away from the road for a second can prove devastating; falling asleep behind the wheel or being drowsy enough to have a longer reaction time can easily lead to a deadly or damaging incident.
Moreover, inadequate truck driver training is another common cause of harmful accidents; truckers must follow many rules and regulations and also be able to perform common vehicle checks and maneuver their rig skillfully. Without the proper training, cutting corners can lead to serious injuries or worse.
Knowing the main causes of truck accidents may help the drivers of passenger cars as well as truck drivers be safer on the road. Unfortunately, truck accidents – like all motor vehicle accidents – can have a huge variety of causes and it’s impossible to predict every wreck on Delaware’s roads. Individuals and families who have been affected by truck accidents have a lot to deal with, from knowing their legal rights and options to receiving compensation for damages done to them.
Source: FindLaw, “Common causes of truck accidents,” accessed November 19, 2020
