Residents of New York may be interested in the statistics about large truck accidents provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety division. A large truck is defined as one that weighs more than 10,000 pounds, and accidents with a vehicle this size can cause catastrophic injuries or fatalities. Often, large truck accidents involve more than one vehicle as opposed to a single vehicle collision. For the most part, operators of large trucks are skilled drivers, but in some cases, certain factors could make them responsible for causing a collision.
Some companies pay their drivers more money if they make a delivery quicker than anticipated; this can result in a truck operator driving faster or for longer periods of time than is considered safe. In some cases, a driver has not received sufficient training in areas of important safety operations or driving techniques. Sometimes the driver experiences fatigue due to long work hours and may become easily distracted.
Statistics have indicated that large truck operators who have been involved in an accident that killed another driver are 18 percent more likely to have a former speed-related charge. The death rates associated with collisions that involved a large truck increased by 5 percent between the 2011 to 2012 period. During the same time, the percentage of related injuries increased by 9 percent. Non-truck drivers may not realize that a truck driver may have a larger blind spot area than a typical passenger car.
The increase of truck accidents on American roadways can be alarming, especially when considering how much more significant the related injuries can be. Recovery times could be extensive, and additional treatments may be necessary. An individual recovering from an accident involving a large truck might hire an attorney to assist in building a case against either the driver or the company the driver works for.
