If you have been injured in a truck accident, the first thing you need to worry about is seeking prompt medical care, and the last thing you should be thinking about is how you are going to pay for this care. Truck accidents are some of the most devastating accidents on the road. They often result in serve personal injury and monumental property damage. These accidents can not only cause a lot of physical pain and damage but may also leave you feeling helpless about how you are going to pay your bills.
What Causes Truck Wrecks in Clearfield County?
Large trucking companies and other delivery companies often keep their employees under strict and tight deadlines to meet delivery deadlines, despite Federal Regulations to the contrary. Driver fatigue, however, is not the only reason why there might be an accident on the road. Therefore, when there has been any accident involving you and a large truck, semi, 18-wheeler, or another commercial vehicle, you should not trust just any attorney. After an accident, you should contact an experienced and qualified truck accident lawyer who will be able to work with you and address your unique needs. There are certain factors that are more likely than others to cause accidents including any of the following:
Driver fatigue
You probably have been on the road on a long car trip and felt a bit tired while driving. Fortunately, for many drivers on the road they can either pull over and grab a coffee or are lucky that they do not have to drive very far. However, truck drivers often have to drive hundreds of miles in a day, and fatigue is a part of their job. However, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has determined that it is not safe for drivers to be behind the wheel after a certain amount of time, and have implemented Hours of Service requirements. However, despite these federal regulations drivers often ignore their mandatory breaks in order to meet deadlines. This means that even though a driver has been on the road for too long and is too tired to drive properly, they will often continue down the road, which can lead to severe accidents.
Braking failure
If you see a stop sign up ahead, you probably do not have to think too much about when you should begin applying the brakes. After driving on the road for a few days you are pretty familiar with your braking system and even if you press your brakes a little too close to the stop sign you can be pretty sure that your car will come to a complete stop. However, a fully loaded semi-truck not only has to see a stop sign or other road hazard well in advance, but they have to begin applying their brakes hundreds of feet before they can bring their vehicle to a complete stop. The braking systems in modern tractor-trailers need to be inspected and maintained regularly, however, brake failures are a common reason for accidents.
Truck driver prescription use
Over the past several decades truck drivers have been gained a reputation for using and abusing prescription medication to stay awake when they are on the road. However, many times these medications have serious side effects that impact how a truck driver functions when they are on the road. This has lead to many accidents across the country and a call for more stringent testing on truck drivers.
Aggressive driving
If you have ever been in a car and were an aggressive driver on the road, you know that it can be scary. Aggressive drivers routinely cause accidents by cutting people off, changing lanes abruptly, and tailgating other drivers. Aggressive driving is something that should be reported to the police, and it is not uncommon to see signs on the side of the road instructing drivers to report aggressive drivers. However, if there is a truck, semi, 18- wheeler, or other commercial vehicle drivers who lose control and become an aggressive driver, there is an elevated risk that there will not only be an accident, but there will be an accident that has devastating consequences.
Unfamiliarity with the road
If you have ever driven in an area you are not familiar with you may understand how this can lead to an accident. Drivers who are not familiar with the road or roads they are driving on may drive too fast through a curve they were not expecting, or they may make erratic lane changes in an effort to get into their proper lane. As explained, trucks require a much greater distance to come to a complete stop. When a driver is not familiar with the road they are driving on, they may miss signs and directions and may cause an accident.
Road construction
Road construction seems to never end, and you know that when you go through a construction site on the road, that you have to slow down, and sometimes deal with less than ideal road conditions. However, while these road conditions and repairs may not affect a passenger vehicle too much, if you are driving a vehicle that is nearly 20 feet tall and 80 feet long, even a minor bump or ridge in the road may be enough for you to lose control over your truck and can be the reason you are involved in an accident.
There are many major highways in Clearfield County including Interstate 80, US 119, US 219, US 322, PA 36, PA 53, and countless others. Drivers will share all of these roads with commercial vehicles and trucks. This means that anytime you are on the road there is the risk that not only will you be in an accident with a tractor-trailer, but that there will potentially be serious injuries.
