User:KellsieBasso309

An accident involving a truck can be tragic given the size of the vehicles. Its no wonder that many of the accidents involve fatalities. There are components that impact trucks in approaches that do not influence passenger vehicles. A sudden gust of wind against the hundreds of square feet on the side of a tractor trailer can turn the truck into a sailboat. Even if the truck doesnt flip over, just swerving into yet another traffic lane can be a disaster.

Jackknifing is yet another hazard restricted to tractor trailer trucks. When a truck jackknifes, where the trailer goes in a distinctive path from the tractor, the driver has no control. The result in of the jackknife itself could be beyond the control of the driver, even 1 with years of experience. A sudden patch of black ice or an oil spill on the road can turn the truck into an unintended weapon.

Truck drivers are paid to bring goods from point A to point B. The sooner the driver can get back to point A to choose up more cargo, the much more he will earn. Put one more way, the quicker he goes and the longer he drives without stopping means more dollars for him and his family.

The Numbers Tell the Story

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the National Highway Visitors Safety Administration (NHTSA) conducted the Big Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS). The study covered 120,000 substantial truck crashes from April 2001 to December 2003, and then narrowed the study by a representative sample: each and every crash involved at least one particular substantial truck and resulted in a fatality or injury. In the chart beneath you will see driving too rapidly for circumstances and fatigue among the variables contributing to accidents.

Fully half of the study involved collisions among massive trucks and passenger vehicles, which the study defined as pickup trucks, passenger cars, SUVs and vans.