Tennessee Truck Accident Major Causes
For the State of Tennessee, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reported that there were 3,914 accidents involving commercial trucks, which resulted in serious bodily injury or death to people in passenger vehicles. Drivers are well-advised to exercise caution when in the vicinity of commercial trucks to help prevent accidents that cause personal injury in Tennessee.
Reasons for exercising extra caution around tractor-trailers and semi-trucks are as follows:
• Truckers Have Large Blind spots. Truckers have gaping blind spots around the front, back, and sides of the truck. When cars are in these blind spots, the trucker can’t see them.
• Truckers Make Wide turns. Truckers often have to swing wide to the left to make a right turn. If a car attempts to go between the truck and the curb, the driver may get squeezed by the tractor-trailer.
• Truckers Require Longer Stopping Distances. If there is a sudden stop on the highway, tractor-trailers may not have enough stopping distance to prevent a rear-end collision due to their heavier weight.
In addition to the physical/mechanical limitations that lead to truck accidents in Tennessee, there are also a number of major operational causes that include:
• Driver fatigue, long hours and unrealistic schedules. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) blames driver fatigue as a probable factor in 20 to 40% of truck crashes.
• Intoxicated driving. The NTSB recently reported that one or more drugs was detected in 67% of fatally injured truck drivers.
• Driver error. When operators fail to adhere to speed limits set for trucks, the likelihood of a jackknife or rollover significantly increases.
• Substandard inspection. According to the FMCSA, there were over 2 million roadside inspection violations last year alone.
If you have been injured or a family member has been killed as a result of a collision with a tractor-trailer, don’t hesitate to contact the top Tennessee wrongful death attorneys at Baker Associates for a free consultation.
