Trucking accidents kill and injure over 150,000 people annually in the United States. Additionally, over 250,000 dangerous trucking accidents occur in America annually. While large trucks comprise just three percent of the vehicles on the road, they are involved in over 25 percent of all motor vehicle deaths in multiple-vehicle crashes. However, car occupants are not the only people with high risk factors for death or serious injury in trucking accidents. Over 700 truck drivers also die annually as a result of trucking accidents.

Trucking accidents have an increased chance of serious injury because during a trucking accident a large truck is unable to remain upright. Truck drivers do not have the same visibility and quick reaction maneuverability that smaller vehicles have, which contributes to trucking accidents.

If you have become the victim of a trucking accident, you should contact an experienced personal injury attorney knowledgeable in trucking accidents to review your possible trucking accident case.

While there are safety regulations and laws in place that are intended to prevent trucking accidents, violations of safety recommendations occur often and greatly increase the risk of trucking accidents.

Truck drivers have a responsibility to take all measures in an attempt to avoid trucking accidents and putting other drivers on the road at risk of becoming injured due to a trucking accident. Because some trucks are very large, a trucking accident can greatly endanger the lives of those in smaller vehicles when truck operators fail to consider proper trucking accident prevention.

Trucking accidents kill and injure over 150,000 Americans each year. The risks to occupants of passenger cars in trucking accidents are great; nearly 78 percent of the people killed and 84 percent of the people seriously injured in trucking accidents are those in the smaller vehicles.

Many trucking accidents are caused by reckless driving including:

Of these, excessive speeds account for 20 percent of the fatal trucking accidents and over 17 percent of the serious injury trucking accidents. Speeding is typically the cause of rollover and jack-knife trucking accidents.

Mechanical Failure is another cause of trucking accidents. This cause of trucking accidents may involve something as simple as inoperative truck taillights that cause a rear-end collision on a dark highway or as obvious as brake failure on a long downhill grade resulting in a trucking accident.

See Also:
Auto Accidents