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Three Most Common Truck Accidents

Jan. 15, 2020

Truck drivers and commercial vehicle operators need to go through extra education programs and training to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to operate these heavy/heavy duty machines without putting other drivers, pedestrians, and motorcyclists at risk of accidents or injury. Despite these requirements and the understanding of what comes next if a truck driver acts negligently, many will fall prey to distracted driving, speeding, tailgating, or more to wind up in one of 3 common accidents and the victims will need to call a Colorado Springs personal injury attorney to assist them.

When truck drivers forget or ignore their training, they immediately put other vehicles in immediate danger and egregious injury; due to their massive size and weight (much larger than an average car or SUV), they impart greater damage to the property and victims they collide with. 3 common examples of these devastating accidents are listed below.

T-Bone: Simply put, a T-bone accident is where one vehicle crashes into another perpendicularly, or in other words, at a 90-degree angle. The danger of this, especially with a commercial vehicle, is that the added weight crashing into the driver/passenger doors of a sedan or SUV can easily kill the victim riding in the car. Additionally, due to the nature of the vehicles involved, the victim’s car can easily flip or rollover as a result of tons of cargo crashing into them.

Rear-end: If a truck driver has a penchant for speeding/tailgating to meet deadlines, they up their odds of causing a rear-end accident with another vehicle and needing to call a Colorado Springs personal injury attorney to defend them. However, it isn’t always the truck driver hitting someone from behind; if they do not maintain their vehicles to meet compliance standards, say by having taillights out, they could be rear-ended and still at fault. Using our example, if their taillights aren’t working optimally and they slam on their breaks with another car behind them, they could be held liable for the accident due to negligence.

Jackknife: Speeding and distracted driving are two major causes of this horrific type of accident that can injure many people and pieces of property all in one go. Jackknifing is when a truck’s trailer becomes perpendicular to the cab (either twisted on its side or still on its wheels) and rolls along the road (taking up multiple lanes) and crushing whatever it comes in contact with. Picture a large shed careening towards you at 40-80 miles per hour – that’s what a jackknife truck looks like. The results aren’t pretty.

Contact our offices immediately to speak to a Colorado Springs personal injury attorney if you are the victim of a trucking accident. We know what to look for and how to protect your rights and prove your innocence.