Truck accidents happen every day. They involve large vehicles, small vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcycles. All kinds of people are impacted by these collisions, and many of them have serious injuries, disabilities or trauma to deal with.
Truck crashes are somewhat common in the United States because of the heavy use of large commercial trucks when transporting goods around the country. In fact, around 70% of all products will be transported to their destinations using trucks.
Trucking collisions are a major cause of death
It is believed, as of 2021, that accidents with large trucks will be the 5th greatest cause of death in the United States by 2030. Why?
Since 2009, there has been a significant uptick in collisions. More than twice as many collisions with large trucks happen today as they did in that year. What’s surprising is that around a third of all of these collisions are caused by tire defects. This is why the maintenance of large trucks is so important. Good maintenance could help prevent blown tires or other problems that lead to collisions.
Thousands of people are impacted by large truck crashes
It’s the unfortunate reality that thousands of people are negatively impacted by large truck crashes each year. Around 130,000 people are injured in these collisions.
Despite the fact that the overall number of motor vehicle collisions has decreased by around 2%, there has been an increase in large-truck crashes involving vehicles of 10,000 to 14,000 pounds.
What is being done to reduce the number of truck crashes?
To reduce the number of truck crashes, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has created regulations that must be enforced. For example, the FMCSA has limited how many hours a driver can be on the road before taking a break and set up mandatory break times. It’s believed that simple changes like these can significantly help reduce the number of crashes, injuries and deaths that happen each year.
If you’re hit by a truck driver, you’re not alone. You deserve to have a support team who can help you focus on your health and on the legal recovery of compensation to help you move forward.
