Semi-trucks...they are big and they can be dangerous.
Unfortunately, these trucks are in the middle of a large number of accidents and injuries on the road. There are about 130,000 people per year that have injuries from truck accidents.
If you are someone that was in a semi-truck accident, or are afraid of getting into one, you may be looking for personal injury lawyers in Jacksonville, Florida.
In the meantime, what can you try to prepare for to avoid accidents in the first place? These are five common causes of semi-truck accidents.
It is no secret that truck drivers are on the road for many hours in any given week. While there are rules and regulations in place to try to limit hours driven, it will still catch up to some drivers.
There could be some drivers who are on the road for over 10 hours a day, seven days a week. Eventually, fatigue and
exhaustion could come into play, slowing down a truck driver's reaction time to avoid an accident.
Another thing that impairs people's judgment on the road is driving while intoxicated. This is when people drive with too much alcohol in their system. In the United States, that means having a blood alcohol content (BAC) at .08% or above.
When you drive drunk, it can be another reason why a driver does not have a great reaction time on the road. With that in mind, it is easy to see why it can lead to truck accidents.
Truck drivers have to drive year-round, so they are likely going to be dealing with some bad weather. This can be anything from tornadoes to earthquakes, mudslides, forest fires, flash floods, blizzards, and more.
Bad weather can come up when truck drivers least expect it. Unfortunately, this does make it more difficult for any driver to drive safely on the road.
When a truck driver has a motor vehicle that is bigger, and heavier, and takes longer to come to a stop, bad weather can greatly increase the chance of an accident.
In this situation, reckless driving can happen on both sides of the equation. A truck driver may do this by driving too fast or ignoring signs on the road to slow down for certain barriers.
However, the cars around this may do this too, by not respecting a truck driver's space. Some smaller and faster cars want to drive around a truck, so they cut right in front of them.
This can take a truck driver's space to brake away. Trucks need 200 more feet than cars to come to a complete stop. So, if cars cut trucks off suddenly, it can lead to an accident.
Finally, the vehicle itself may backfire on a truck driver. Were the brakes maintained properly? Did a tire blow? Did part of your truck accidentally release some cargo?
These are all things that either the truck driver or the truck company itself needs to stay on top of.
These are just five ways that semi-truck accidents can happen. Whether it is by poor vehicle maintenance, reckless driving, weather, exhaustion, driving while intoxicated, and more, you could become a victim of this type of accident.
That is where personal injury lawyers in Jacksonville, Florida can help you. Do you need to hire an attorney?
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THE SOUD LAW FIRM
575 Wells Rd.
Orange Park, FL 32073
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Soud Law Firm is a North Florida law firm whose owner and principal was born and raised in the area. We have been working as personal injury trial lawyers for nearly three decades. We represent the people of Jacksonville, Orange Park, St. Augustine, Nassau and surrounding counties and communities.
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