Sharing the highway with large trucks and buses is always risky. Road safety authorities say the number of personal injury and wrongful death claims could be decreased if drivers of passenger vehicles avoided the “no-zones” around big rigs. These are blind spots close to the truck’s front, rear, left, and right sides where truck operators are typically unable to see smaller vehicles. In this regard, the most common accidents occur when the truckers unexpectedly change lanes.
Other truck accidents result from passenger car drivers cutting in front of a truck too soon after passing it. This often happens when the driver of the car fails to consider the length of the truck before changing lanes. An effective way to judge when it is safe to move over is when the passenger car driver can see the truck’s cab in his or her rearview mirror. Likewise, it is never safe to be immediately behind semis and 18-wheelers, especially when they are backing up, and tailgating them on the highway increases the risk of rear-end collisions.
Additional precaution is needed due to the length of big rigs, which makes turning difficult since truckers need more width to navigate the turn safely. A common example is a semi swinging into the left lane to maneuver a right turn, where any car in a “no-zone” may be invisible and at risk of being crushed.
That being said, Alabama truckers and motorists are equally responsible for ensuring road safety. When the negligence or recklessness of a truck driver leads to a collision in which occupants of smaller vehicles are injured or killed, grounds for civil claims typically exist. An experienced personal injury lawyer can assist the injured victims or surviving family members of those who succumbed to crash injuries with every step of the legal proceedings in pursuit of financial relief.
