At Flickinger Sutterfield & Boulton, our personal injury attorneys have the experience and resources to handle the full range of auto accident cases with success. We have particular skills in handling cases involving tractor-trailers and other large commercial trucks.
By virtue of their sheer size, weight, and difficulty to maneuver, these trucks are among the most inherently dangerous on our nation’s roadways. When they are involved in collisions with smaller motor vehicles such as cars, pickup trucks, motorcycles, and SUVs, the occupants of the latter vehicles are at extremely high risk of catastrophic injury or death.
What causes thousands of truck accidents that occur each year? Thanks to a study published by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in 2007, “The Large Truck Causation Study,” we don’t have to guess at the ten most common trucking accident causes. Our Provo, UT personal injury attorneys invite you to read the following summation of the top ten causes of trucking accidents in the United States and then contact our law firm if you require an evaluation of a truck accident case.
What Are the Ten Most Common Causes of Large Truck Accidents?
According to “The Large Truck Causation Study,” published by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the ten most common causes of large truck accidents are, from most common to least common:
- Drug use, whether of prescription or illegal drugs: 26 percent of all crashes
- Speeding: 23 percent
- Unfamiliarity with the route: 22 percent
- Influence of over-the-counter medications: 18 percent
- Failure to check blind spots properly: 14 percent
- Driver fatigue: 13 percent
- Failure to observe legally mandated safety measures such as signaling turns: 9 percent
- Driver distraction: 8 percent
- Inability to avoid crashes due to inability to properly estimate the level of evasive action needed: 7 percent
- Road rage: 7 percent
Observant readers will notice that the above percentages add up to more than 100. This is because more than one cause can contribute to a single accident, of course. For instance, drug use and speeding commonly go hand in hand.
Many people might be surprised to learn that driver fatigue, which was long assumed to be the most common cause of large truck accidents, is now the sixth most common cause. They might be equally surprised to learn that road rage, often thought of as a behavior engaged in mainly by operators of passenger vehicles, is a common cause of large truck accidents. To be certain, the list shows that truck drivers, despite their training and presumed experience, are prone to the same imperfections and faults as other drivers. While most truckers are excellent drivers who operate their vehicles with extreme care and caution, it is imperative that we all keep our eyes open at all times when we are on the road.
Contact the Law Firm of Flickinger Sutterfield & Boulton Today
To arrange an evaluation of your trucking accident case, please contact the personal injury law firm of Flickinger Sutterfield & Boulton today.