Truck accident liability can be a significant concern for truck drivers and trucking companies. Because truck driver liability can be costly in many ways, it is important for those facing a truck accident claim of liability to know about the common cause of truck accidents how to defend themselves against a truck accident claim.
Common causes of truck accidents
There are a variety of unsafe driving behaviors passenger vehicle drivers may practice in the vicinity of a large truck that may cause a truck accident including:
- Driving in a truck driver’s blind spot where the truck driver has little to no visibility. These blind spots are also sometimes referred to as “no zones.”
- Changes lanes abruptly in front of a large truck.
- Maneuvering to the right of a truck that is making a right turn.
- Misjudging the speed of an oncoming truck at an intersection and making a left hand turn in front of them.
- Improperly merging into oncoming traffic causing a truck to have to quickly maneuver to avoid the passenger vehicle pr to have to brake quickly in response.
- Failing to slow down or speed up when a truck needs to merge or change lanes.
- Unsafe passing of a truck which can occur in several different ways.
- Pulling into traffic from the roadside in front of a truck without sufficiently accelerating.
- Driving in between large trucks especially in areas where their visibility limited.
Large trucks need more time to safely respond to changes while driving and when passenger vehicle drivers fail to allow adequate response time for the truck driver, truck accidents can result. There are several common causes of truck accidents that may serve as a defense to a truck accident claim if the other driver involved was to blame, such as a negligent passenger vehicle driver, that it is important for truck drivers and trucking companies to be familiar with.