Truck Accidents on the Highways

    DALLAS, TX, July 25, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Trucks, or tractor-trailers, are a necessary part of the economy of the United States. They deliver goods from one coast to the other, and trucking companies also provide thousands of jobs. The economy would be drastically affected should trucking companies cease to exist, however the large trucks on our highways can cause catastrophic accidents.

Due to their sheer size and weight, accidents involving tractor-trailers on our highways are almost always devastating. Truck accidents on the highways are even worse since both passenger vehicles and trucks are operating at a high rate of speed. There are many different causes of truck accidents, including:

• Fatigued drivers
• Overloaded trucks
• Drivers under the influence
• Unmaintained trucks
• Failure to yield
• Mechanical or brake failures
• Tire blowouts
• Speeding
• Runaway trucks

Even though trucks are larger and more difficult to control than smaller passenger vehicles, most accidents involving tractor-trailers are caused by the driver of the smaller vehicles. Many times the driver fails to account for the large blind spot of a truck, the wider turns trucks make, or the difficulty in maneuvering the tractor-trailer.

If a tractor-trailer is cut off on a highway, it can often result in an accident simply because a large truck cannot swerve or maneuver quickly to avoid collision like smaller vehicles can. Tractor-trailers also take much longer to bring to a stop.

Most tractor-trailer accidents result in severe injuries to the driver of the smaller passenger vehicle, not the driver of the truck. Rollover or jackknife accidents, however, which occur less often than other types of truck accidents, tend to result in severe injuries to the driver. These types of accidents are often due to overloaded trucks. If the trailer is not loaded correctly, the cargo can move, drastically shifting the weight of the truck, resulting in a rollover.

Truck accidents that occur on the highway are not only more devastating, but often result in multi-car accidents. Not only are all vehicles traveling at a higher rate of speed, but there are cars merging on and off the highway, and can result in the need for a truck driver to maneuver quickly, which is very difficult to do when driving a truck, and can often result in an accident.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a truck accident, please visit the website of the experienced truck accident attorneys at Polewski & Associates, serving the Dallas, Texas area, today.

Source: Polewski & Associates
Website: http://www.polewskilaw.com

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