As you travel to and from each of your destinations for the day, you may share California roads with a multitude of commercial vehicles. While you may rely on these vehicles to transport goods, with the increases in size and weight, driving close to tractor-trailers may seem somewhat frightening at times.
It may be understandable to encounter some level of fear, since collisions involving commercial vehicles can carry cataclysmic repercussions. Even if you take a defensive approach to driving, you cannot always rely on others to do the same, and the negligent decisions of a nearby truck driver may leave you with little time to avoid collision.
Safety hazards
Knowing some of the most prevalent causes of truck accidents could help provide you with insight on what to watch out for on the open road. Some examples of these safety hazards might include:
- Reckless behavior: It is no secret that tractor-trailers have increased stopping times and are more difficult to maneuver, which only makes reckless behaviors such as speeding and tailgating all the more hazardous.
- Truck driver fatigue: Demanding schedules and long hours on the road are just two examples of factors that might make truck drivers more susceptible to fatigue, and driver fatigue plays a role in many collisions.
- Unsafe lane changes: Truck drivers must also use caution when checking blind spots before changing lanes and failure to do so may only increase the risks the unthinkable might occur.
- Truck malfunction: Failure to perform frequent maintenance on commercial vehicles may only increase the risks of a breakdown, and should a truck part malfunction in traffic, the results could prove disastrous.
Truck drivers who fail to adjust driving behaviors during adverse weather conditions or travel through unfamiliar areas may also be more likely to place your well-being at significant risk.
The unthinkable
Suffering severe or permanent injuries in a truck-related accident due to the actions of another party can be a stressful and harrowing experience. The fallout of such an incident could leave you facing a long road to recovery and extensive financial challenges. Some types of injuries you could suffer in such a collision may even disrupt your ability to perform everyday tasks and diminish your quality of life and suffering the repercussions of another party’s negligence could prove a difficult thing to accept.