Large Truck Crash Overview: Part II

In fatal crashes involving large trucks in 2007, driver-related factors were cited for 38 percent of the large truck drivers.

No adverse weather conditions were reported for 87 percent of the fatal crashes and for 89 percent of the nonfatal crashes involving large trucks. Rain was the most common adverse weather condition.

In other findings from the 2007 Large Truck Crash Overview published recently by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), speeding was a factor in 25 percent of fatal crashes involving a large truck.

A good truck accident lawyer like those at PritzkerOlsen Attorneys closely examines all the factors in any crash that results in injury or death. From experience, some of the most common factors cited for drivers of large trailer trucks and drivers of passenger vehicles are the same: Driving too fast, failure to keep in proper lane, inattention and failure to yield the right of way.

In truck accidents, it is important to sort out who are the liable parties.  The possibilities include the trucking company, the owner of the tractor trailer cab and trailer, the driver of the truck, the employer of the driver, the manufacturer of the tractor trailer cab or of the trailer, or a third-party maintenance company that may take care of the truck.

The 2007 Large Truck Crash Overview, FMCSA also found that in two-vehicle fatal rear-end crashes, passenger vehicles struck large trucks in the rear approximately three times more often than large trucks struck passenger vehicles in the rear — 16 percent versus 5 percent.

There was a similar imbalance for head-on fatal crashes, where a large truck crossed the center line in 1 percent of fatal accidents involving a large truck versus a passenger vehicle crossing the center line in 16 percent of the fatal accidents.

But in other crashes, large trucks struck passenger vehicles 32 percent of the time versus passenger vehicles striking large trucks 24 percent of the time.

Additionally, 24 percent of fatal crashes that took place in work zones — areas of construction, maintenance, or utility activity — involved a large truck.