While many truck accidents are caused by the drivers of the trucks, some are the fault of the other driver. DC truck accident attorneys Lewis and Tompkins offer advice on how to avoid accidents with commercial trucks.

Common Causes of Truck Accidents (Part Two)

The Attorneys at the DC Injury Firm of Lewis and Tompkins represent those who have been injured in accidents with commercial trucks. While we can provide aggressive legal counsel to those who have been injured due to the recklessness of other drivers, there isn’t much we can do if the fault was that of the driver of the car. Trucks should be treated with care and diligence. But if you were in an accident with a commercial truck and the truck driver was at fault, contact Lewis and Tompkins for a free legal consultation today.

Not all truck accidents are the fault of the truck drivers. While it would seem that the drivers of such big and cumbersome vehicles would be at fault most of the time, many accidents occur due to the drivers of the smaller vehicles.

The worst thing that could happen to a driver is to get into an accident with a truck where the fault is his own. Trucking insurance companies are notoriously cold-hearted when it comes to accidents, and regular car insurance companies are hardly any better. With serious physical injuries practically guaranteed in the event of a truck accident, the result could be a life of both physical and financial hardship for you and your family. With that in mind, avoiding accidents with trucks should be of paramount concern.

Here are some of the more common ways that drivers get struck by trucks or tractor trailers:

Mobile Phone Use or Distracted Driving: Studies carried out by more groups than we could possibly mention here have all come to the conclusion that driving while talking on the cell phone or fiddling with your iPod or driving while texting is just as dangerous or even more dangerous than driving while under the influence. Hang up, put your iPod on random, and keep your hands on the wheel.

Tailgating: Some drivers follow the practice of tailing a truck quite religiously. They do it for various reasons, reducing wind drag and improving their gas mileage among them. Just bear in mind that the exact rear of a truck is one of the many spots where truckers are completely blind to their surroundings. If you can’t see their mirrors, they can’t see you. And whenever a vehicle is rear-ended, the driver that hit the car in front of him is almost always considered at fault.

Driving in the blind spots of the truck: As we mentioned earlier, truck drivers have, at best, a limited view of what they see behind them and on their sides. This is why they should be given a very wide berth. A good rule of thumb is that if you look directly to your right or left and can clearly read the advertisement or logo on the side of the truck, you are in the blind spot. You should endeavor to spend as little as time as possible in it.

Driving under the influence: This is such a patently obvious bad idea that is scarcely needs to be mentioned, except to say that even if the wreck wasn’t your fault, having alcohol or other substances in your blood stream could weigh very heavily in the minds of the judge, jury or arbitrator. The insurance companies will almost certainly press that point over and over again.

Overtaking or cutting lanes in front of the truck: Another aspect of trucks is that they take up much more room, which means that your view of what is in front of them is very limited. If you also factor in the limited braking capability of a truck, the idea of accelerating in order to get in front of a truck that you feel isn’t going fast enough is extremely dangerous. Trucks should be treated with caution and care.

Even if the injuries received in an accident with a truck are the sort from which you will eventually recover, there are still several other factors to consider. There will be medical bills. There will be time missed from work, or even the possibility that you will not be able to go back to work at all. There will no doubt be mental stresses and shock involved in the recovery process as well.

In short, truck accidents are about as serious as a traffic accident can be. And regardless of who was at fault during the accident, having experienced legal counsel to represent your interests is a necessity that can’t be understated.

If you have been injured in an accident with a commercial truck in the Washington, D.C. area, contact Lewis and Tompkins for a free legal consultation today.

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