Truck Accident

 

A truck accident is usually much worse and much more complex than a car accident.

Preserving evidence from the accident scene can be vital for proving your case, but your evidence will quickly disappear.

Contact an experienced Oregon truck accident attorney for a free consultation as soon as you can.

An experienced truck accident attorney will take steps to preserve the accident evidence so that truck accident investigation and reconstruction can be performed. It is important the truck and vehicles involved in the accident not be repaired before this investigation takes place.

A study by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration of causes of large truck crashes action or inaction by the driver of either the truck or other vehicle was the critical reason for 88 percent of the crashes.

"This study makes it clear that we need to spend more time addressing driver behavior, as well as making sure trucks and buses are fit for the road," FMCSA Administrator Annette M. Sandberg said. "The multitude of data now available will allow us to analyze specific areas of behavior and work with our industry and safety partners to develop an agenda on driver safety that will improve commercial motor vehicle driver performance."

The Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS) identifies areas that need to be addressed by effective crash countermeasures.

The Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999 (MCSIA), P.L. 106-159, mandated a study to determine the causes of, and contributing factors to, crashes involving commercial motor vehicles. MCSIA also directed the Secretary to transmit to Congress the results of the study. The U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) conducted a multiyear, nationwide study of factors that contribute to truck crashes. The Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS) identifies areas that need to be addressed by effective crash countermeasures.

A nationally representative sample of large-truck fatal and injury crashes was investigated during 2001 to 2003 at 24 sites in 17 States. Each crash involved at least one large truck and resulted in at least one fatality or injury. Data were collected on up to 1,000 elements in each crash. The total sample involved 967 crashes, which included 1,127 large trucks, 959 non-truck motor vehicles, 251 fatalities, and 1,408 injuries.

However, fatigue was coded twice as often for passenger vehicle drivers, and speeding more often for truck drivers.

An action or inaction by the drivers of the truck or the other vehicles involved were important reasons leading to crashes in a large majority of the cases. Driver recognition and decision errors were the type of driver mistakes coded by crash investigators or law enforcement officials most often for the trucks and passenger vehicles. Truck drivers, however, were coded less frequently for both driving performance errors and non-performance problems (e.g., asleep, sick, incapacitated) than passenger vehicle drivers. In crashes between trucks and passenger vehicles, driving too fast for conditions and fatigue were important factors cited for both drivers. However, fatigue was coded twice as often for passenger vehicle drivers, and speeding more often for truck drivers.

Brake problems were coded for almost 30 percent of the trucks but only 5 percent of the passenger vehicles. Roadway problems were present in 16 percent of the two-vehicle cases, and adverse weather conditions were present in approximately 13 percent of the crashes. Interruption in the traffic flow (previous crash, work zone, rush hour congestion, etc.) was coded in almost 25 percent of the two-vehicle crashes.

Read the Large Truck Crash Causation Study in entirety >>
Press Release

Bicycle, pedestrian, motorcycles, even small cars, can all be difficult to see for the driver of a large truck or semi and tractor trailer. The problem is significant, and known. A pedestrian or bicycle rider may be riding perfectly correctly and be in danger, even stepping off the curb to cross a street. A driver of a motorcycle or car maybe cruising along perfectly correctly and still be in danger from a large truck maneuver.

Stay safe, be visible!

Learn More: staying safe around semi trucks