On the US roadways, you can often see semi-trucks delivering freight to every single corner of the country. People rely on these so millions of trucks operate. Each one covers tens of thousands of miles every single year. However, with such huge operations, it is easy to understand why the trucks are considered to be dangerous. After all, you often hear about a truck accidents that are fatal.
Semi truck dangers are inherent and increased by various issues like lack of training, negligent maintenance, carelessness, and defective parts. Whenever something like this causes an accident, the injured party is entitled to financial compensation for all losses and injuries sustained.
The truth is the semi truck can be quite dangerous when on the road. Operating it is very different than when you drive regular passenger vehicles. The truck driver needs a CDL (commercial driver’s license), which involves passing a road test and a written exam. The dangers of semi truck accidents can easily be noticed when we take into account the following.
High Speeds
It is impossible to operate the truck as easily as you operate the passenger vehicle. When speeding, this is a huge danger since the driver cannot turn fast or slow down as an obstacle appears. When at high speeds, accidents can be very serious. This is especially true for passengers of the other vehicles involved.
Heavy Loads
Semi trucks are also dangerous because of their weight. A fully loaded semi truck can end up weighing a staggering 80,000 pounds. This is around twenty times more than the regular passenger vehicles. If such a heavy vehicle is in a crash, huge damage appears, including fatalities and catastrophic damages.
Huge Sizes
Besides the weight, we should also talk about the size. A semi truck is long and large. This reduces driver visibility and leads to the appearance of several blind spots. They are commonly known as being “no zones”, which practically means the truck driver cannot see something.
You need to be really careful with some areas whenever you drive close to the semi truck. These are:
- Immediately in front of the truck, which is why you should never cut a semi off when in traffic.
- Directly behind the truck since there is no rearview mirror present. This means you should never tailgate the semi truck.
- On both sides, just as with regular passenger vehicles.
While driving defensively is something we all know, with the semi trucks, you need to be aware of these extra no zones.
Wide Turns
Because semi trucks are very long, wide turns are practically necessary. The driver performs the action since it is impossible to cut corners.
When the driver is not careful and does not pay attention to the road, it is possible to think that the truck driver is changing lanes. This leads to the bad idea of cutting inside towards the right as a right turn is made. The move often leads to very severe accidents because the truck driver does not see such vehicles when making a right turn.
