Semi Truck Accidents on the Rise Across the Nation

While the rates of motor vehicle accidents are decreasing in some areas of the country, semi-truck accidents have been consistently on the rise. They have increased by 20% over the past decade. These statistics are disconcerting. When a large truck is involved in a crash with a smaller passenger vehicle, it is the occupants of the smaller vehicle who suffer the majority of the injuries, and those truck accident injuries are often quite severe, if not life-threatening. If you have been the victim of a trucking accident in California, contact an experienced prominent rig accident attorney at Deldar Legal immediately.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) worked in tandem to create the Large Truck Crash Causation Study. The study was done partly to understand what causes semi-truck accidents. Researchers were alarmed to learn that truck drivers were the ones who caused the majority of the crashes.

Researchers studied 120,000 fatal truck accidents that occurred over 33 months. Truck drivers were determined to be at fault in 68,000 of the crashes. In three-quarters of the hits, multiple vehicles were involved.

Four factors were involved in these crashes:

• Decisions: Poor decisions on the part of the truck drivers led to 38% of the fatal crashes. These included speeding and following other vehicles too closely.
• Recognition: Recognition is inattentiveness or failure to observe the roadway due to distractions. Common distractions for truck drivers include eating, grooming, and adjusting the vehicle controls or navigation system. This accounted for 28% of crashes.
• Performance: Performance issues include losing control of the truck, such as panicking behind the wheel or overcompensating for errors, leading to a jackknife or overturn accident. Performance issues accounted for 9% of big rig crashes.
• Nonperformance: Nonperformance refers to falling asleep behind the wheel or failure to exercise control due to a medical condition or other impairment. Nonperformance accounted for 12% of significant rig accidents.

Semi-truck accidents are becoming more common in California and across the country. These are scary statistics for occupants of passenger vehicles, who are most likely to become injured or killed in a truck accident. If you have been involved in a big rig accident in California, you must immediately seek legal help. The team at Deldar Legal has extensive experience helping truck accident victims obtain compensation for their injuries caused by the negligence of truck drivers.

Posted in: Big Rig Accidents