In West Virginia and across the U.S., there are many accidents each year involving large trucks. In 2007, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration put together a Large Truck Crash Causation Study, or LTCCS.
The results of the LTCCS indicate that in 44% of two-vehicle accidents, large trucks were the primary cause of the accident. It was discovered by the LTCCS that there are three main reasons large trucks were responsible for causing these accidents. The reasons include speeding too fast for conditions, experiencing brake problems and having a lack of familiarity with the roadway.
Trucks driving too fast for the roadway, traffic conditions or the weather were a factor in truck accidents 23% of the time. In fact, speeding made it 670% more likely that an accident would occur than if speeding was not a factor. The FMCSA recommends reducing speeds by one-third on wet roads and by one-half on snow-covered roads to reduce the likelihood of an accident.
Another cause of large truck accidents was a driver experiencing problems with the trucks’ brakes. The LTCCS found that 29% of accidents involved braking issues, and large trucks with these issues were 170% more likely to cause an accident than trucks with properly functioning brakes.
The third reason for trucking accidents was drivers’ lack of familiarity with the roadway. Truck drivers who failed to plan routes in advance, learn distances or negotiate turns caused 22% of the accidents in the LTCCS study. This lack of planning by truck drivers increased the risk of large truck accidents by 100%.
Large truck accidents can result in serious and lasting injuries for victims. Sometimes, these accidents can even result in wrongful death. When an individual is a victim of a truck accident, a personal injury lawyer may be able to help recover damages.
