Oversized tractor-trailers tower over cars on highways and rural roads. They speed down the highways with a weight of up to 80,000 pounds versus the 5,000 pounds of most cars.
Although tractor-trailers make up only three percent of accidents on highways, the impact of their crashes is huge. Approximately 500,000 trucking accidents occur every year and of those 5,000 are fatalities. In 2007, there were 9,867 Tennessee truck accidents.
Truck accidents are different
Types of accidents may not be unique to tractor-trailers, but the impact involved in it is vastly different:
- Rollovers - Rollovers are more frequent in trucks due to the center of gravity. If a truck does not slow down around a curve or on an exit ramp, the load in the trailer can shift moving the center of gravity and causing the truck to roll over.
- Truck load - Accidents happen due to improper use of latches, missing ties, unsecured doors, or uncovered or unbalanced loads. Pre-trip examinations and frequent stops can prevent a truck from losing its load.
- Tire blow outs - Unlike cars, when a truck tire blows it is six feet and eight inches of rubber and metal flying like a dart towards a car or worse, through a windshield. Tire blows are caused by tread separation, high speeds, high temperatures, rotten spare tires, and wrong size or under inflated tires.
- Overloaded trucks - Overloaded beyond capacity is one of the major causes of truck accidents. The federal government stipulates what the weight of a truck should be on roadways. When truck drivers fail to comply the result can be flying debris, increased difficulty in stopping or controlling the tractor-trailer, jackknifing, or rolling over.
Truck liability in Tennessee
The truck driver or his company is liable and there are costs to everyone involved when a truck accident in Tennessee occurs. Trucking companies must take in an extra $125,000 in revenue to cover a $25,000 accident. For the victim, there are physical, emotional, and financial costs. If you are a victim of negligent truck driving accident, contact the Tennessee truck accident attorneys of Craft & Sheppard, PLC. Our trucking accident lawyers gather all of the evidence to file a trucking accident claim and aggressively fight the trucking companies and their insurers.
