Truck Accidents: A Look at Factors that Cause Rear-End Collisions

October 11, 2012

Plenty of commercial truck traffic flows through the Dallas-Fort Worth area every day. Unfortunately, because of the high number of 18-wheelers and other heavy trucks, folks in Arlington are no stranger to trucking accidents involving serious injury. One of the worst types of these truck accidents is rear-end collisions.

Truck Accident Statistics

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, each year about 400,000 motor vehicle crashes involve large trucks in the United States, and rear-end crashes account for 18 percent of those crashes.

Rear-end crashes involving commercial trucks can be broken down into two different categories: accidents where a heavy truck rear-ends another vehicle and accidents where a vehicle rear-ends the commercial truck. Overall, accidents where a commercial truck strikes another vehicle in the rear occur 50 percent more often than accidents where a vehicle rear-ends a commercial truck.

While trucks rear-end other vehicles more often than they are struck by other vehicles, there is a large difference in the severity of injury between the types of accidents. In fatal crashes, trucks are struck in the rear much more often than trucks strike other vehicles; however, in non-fatal crashes with injury or no injury trucks more often rear end other vehicles.

Factors That Contribute to Truck Accidents

Several reasons could explain the difference in the number and severity of rear collisions involving heavy, commercial trucks. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which is a part of the USDOT, believes vehicle mass, convoys, types of highways, road location, light conditions, alcohol consumption and brake conditions contribute to these types of accidents.

According to the FMCSA, rear-end truck crashes are more likely to occur on divided roads and highways like freeways and interstates than non-divided highways. Truck drivers and other drivers may be more relaxed on divided highways, which mean drivers are not as quick to respond to changes in traffic.

Moreover, the majority of truck crashes occur away from intersections, ramps, junctions and other areas where roads connect. Drivers may believe that areas of open road do not demand as much attention, which may increase the occurrence of crashes on divided highways where open areas are more common.

Even though most traffic crashes involving trucks occur during the day, nearly half of fatal rear-end crashes where trucks are struck by another vehicle occur at night. According to the FMCSA, 40 percent of trucks struck by other vehicles had at least one light violation. The condition of truck brakes is also a factor in rear-end crashes. More than half of the trucks that struck another vehicle in a rear-end crash had at least one safety violation related to brakes. Finally, alcohol is more often a factor in crashes where non-truck drivers rear end commercial trucks.

The consequences of a rear-end collision with a truck are greater than crashes among similarly sized vehicles. Commercial trucks can be more than 40 times heavier than passenger cars. Therefore they are harder to maneuver and take longer to stop and start, in addition to causing more severe injury upon impact. If you or a loved one has been injured in a truck accident, contact an experienced personal injury attorney to discuss your legal options.

Article provided by Jim Ross & Associates, P.C.
Visit us at http://www.jimrossinjurylaw.com