Common Causes of Semi-Truck Accidents in Missouri
With its location in the middle of the United States, Missouri’s highways, interstates, and even rural roadways have a massive number of semi-trucks traveling next to much smaller vehicles day and night. While these massive vehicles are vital to the transport of goods and performance of services, they are also the cause of some of the most devastating and life-altering car accidents. These semi-trucks accidents often result in severe, life-changing injuries, or even death.
Semi-truck collisions can happen for any number of reasons. Some of these Semi-truck accidents are caused by one, or some combination of, the following:
- Driver Fatigue: Many truck drivers work long hours, leading to exhaustion and slower reaction times. Even though rules and regulations limit driving hours, many drivers or companies push these limits, and occasionally beyond them, which can increase the risk of accidents.
- Distracted Driving: Like other motorists, truck drivers can become distracted by mobile phones, GPS systems, or eating while driving, which significantly increases the likelihood of a crash.
- Influence of Other Drivers: With the size of these semi-truck, drivers of smaller vehicles are extra aware of them. If these semi-trucks veer toward drivers of smaller vehicles on the road, this can cause them to panic and overcorrect. In this instance it might be the Semi-truck itself colliding with any other vehicles, but that does NOT mean the semi-truck driver did not contribute to cause the collision.
- Decreased Sight Lines: Most are familiar with the blind spot. Drivers in vehicles of all sizes have to mind their blind spot to avoid colliding with other vehicles. It is even more challenging for semi-truck drivers to overcome their limited visual fields.
- Insufficient License or Expired CDL: Drivers of most of these larger vehicles should have a Commercial Driver’s License (“CDL”), or other license endorsements. Even if a driver obtained the license to drive larger vehicles, sometimes they might be asked, or offer, to do more than their license allows. Other times they might not do what necessary to get it renewed.
- Negligent or Nonexistent Training: Even of a driver has driven a semi-truck before, they should have received some training to learn the specific semi-truck they were driving at the time of an accident. Employers usually might have training requirements and/or manuals that can be used to determine whether the driver received the training their employer even deemed necessary.
- Improper Loading of Cargo: A poorly loaded or overloaded trailer can shift during transit, making it difficult for the driver to control the vehicle, particularly on curves or during sudden stops.
- Mechanical Failures: Lack of proper maintenance can lead to brake failures, tire blowouts, or other mechanical issues that make a tractor-trailer difficult to handle.
- Following Too Closely For Longer Stopping Distances: The size of these semi-trucks makes them very heavy. The physics of that are familiar to most. Heavy things take longer to stop. Weather can also directly impact this. Missouri’s unpredictable weather—rain, ice, and fog—can make roads even more slick and/or dangerous, especially for larger vehicles like semi-trucks, which require longer stopping distances.
If you or a loved one have suffered severe injuries, or death, in a motor vehicle accident that involved a semi-truck, it is in your best interest to consult with an experienced injury attorney. Even if it does not seem like the semi-truck was to blame, even if the semi-truck driver was only 1% a fault, you might be entitled to a massive recovery from their commercial automobile insurance policy and umbrella policy.
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