Have you ever been driving down the highway in Tennessee, caught between a number of big-rigs, and noticed how small your sedan felt? Even drivers in full-sized pickups and SUVs have felt this difference, and it can be rather unnerving.
You weren’t wrong to feel concerned. Pure size is one of the main reasons that semi accidents are so dangerous for other drivers. Even with crash safety devices — like airbags and crumple zones designed to absorb an impact — a passenger vehicle is at a severe physical disadvantage. While your vehicle may only weigh in at 3,000 pounds or so, a loaded semi could be 80,000 pounds. Hitting one means that you’re hit with the weight of more than 26 passenger vehicles.
The size also makes blind spots a serious issue. A small coupe or a sedan may be completely invisible to a semi driver. This can cause drivers to merge into the side of passenger vehicles or turn into them when navigating an intersection. Smaller vehicles — like bikes and motorcycles — could be even harder to spot.
Some areas on a commercial truck are so bad that drivers call them “no-zones.” These are places right next to a truck and right behind it. In some cases, visibility is seriously reduced; in other cases, truck drivers have zero visibility and have no idea that a second vehicle is there.
As you can see, sharing the road with these long-haul vehicles can put you at risk. If you’re injured, you could be facing costs for medical treatment, rehabilitation, in-home care, and much more. Be sure you know if you deserve compensation.
Source: FindLaw, “Truck Accident FAQ,” accessed Feb. 01, 2017