Common Causes of Truck Accidents

Truck accidents cause over 130,000 injuries every year in the United States. Of those, approximately 5,000 result in death.

There are five main reasons a truck may cause an accident:

1. Turning:  Large trucks need a lot of room to turn.  It is common for the truck driver to use more than one lane of traffic to make a right turn.  This often results in unsuspecting passenger vehicles being crushed.
2. Fatigue:  One study indicates the average truck driver only gets 4.8 hours of sleep per night.  Clearly this is not enough rest.  Although the laws have been changed limiting a trucker’s drive time, studies show some truckers still continue to drive long hours in order to keep up with the company demands.
3. Brake Time:  Large trucks can’t stop on a dime, which leads to a great number of rear-end accidents. A rear-end collision from a truck is always more devastating than with an automobile, due to the weight of the truck.
4. Jack-knife:  Large trucks can jack-knife if they come to a sudden stop and the load shifts. This sudden shift causes the trailer to come around and go sideways.  When this happens, there is no place for a passenger vehicle to go.
5. Stimulants:  Due to the long hours on the road, many truckers have turned to using stimulants to keep themselves awake.  Often these stimulants are illegal.  Once these stimulants wear off, truck drivers usually tire rather quickly causing them to fall asleep at the wheel.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a truck accident, call us now at 1-800-483-2050 or contact us by clicking on New York Truck Accident Attorney.

Cellino & Barnes has offices in Melville, Long Island, Rochester and Buffalo, New York.

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Cellino & Barnes represents or has represented auto injury victims throughout New York State, including Albany, Albion, Amherst, Binghamton, Buffalo, Corning, Cortland, Dunkirk, Elmira, Geneva, Hornell, Ithaca, Jamestown, Lockport, Long Island, Medina, New York City, Niagara Falls, Olean, Poughkeepsie, Rochester, Schenectady, Syracuse, Troy, Utica, Watertown, Wellsville and more.

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