Although federal safety regulators point to good news overall when it comes
to motor vehicle crash statistics in the United States, their optimism
does not extend to the legions of large trucks on America’s roads.
That conglomeration of vehicles – tractor-trailers, 18-wheel semis
and other outsized conveyances – continues to pose a high risk to
other drivers who share roads and highways with commercial haulers.
In truth, the state of the road where large trucks are concerned is pretty
alarming. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,
fatalities resulting from crashes involving commercial trucks reached
a near 30-year high last year. Unsurprisingly, a clear majority of people
dying in such accidents are motorists and passengers in other (and smaller) vehicles.
What gives, especially considering that deaths in accidents not involving
big trucks are clearly trending downward?
Sadly, truckers’ distracted driving behaviors are reportedly a key
nemesis that literally drives fatal crash outcomes. One recently retired
trucking veteran commenting in a national media piece on
truck-linked crash dangers laments that truck driving is “such a dangerous job with all the
distracted drivers out there.” Many truckers say they routinely
speed to keep on schedule. Another acknowledged problem is the progressive
accumulation of on-board high-tech assists. Those can sometimes overwhelm
drivers or, alternatively, breed an overreliance that results in behind-the-wheel
attention lapses.
The bottom line is that highways and interstates in Indiana and nationally
continue to pose distinct truck-linked dangers for occupants in smaller
passenger vehicles.
Accidents involving big trucks often involve multiple and complex factors.
The experienced Indianapolis-based personal injury attorneys at Tabor
Law Firm have for many years provided
diligent and tailored legal representation for victims of truck and other
motor vehicle crashes. Our strong advocacy stresses accountability and a maximum money recovery
in every case we handle.
We welcome personal
contacts to the firm.
