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How Auto Accident Law And Truck Accident Law Differs

Truck-Accident-Law

Auto accidents and trucking accidents differ because the damages caused in trucking collisions are typically far worse than car crashes. The financial and emotional toll of a trucking crash is often much more severe than when two cars collide.

Auto Accident LawNot only about the severity of the accidents that result, figuring out who is liable for a trucking accident can be difficult. When a trucking company is involved, there might be many people who are both liable and responsible for the damages caused by a trucking accident.

A typical semi-truck can weigh more than eighty thousand pounds; the average car is only about five percent of that weight (3000 pounds). So, when they collide, the passengers of the car are usually injured far worse than those who are in the truck.

Over the past twenty years, the incidence of trucking accidents has increased by over 20% or more, which means that far greater people are being injured and killed due to trucking accidents around the nation.

What are the most common causes of trucking accidents? It would seem likely that trucks are typically responsible for trucking accidents, but that is usually not the case. Since trucks have a harder time seeing cars when car drivers behave recklessly, a truck doesn’t have the time to react, and a collision is more likely.

Jackknifing accidents

A jackknifing accident is when both drivers brake and stop in inappropriate ways. The truck can have so much momentum that the massive vehicle’s rear wheels can lock up and the trucker will lose contact with the highway.

The truck starts to slide to the side, and because the trucker can’t stop, the traffic in the other lanes surrounding it is completely taken out. Jackknifing accidents can end with an extremely high injury and damage count.

Fire accidents from the fuel line

When the fuel line of a truck leaks, fuel vapors are allowed to escape, and if the gas makes contact with a spark, a fire can happen. If there is a fire, the potential of an explosion is high. If a truck explodes, it can lead to disaster for both the trucker and any cars or property that surrounds it.

When a truck rolls over

Truck-Accident-LawAlthough cars and pickups are prone to rollover accidents, when a truck is involved in one, the consequences are far more severe. A rollover accident is usually the result of a driver going to fast for road conditions or when traffic is going to fast, and a truck is required to accommodate for it, and the driver hits the brakes hard and loses control.

When the brakes fail

Truck maintenance is key to keeping the roads safe from trucking accidents. A commercial truck has more than one set of brakes to help it slow down. If all components of the brakes are not operational, it is possible for the brakes to fail. If the brakes fail, a trucker cannot stop in time to avoid a crash.

The air brake design of a truck can only handle a maximum heat of up to 600 degrees. When a trucker is overloaded with too much weight, the temperatures can exceed six hundred degrees, and the truck will have a hard time balancing. When all these factors happen at once, it can result in a disastrous accident.

The differences in legal terms

When you are in a car accident with a truck, who is liable and responsible can vary depending on the circumstances of the crash. It might be possible for the driver, the company who owns the truck, or even the manufacturer of the trucking parts, to be responsible for paying for the damages during a car accident.

To determine who is responsible, it often takes a professional to sort through the details to find out who you can hold accountable. If you don’t know what you are entitled to, you might not get all that you deserve for your damages and injuries.

Truck accidents often come with far more severe consequences than when you are in a car crash. To make sure that you know how to handle your truck accident damages, you may consider hiring a 18 wheeler accident attorney who deals specifically in the complexity of trucking accidents.

Article Submitted By Community Writer

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