A proven personal injury legal source conveys in a recent blog post what is a virtual truism regarding safety issues linked with commercial trucks operating 24/7 across Orange County and other enclaves spanning Southern California.
It notes this: “When trucking companies and their drivers fail to maintain their vehicles, they pose a danger to everyone else on the road.”
That is just obvious, right? And it is a point well worth emphasizing, given the heavy truck volume across the region.
Drivers and other occupants in varied passenger vehicles routinely share road space with a broad assortment of truly outsized trucks that flatly dwarf surrounding vehicles in size and weight. Those mammoth-sized configurations include tractor-trailers, semi-trucks and many other types of 18-wheel big rigs.
Deficient vehicle maintenance is understandably a prime catalyst that literally drives legions of accidents involving large trucks. Obviously, though, many other factors too centrally contribute to adverse crash outcomes.
Truck crash causes varied, yielding serious outcomes
A bulleted list of negligence-tied factors causing truck accidents is both long and multi-sourced. Here are some key contributors:
- Improper cargo loading leading to vehicle instability
- Tight scheduling pressures that keep stressed and fatigued drivers on the road
- Prominent vehicle blind spots that obscure drivers’ vision
- Industry acknowledged problem with driver impairment tied to alcohol and/or drug abuse
- Excessive vehicle size and girth that makes for slow stopping times and hinders behind-the-wheel maneuverability
Truck-crash liability is often diffuse and broadly shared
Here’s a key and singular point concerning truck accidents: Negligence in a crash can be broad-based, with multiple parties potentially being liable for an injured individual’s injuries.
Obviously, a commercial driver can be found negligent. But so too can his or her trucking company employer, for various reasons (e.g., failed vehicle repairs, subpar training, unreasonable scheduling demands and more). It might also be the case that a parts manufacturer or supplier failed to comply with a due standard of care and performance.
Injury victims have strong post-crash legal rights. They can turn to an experienced law firm with a history of personal service and tailored representation for advocacy aimed always at securing an optimal case result.