Sharing a road with a reckless truck driver is among the things you likely don’t want to find yourself in. A truck wreck can easily leave you with permanent bodily injuries or even take your life. Common causes of today’s truck accidents are distracted driving, recklessness, fatigue, improper cargo loading, and driver intoxication. Before you file a truck accident claim, understand the particular accident you were involved in.
If you don’t know about various types of truck accidents, this blog is for you. Learn more about the subject here.
Jackknife Accidents
Large trucks and semi-trucks have movable joints (hitches) that connect their trailers and cabs. A jackknife accident happens when a truck folds in on itself at the hitch, causing the trailer to swing or move toward the cab.
Jackknife accidents mainly occur when truck drivers fail to brake slowly or to take turns slowly. During a jackknife accident, the truck can block the road and increase the risks of further crashes from the oncoming traffic.
Rear-End Accidents
Sometimes, truck drivers decide to speed or drive too closely behind other vehicles. Because of a truck’s massive size and weight, the driver can’t make a safe stop or turn when too closely behind another vehicle. Failure to slow down or stop safely increases the risk of a rear-end collision between the truck and the car it tailgates.
Rollover Accidents
Compared to other truck accidents, truck rollovers are more dangerous, especially for the drivers. A driver’s loss of complete truck control is the first step to a rollover accident. Speeding, taking a sharp turn too fast, having steep inclines, or colliding with other roadway objects also make truck drivers lose control, resulting in rollovers.
Wide Turn Accidents
Safe navigation of right-hand turns is critical since they are tighter and riskier than left-hand turns. Mostly, truck drivers try to swing their cabs wide to the left before they navigate right-hand turns. Although the idea can help create adequate space for easier right turns, it still poses accident risks for cars in nearby lanes.
Head-On Accidents
A truck driver can lose control and easily get into the lane with oncoming traffic. Such an incident causes head-on truck collisions, which often result in fatal injuries, especially for victims in other small-sized vehicles.
Negligence of the proper right-of-way at a road’s intersections or warning signs can cause head-on truck accidents. Also, tire blowouts make speeding trucks unexpectedly get into other lanes, resulting in these accidents.
Sideswipe Accidents
Sideswipe accidents happen when the sides of two vehicles closely traveling in the same direction collide. Ignorance of blind spots by truck drivers before they merge into traffic or change lanes causes sideswipe accidents between passenger vehicles and trucks.
Intense winds, tire blowouts, and road obstacles can also cause sideswipe accidents. The accident can cause multi-vehicle pileups after the sideswiped vehicle gets swerved into other lanes.
T-Bone or Side-Impact Accidents
Unlike sideswipe accidents, T-bone accidents are common at road intersections. During a T-bone accident, one vehicle’s front hits the side of another vehicle, forming a T-shape. Mainly, T-bone accidents occur when drivers overlook stop signs or run red alerts. Also, a wrong turn by a truck driver across a traffic lane can cause a T-bone crash.
Regardless of the type of truck accident that injured you, you deserve to receive fair compensation. A professional personal injury attorney can file your truck accident claim and ensure you recover fair compensation. If you’re a victim of a truck accident due to negligent drivers, Frenkel & Frenkel Attorneys And Counselors can help you get the compensation you deserve.
