Trucking is Important to Texas, but Only If Done Safely.

Truck drivers are not bad people. And we personal injury attorneys do not hate trucking companies. To the contrary, we know that the trucking industry is an indispensable feature of our economy. However, we personal injury attorneys deeply understand a truck’s potential for danger.  Trucks are simply a far too common and frequent part of the general public’s lives to be operated unsafely. 

In the event a truck causes death or injury, truck drivers and companies must be held accountable. Lawsuits are the true safeguard against dangerous operations. Not the government. Lawsuits. Without them, our roads will become a place of carnage.

When We Talk About “Truck Accidents,” What Qualifies as a “Truck”?

When we discuss truck accidents, we are not talking strictly about F-150s and other pickup trucks. The term “truck,” in this context, refers to any commercial vehicle of significant size. The terms semi-truck, 18-wheeler, and big rig are often synonymous with what is more precisely referred to as an tractor-trailer. For present purposes, we will simply use the term “truck.”

It is important to know that there are laws at both the federal level and at the Texas state level that regulate commercial motor vehicles. Trucks are not the only type of vehicle that qualifies as a commercial motor vehicle. According to federal regulations, the following types of vehicles may also qualify as trucks depending on the weight of the vehicle and any attachments to the vehicle:

• Dump Trucks;
• RVs;
• Vans;
• Flatbed trucks;
• Tank Trucks;
• and even some types of Pickup Trucks.

If you’ve been involved in a wreck with any such type of “commercial” vehicle, it is important that you speak with our attorneys immediately. We at Hyde Trial Tribe will be able to educate you on whether a particular type of vehicle qualifies as a commercial motor vehicle, and if so, what rules and regulations may have been violated.

Truck Accident Cases are Not Car Wreck Cases.

Different laws apply to car accident cases than those that apply in cases involving a semi-truck accident. Why? Simple answer: trucks are more dangerous than everyday vehicles. After all, trucks are bigger. Much bigger. An 18-wheeler traveling 5 miles per hour will collide with virtually the same amount of force as a standard-sized sedan going 100 miles per hour. In other words, it takes less speed to do just as much damage—if not more. Of course, 18-wheelers typically do not drive any slower than everyday vehicles. They typically drive just as fast—if not faster.

Worse yet, the sheer size of semi-trucks make trucks incredibly difficult to stop and complete wide turns. In fact, that is why semi-trucks are prohibited by law from even attempting a U-turn. 

If improperly operated or improperly maintained, semi-trucks become 80-thousand-pound weapons of the road. These goliaths can and do kill.

Lawmakers know this. To protect the public against this enhanced danger, lawmakers impose special rules and regulations on truck drivers and trucking companies.  These regulations require, among other things, 

• enhanced licensure requirements for those applying to drive a semi-truck or other commercial motor vehicle;
• mandatory drug and alcohol testing of commercial drivers;
• mandatory background checks on commercial drivers; 
• hours-of-service requirements limiting the number of hours a driver can operate a truck within a given period (among other limitations); and
• higher amounts of mandatory liability insurance coverage.

In addition to having a different set of rules, the list of potential defendants is usually longer with a truck accident case. You see, trucking is an industry. Behind a single shipment of goods, there are often many players involved behind the scenes, like people performing maintenance on the truck, people balancing the truck’s load, people coordinating the shipment from pickup to delivery, and people training the truck’s driver. Any of these various players could potentially do something wrong that ultimately causes a truck accident. Accordingly, the list of potential defendants in a trucking case is usually much longer than the list of potential defendants in a car wreck cases.

Common Types of Truck Accident Cases

There are numerous ways a truck can leave a devastating impact on the drivers of surrounding vehicles. The size of trucks alone make them a force of nature. Truck accidents therefore commonly result in death and catastrophic injury. Such accidents come in different forms. Listed below are a number of the most common types of truck accidents:

Jackknife
Jackknifing is when a the tractor of a semi-truck folds with its trailer to form a 90-degree angle. It is commonly the consequence of a truck driver that brakes too hard and quickly, which is itself usually indicative of a truck driver not giving proper attention to the road ahead of him. The sudden stop propels the weight of the trailer forward against the traction of the cab, thus resulting in the fold.

Truck Rollovers
If a truck driver loses control of the truck, or turns the truck too abruptly, the truck can slide or tip off-kilter and roll onto its side. God be with any motorists in the way of that warpath.

Tire Blowouts

Tire blowouts are not unique to trucking cases.  can happen with any vehicle, often forcing it uncontrollably in wayward directions. This can pose a danger to the driver as well as nearby vehicles.

Wide Turn Attempts
The size of trucks make them more difficult for drivers to maneuver. To turn left, a truck driver will need to “swing” left in order to make a right turn. This is referred to as a wide turn. A truck driver failing to heed proper attention to his surroundings can unwittingly cause collisions with vehicles in the path of the wide turn.

Accidents Caused by Blind Spots
A truck has large blind sports, much larger than those blind spots of everyday vehicles.  When a truck driver can’t see surrounding vehicles as he changes lanes, it endangers surrounding vehicles. They can be forced off of the road, or worse: crushed by the magnitude of the truck. 

Rear-End Impacts
Again, trucks are big, making them difficult to  bring to a stop. By logical extension, rear-end trucking collisions are not uncommon. However, rear-end trucking collisions can leave uncommonly severe damage to the impacted vehicle and its driver. 

Under-Ride Collisions
When a truck driver abruptly brings a truck to a stop, much smaller vehicles approaching the truck can drive into and under the truck’s trailer. The truck’s trailer will usually refuse to give, thus clearing the top off of the underriding vehicle. The gruesome consequences of such a collision need no further explanation.

Head On Collisions
Head-on collisions with trucks are usually the most deadly. Head-on collisions are often the result of a truck driver who is unfamiliar with the area and proceeds to travel a road while going the wrong direction, against the grain of oncoming traffic.   This underscores the importance of a truck driver’s attention to traffic signs and signals at all times.

T-Bone Collisions
Broadside collisions (also known as a side-impact crash or T-bone accident) T-bone accidents can occur when a truck driver runs a red light and hits another vehicle perpendicularly.