Numerous Alabama truck accidents are caused because motor vehicle drivers do not know how to drive safely and cautiously around a big rig. These large trucks react slower to traffic around, have less visibility of the road and they are extremely heavy and dangerous. Therefore, any car driver will want to take some specific cautions around a tractor-trailer in order to avoid being involved in a crash.
Car drivers are encouraged to never driver inside “No-Zones.” These are areas to the side of or right behind a big truck, where the truck driver will have a difficult — if not impossible — time seeing a particular car. Fast lane changes are also something to refrain from doing because of the fact that semi trucks cannot react very quickly to sudden vehicular movements around them. Similarly, slowly merging onto a highway is preferred, as opposed to speeding on to join the rest of the traffic. Car drivers should make sure that there is plenty of room for them to gradually increase their speed until they have safely merged onto the highway.
Also, it is vital that no one ever leaves their motor vehicle unattended or stopped in a highway thoroughfare. This might seem obvious, but in some cases drivers may not have a lot of space on the shoulder of the road and they might think that other drivers will have enough time to slow down and safely pass around their stopped vehicle. However, numerous fatal trucking accidents and other events have happened because an individual failed to clear his or her stopped vehicle from a roadway.
Alabama drivers can get in touch with a personal injury lawyer to ask for more safety tips to avoid truck accidents. They can also seek counsel if they — or a loved one — have been injured in such an event. Through a detailed analysis of the facts and evidence pertaining to a particular accident, it can be determined who is likely at fault and who could potentially be held liable for the cost of medical care, pain and suffering and other damages stemming from the collision.
Source: FindLaw, “Common causes of commercial truck accidents” Sep. 11, 2014