How Avoiding Blind Spots Can Prevent Truck Accidents
Sometimes, despite our best efforts, we find ourselves involved in collisions with other vehicles, often due to the negligent or reckless conduct of another person or entity, which can be frustrating and distressing. However, this does not mean that we should refrain from taking precautions, especially around certain dangerous vehicles, such as semi-trucks, as these preventive measures can play a crucial role in avoiding a collision. If, despite these efforts, you find yourselves injured in an accident with a large truck, you could be eligible for damages, so it is important to speak with an experienced Fort Lauderdale truck accident attorney who can help you seek compensation for your losses.
The Dangers Posed by Commercial Vehicles
Commercial trucks are responsible for transporting everything from produce and livestock to hazardous chemicals and other vehicles across the country. While the resulting high number of semi-trucks and other large commercial vehicles on the road helps keep costs for both consumers and retailers low, it can also have a negative effect on overall roadway safety. In fact, some of the worst collisions on Florida roads involve commercial vehicles, which, when transporting cargo, can weigh as much as 80,000 pounds. Because these trucks are so much larger than their passenger vehicle counterparts, collisions in which they are involved tend to have particularly devastating consequences, causing deadly injuries and widespread property damage.
Commercial Vehicle Blind Spots
Many truck accidents can be attributed to negligence on the part of the truck driver. Exhaustion, distraction, and impairment, in particular, are linked to thousands of truck accidents every year. While these are problems that others on the road have no influence over, there are certain steps that we can take to prevent these types of crashes, including checking our blind spots.
Because of their enormous size, commercial trucks have much larger blind spots that other passenger vehicles. In fact, these blind spots are so large that they are referred to as No Zones because cars located in these areas are no longer visible to the driver, or are so close that the driver cannot stop or maneuver safely.
Further, the blind spots are located all around the truck, making it especially dangerous for other motorists to drive too close. One of the best ways to mitigate these risks is to give commercial vehicles plenty of space, so drivers should:
- Avoid driving directly in front of, behind, or to the side of a commercial truck;
- Refrain from merging into the 20 feet immediately in front of the truck;
- Stay more than 30 feet behind commercial vehicles; and
- Avoid the lane directly to the left and the two lanes to the right of the truck’s trailer.
One good rule of thumb is that if you cannot see the truck driver’s reflection in his or her side mirror, then there’s a good chance that you are in the driver’s blind spot and that he or she cannot see you at all. Staying in these areas significantly increases your chances of being involved in a collision with the truck itself or nearby vehicles.
Contact a Florida Truck Accident Attorney for Help
To speak with an experienced truck accident lawyer about your own collision with a commercial vehicle, please contact Boone & Davis at 954-566-9919 today.
Resource:
driversed.com/driving-information/sharing-the-road-with-others/blind-spots.aspx
https://www.booneanddavislaw.com/rear-end-semi-truck-accident-claims/
