18 Wheeler Accidents
Big Rigs, Bad Accidents, and Blame
Auburn 18-wheeler truck accident attorney Big John Alley knows the danger and the devastation that threaten drivers on Alabama roadways. All too often, over the course of his 30 years of practice, Big John has seen the results when big rigs crash with passenger vehicles.
Why are people justified in filing truck accident lawsuits?
Commercial trucks – tractor trailers, semis, or 18-wheelers - are frequently involved in accidents, and often those accidents involve fatalities or catastrophic injuries, for the simple reason that 18-wheelers are huge. Truck drivers bear an extra burden of responsibility to be alert, careful, and courteous. Trucking companies have a responsibility to be certain their equipment is safe and to set reasonable schedules. Their insurance companies should be prepared to compensate drivers for serious trucking accident injuries. Unfortunately, neither truckers, nor their companies, nor the insurers do enough to eliminate bad accidents.
Just how big is big?
Sure, says Big John, you have seen 18-wheelers. You have hired a moving van or watched a rig unloaded at your grocery store. But do you really know what “big” means?
- The legal weight for an 18-wheeler is 80,000 pounds or 40 tons. Run that into the average family car, weighing in at somewhere around 5,000 pounds, an incredible 16 times less, and the results are disastrous.
- The average length of an 18-wheeler varies, but most are 70 to 80 feet long. A soccer mom’s 16 foot minivan cannot compete.
- The standard height of 18-wheelers is 13.6 feet. Imagine that the next time you wash your car.
Does size really matter in driving and in accidents?
Big John describes size as a crucial factor in common trucking accidents. Just consider:
- We have all been frustrated by how slowly large trucks accelerate, but give more thought to how hard they are to stop: It takes a whopping 40% longer to stop an 18 wheeler than it takes to stop your family car.
- We know we should not follow too closely. It takes space as well as time to maneuver a big 18-wheel rig. Drive too close on either side or in front of an 18-wheeler, and we limit the trucker’s options for avoiding an accident.
- Trucks have blind spots, areas behind and to either side where the truck driver has limited or zero visibility. If we hang in one of those blind spots, the trucker may not even know we are on the road.
- An 18-wheeler creates its own weather: Wind turbulence or cross winds can cause the driver of a car to lose control.
- The length and height of a big rig can cause it to sway or even jack-knife in normal traffic conditions.
Big John urges all drivers to remember the facts about size, so that you do not become statistics in the lists of serious trucking injuries. He warns that the passengers in an ordinary car have little chance of escaping injury when the car is crashed by an 18-wheeler.
Does size matter in settlements and lawsuits, too?
The truck driver and his rig are not alone. Chances are that a trucker works for a large trucking company. That company will have insurance through a major trucking insurer. The company and the insurance firm will maneuver to avoid liability and to settle claims quickly and cheaply. Sometimes, they may falsify important information about the driver or the truck.
Big John Alley warns that because state and federal laws governing the operation of big trucks and trucking firms differ from ordinary motor vehicle law, claims and lawsuits for Alabama accidents involving 18-wheelers are much more complex than simple automobile accident claims.
How can you compete with big rigs and big companies?
You need your own big representation, Big John Alley, an experienced personal injury and trucking accident lawyer. Know this for certain: The commercial trucking company responsible and its insurers will:
- Send representatives to the accident scene immediately.
- Call investigators to the crash scene (often before the police finish investigating).
- Perhaps begin destroying records (much more common that you would believe in truck accident cases).
- Possibly try to imply that you were responsible.
If you contact his established law firm, Big John will put his experience in trucking accident litigation to work for you soon after your accident. He will begin investigation, preserve valuable evidence, uncover the true causes, and prevent record destruction.
If you Cannot be Safe, get Big
Don’t let a crash with a tractor trailer completely ruin your life. Realize that tractor trailers are much harder to handle than your car is. Give the 18-wheelers plenty of room. Be aware that truck drivers, no matter how professional and conscientious, are also human.
If you cannot prevent a crash and you are injured in an Alabama trucking accident, get Big John Alley on your side. He is an established personal injury attorney with experience in trucking law and an excellent reputation. He will fight for you and he will not back down.
