Why Are Truck Accidents Different?

If you or a loved one were in an accident involving a truck, you know that these accidents are quite different from those involving two cars. The physics of the differently sized vehicles gives the survival advantage to the truck and can leave you and your passengers in dire condition.

Truck accidents are not the same as accidents between two vehicles of the same relative size. Most cars and SUVs weigh in at just over 4,000 pounds. In contrast, a fully loaded semi-truck can weigh in at 80,000 pounds; even empty, it is likely to weigh 25,000 pounds. When 80,000 pounds hit 4,000 pounds, it’s not going to be good for the 4,000-pound vehicle. The smaller vehicle will experience much higher momentum and be subject to far greater injury, as will the occupants of that vehicle.

Consequently, the Missouri Department of Transportation says that truck accident fatalities constitute approximately 15 percent of Missouri’s traffic deaths each year, but more than 3,580 injuries resulted from truck crashes.

Trucks are also complex machines with additional safety features, data recorders, and for many, dash cameras. The evidence needed to prove liability in a truck accident claim can differ significantly from car accidents, and multiple parties are often at fault. The legal process can be significantly more complex, so you always want a SEMO accident attorney who has experience handling truck-related claims.

Types of Trucks

There are essentially two kinds of trucks where this significant difference occurs: large commercial semi-trucks and commercial delivery service trucks. Large semi-trucks have many safety requirements like anti-lock brakes and higher driver’s licenses skill requirements. However, most of them protect the driver, not you.

Commercial delivery trucks, including those of global delivery services like UPS, FedEx, and Amazon, present different issues, particularly because they are often box trucks or vans, considerably smaller than an 18-wheel semi.

In either case, liability will be impacted by the fact that the driver is likely an employee or agent of a commercial entity who may also be liable for your injuries.

Common Causes of Missouri Truck Accidents

There are many causes of truck accidents, including:

• Driver fatigue may be a significant but under-reported factor in many truck accidents. Drowsy driving can result from violations of hours-of-service restrictions or due to other factors, such as health issues or medication. The problem with all this fatigue is that a driver who has been awake for 24 hours drives like someone with a blood alcohol content of 0.1 and is far more likely to have an accident than a well-rested driver.
• Poorly maintained or loaded equipment also factors in many truck accidents. If the load is off-balance, a rollover accident that may impact other vehicles is a common result. Loading a truck requires skill and planning.
• Oversized or overweight loads are not permitted on U.S. highways, at least not without taking precautions. Oversized loads require warning vehicles and signs, while heavy vehicles violate the law and make operating the vehicle dangerous. Either load can and will cause an accident.
• Inexperienced drivers of big rigs are far more likely to cause an accident than those with more years of driving experience. With the pandemic-induced labor shortage and the accompanying high wages and bonuses that trucking companies offered, the percentage of inexperienced drivers is likely to increase.
• Reckless driving, including speeding, disregarding traffic signs and signals, and distracted driving, cause many truck accidents.
• Driving while intoxicated by drugs or alcohol is dangerous in any vehicle. In an 80,000-pound lethal weapon, it is beyond dangerous and often fatal. Legal limits are 50 percent lower for DWI in commercial vehicles than for non-commercial drivers, but this does not stop drivers from driving under the influence.

Delivery Truck Accidents

UPS, DHL, FedEx, and other commercial carriers are subject to various federal regulations. Despite these regulations, however, delivery vehicles are frequently involved in accidents that result from rushed delivery schedules, driver negligence, speeding, distraction, and mechanical problems or defects with the delivery trucks.

In Missouri, every day, UPS, DHL, USPS, and FedEx trucks stand on the side of the road while a driver delivers a package. These delivery trucks commonly operate in highly populated areas of Southeast Missouri.

Because the vehicles make frequent stops, injuries can result when a driver backs up, even with a backup signal, and hits a passing vehicle, pedestrian, or bicyclist. If you or a loved one was in an accident involving a UPS, DHL, FedEx, U.S. Postal Service, or Amazon delivery truck resulting in injuries, you may seek compensation for those injuries.

Dangerous Factors in Truck Accidents

Whether involving a delivery truck or a semi, truck accidents often feature the same dangerous causes.

Some of the more common factors are:

• Failing to engage the parking brake while the truck is standing during a delivery
• Backing up carelessly without looking for other cars, vehicles, and pedestrians
• Making sudden and unexpected stops or turns
• Driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol by drivers
• Inexperienced drivers
• Fatigue
• Distracted driving
• Speeding and failing to observe traffic signs and signals.
• Violating Missouri state and federal safety standards

Truck Driver Regulations

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) heavily regulates truck drivers and their employers. One of these regulations is the hours of service regulation. This rule regulates when and how long drivers can drive at a stretch since tired drivers are more likely to cause accidents.

The regulation contains three parts:

• 14 Hour Rule: Truckers are only allowed to work up to 14-hours a day. Moreover, only 11 of these hours can be actual driving. The driver must use the remaining three hours for meal or rest breaks.
• Rest Periods: After a 14-hour workday is over, the driver must rest for a minimum of 10 hours before working another 14-hour day.
• 60/70 Rule: Truck drivers must take breaks from work at regular intervals. If, for example, the driver’s trucking company is open seven days a week, the driver is only permitted to work 70 hours in any eight days without taking at least 34 consecutive hours off before another shift. If a trucking company is open less than seven days a week, then its drivers are only allowed to work 60 hours in any seven days before taking the mandatory 34 hours off.

Unfortunately, truckers break these rules, whether due to their own choice or under encouragement from the company they drive for. Occasionally, FMCSA will modify the hours of service regulations during times of national emergency, as it has done in the recent COVID-19 crisis. While many people see this as necessary to move supplies across the country faster in our current supply chain crisis, it can result in tired drivers who are more prone to accidents.

Investigating and Prosecuting Your Delivery Truck Accident Case

Cook, Barkett, Ponder & Wolz starts investigating your truck accident case with a thorough review of the crash and the evidence you provide. The firm will evaluate any truck company logbooks, any applicable safety regulations, the driver’s record, the maintenance records for the vehicle that caused the accident, and the trucking company’s policies and procedures, among other relevant evidence. We can obtain police and insurance company records and consult with trucking industry experts when necessary to prove your case.

The insurance companies are profitable when they receive more in premiums than they pay out in claims. So, insurance company attorneys for the other side will often try to pay you as little as possible for your injuries. They may even argue that you were partially at fault for the accident. Experienced SEMO truck accident attorneys are familiar with this strategy and work to protect you from a high-pressure lowball settlement offer.

Cape Girardeau Truck Accident FAQs

Contact a Cape Girardeau Truck Accident Attorney Today

If you or a loved one were involved in a truck accident in Southeast Missouri, seek legal advice as soon as possible. When serious injuries and significant property damage are involved, insurance company lawyers will be quick to try to limit their exposure by getting you to accept a lowball settlement offer.

When you should focus your energies on your physical and emotional recovery, have an experienced advocate working on your behalf against the insurance company attorneys and adjuster.

Experienced truck accident attorneys understand how difficult and overwhelming dealing with the aftermath of a trucking accident can be. Let us help you obtain full and fair compensation for your injuries.

Cook, Barkett, Ponder & Wolz has decades of experience in truck accidents. Contact us today or call (573) 335-6651 for a no-cost initial consultation and case evaluation.