Big Truck Accident

Every 16 minutes, another person in the U.S. will die or be injured in a large truck accident. In 2002, 434,000 large trucks were involved in traffic accidents in the U.S. ; around 130,000 people were injured in those accidents. In addition, 4,542 of those trucks were involved in fatal traffic accidents that killed a total of 4,897 people. As large trucks compete for space on our already-overcrowded highways, the results can be disastrous, with occupants of smaller vehicles often becoming the unfortunate statistics in large truck accidents.

Perhaps not surprisingly, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, in two-vehicle accidents involving automobiles and large trucks, 98% of the fatalities were occupants of the passenger vehicle. People are killed in large truck accidents at a rate of 14 fatalities a day; that is the equivalent of 26 major airplane crashes every year. If you have been injured in a Gainesville, Florida big truck accident, you need an experienced truck accident lawyer on your side.

Free Consultation
Have you been injured in a big truck accident? Contact Steven A. Bagen & Associates Gainesville, Florida big truck accident lawyers today. Our main office is located in Gainesville but we have successfully advocated for clients throughout Northern and Central Florida, including the major metropolitan areas of Jacksonville, Ocala, Orlando, and Daytona. Complete a FREE online consultation form or call us toll free at 1-800-800-2575.

Large trucks are defined as those with a gross vehicle rating greater than 10,000 pounds and are sometimes referred to as commercial motor vehicles (CMVs). Large trucks may include any of the following:

• Single-unit trucks, like UPS and FedEx trucks

• Other heavy cargo vans

• Tractor-trailers, also called combination vehicles, 18-wheelers, semis, etc.; vehicles in this category consist of a single-unit truck or tractor, with or without one or more attached trailers. A single trailer is usually no more than 53 feet in length. Trucks with two 28-foot trailers are called twins or western doubles; trucks exceeding even this size are called longer combination vehicles.

Tractor-trailers are the largest in the category of large trucks and can weigh 80,000 pounds or more, a size that makes them a significant threat on the highways. In addition, the numbers of registered large trucks have been steadily increasing for years, with their numbers currently hovering around the 8 million mark.

According to the NHTSA, large trucks make up just 4% of all registered vehicles but in 2002 were involved in 21% of passenger vehicle occupant fatalities in multiple-vehicle accidents. This disproportionate involvement in traffic fatalities is largely because of their size, often 20-30 times the weight of passenger vehicles. As a result, drivers of large trucks bear a responsibility to operate these dangerous behemoths safely and competently, but sometimes this is not the case. Drivers of large trucks are often cited for several different unsafe behaviors including:

• Driving longer than the allowed amount of hours, resulting in debilitating driver fatigue

• Driving at excessive speeds

• Driving trucks that are too big or overloaded

• Driving trucks that are improperly maintained, especially with brake defects

Follow the links below for more information about Gainesville, Florida big truck accidents and ways to better avoid this dangerous, and often deadly, situation.

Truck Accident Procedures
If you were involved in an auto accident with a large truck in Gainesville, Florida, would you know what to do? Truck accidents are more than just auto accidents involving larger vehicles. Learn more about the procedure to follow after a truck accident... [read more]

Truck Size
How big is too big? Too many large trucks travel our highways overloaded and with trailers larger than what laws allow, and the costs are greater than the resulting damage to the roads... [read more]

Underride Accidents
If you were in an accident with a large truck in Gainesville, Florida, how safe would you be? The structure of some large trucks makes them inherently deadly to occupants of passenger vehicles... [read more]

Driver Fatigue
The laws regulating how many hours a driver of a large truck can drive at a stretch have changed. How many hours has the truck driver next to you been driving? Is he too tired to be on the road... [read more]

Sharing the Road
Better than surviving a large truck accident is never being involved in one. There are ways that both you and the drivers of large trucks can make the highways safer for everyone... [read more]

Free Consultation
Have you been injured in a big truck accident? Contact Steven A. Bagen & Associates Gainesville, Florida big truck accident lawyers today. Click here to complete the big truck accident form online.