Most Common Types Of Truck Accidents And How To Prevent Them!

While most people focus on the dangers of car accidents, accidents with trucks are even more deadly. While trucks might not be as common on the roads, their sheer size makes them incredibly dangerous and challenging to drive. This is why truck drivers need to obtain a completely separate license to operate a tractor trailer. The best way to recover from a truck accident is to prevent one from happening in the first place. The first step to preventing truck accidents is to figure out what the most common types of trucking accidents are. After this, people can take steps to minimize them.

The Time of Week

The first step in analyzing these accidents is to figure out when most of them occur. Statistics from 2012 point out that over 75 percent of truck accidents occurred on the weekdays. Less than 25 percent of all accidents occurred during the weekend. This trend shouldn’t come as a surprise to very many people. More cars and trucks are on the road during the workweek because people are traveling to and from work. Therefore, people need to be aware of the traffic conditions and keep in mind that more people are on the road, including trucks. With more people on the road, accidents are more likely to occur.

The Time of Day

Once people have narrowed down the time of the week that these accidents might occur in, the next step is to look at the time of day. This has been broken down into two different categories.

• Accidents Involving Trucks on the Weekdays: During this time of the week, accidents were more common during the day. This is because the sheer number of cars on the road during the day increases the chance of accidents. While driving at night might be harder, there are fewer cars on the road at night. Therefore, the number of accidents declines.
• Accidents Involving Trucks on the Weekends: During the weekends, the number of cars on the road is largely the same both at night and during the day. Therefore, the number of cars on the road is not a major player. Instead, the driving conditions take over. Accidents are more common at night during the weekend than during the day on the weekend. Anyone driving at night should use extreme caution.

The Setting

After analyzing the timing of the accidents, people next turn their attention towards the location. The 2012 statistics compared the accidents that occurred in an urban setting versus a rural setting. Some people might be surprised that more truck accidents occurred in a rural setting, to the tune of 2/3 of accidents occurred in rural areas compared to 1/3 in the urban area. There are several reasons that might be in play. First, trucks are more common in rural areas. Once the supplies arrive in an urban area, the supplies are likely transported to its final destination in smaller vehicles. Furthermore, in a rural area, the roads are more open and people are more prone to losing their attention and focus. This leads to car accidents. People should take steps in rural areas to keep their eyes peeled for trucks.

Mode of Collision

Once the conditions have been narrowed down, it is time to take a look at the mechanism that leads to accidents involving trucks. The various categories are below.

Head-On: This is a collision involving the front of the truck impacting the front of a car. This was the most common type of truck accident, almost 30 percent of truck accidents in 2012 involved this type of collision.

Rear-End: This is the second most common type of truck accident. In 2012, this made up 20 percent of all truck accidents. In this accident, a car rear-ends a truck or the other way around.

Truck Struck on the Left: This type of accident is fairly straightforward and accounted for 14 percent of accidents involving trucks in 2012. This might occur when someone is passing a truck and clips the truck on the left side.

Truck Struck on the Right: This accident made up 11 percent of all accidents in 2012. This typically occurs when a truck is taking a turn and clips a car that is too close to the truck.

The other 25 percent of accidents did not fall into these categories. People should understand these common accidents, how they occur, and take steps to avoid these situations.

Anyone injured in a truck accident should contact GOM Law for assistance. There may be ways to help cover expensive medical bills and expedite the recovery process.