Commercial vehicles, such as semi-trucks, multi-axle delivery vehicles, and other large vehicles used for commercial use are a serious matter when a passenger vehicle encounters them on the road. These vehicles carry significant momentum at high speeds or low speeds. A small driving error by the driver of either a commercial vehicle or a passenger vehicle can create a serious incident, causing major injury or death. If you were injured in a truck accident in Rhode Island, contact a top truck accident attorney at a trucking crash law firm. Rhode Island truck accident attorneys at a top truck accident law firm can help you get the justice and compensation you deserve.
Truck Accidents Involving Driver Error
The majority of accidents in Rhode Island involving a commercial vehicle are due to the driver of a passenger vehicle committing unsafe acts. Such acts of driver error cause collisions between commercial and passenger vehicles. Below is a list of the most common causes of truck-involved accidents in the Providence, Warwick and Cranston areas:
- Traveling in “no-zones” which are the areas beside or behind a commercial vehicle moving along a road or highway.
Rhode Island truck accident lawyers
- Navigating a vehicle on the right side of a truck making a right turn.
- Failing to alter speed in anticipation of a commercial vehicle merging into or changing lanes.
- Attempting to pass a large truck without ensuring there is sufficient distance between vehicles to complete the maneuver.
- Trying to take a left-hand turn at an intersection without sufficient speed or distance to complete the turn as a truck is approaching.
- Failing to yield to the right of way causing a truck driver to take unsafe, rapid actions to avoid a collision.
- Positioning a passenger vehicle between two large trucks traveling along a road or highway.
- Pulling into traffic from the side of the road without sufficient speed to avoid an approaching truck.
- Leaving a disabled vehicle partially positioned on a roadway instead of moving completely off the road and onto the shoulder and/or abandoning said vehicle in a travel lane.
- Attempting to pass a large commercial vehicle in strong crosswinds or turbulence and being pushed out of position by the winds.
- Changing lanes in front of a commercial vehicle.
Truck Accidents Caused by Equipment Failure in Pawtucket, East Greenwich and Woonsocket
Commercial vehicles are built using a significantly large number of intricate and finely-balanced parts that require regular maintenance and service. These elements are put through hours of wear and tear which can cause failure or defect of any one more of these parts. If any system in a commercial vehicle is faulty or functioning improperly, the safety of the driver and any others sharing the roads can be jeopardized. This can cause serious or catastrophic events. Commercial vehicles which are improperly loaded, creating imbalances in weight and instability of the container can also cause accidents if the load should force the truck out of control or the trailer becomes unsecured while the truck is traveling. Such equipment or system failures that can cause accidents are:
- Worn-out brakes
- Balding tires
- Defective truck components
- Unsecured or unstable cargo loads
- Defective cargo straps
- Improper truck maintenance
Truck Accident Caused by Trucker Error in Rhode Island (RI)
Some of the most calamitous accidents involving commercial vehicles in Rhode Island are caused by trucker error, inattention, distraction or negligence or by driving in adverse weather conditions. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) states, “ Trucker error is a common cause of many commercial vehicle accidents nationwide.” These types of accidents in the Lincoln, Cumberland and North Providence are typically the result of diverse factors including:
- Driver inexperience – not using proper defensive driving skills or improper vehicle handling reducing vehicle safety.
- Incomplete or improper training and/or supervision by an employer.
- Driving unsafely in hazardous road construction areas.
- Truck drivers working beyond regular hours through unrealistic or delayed schedules or timetables set by companies forcing drivers to rush to meet deadlines, driving without proper rest breaks, driving while fatigued or stressed.
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In 2013, there were 3,964 people killed in crashes involving large trucks, only a half-percent increase from 2012. • An estimated 95,000 people were injured in crashes involving large trucks in 2013…” http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812150.pdf
If a spouse, loved one or family member was killed in a fatal truck accident, contact a top Rhode Island wrongful death attorney. A RI wrongful death law firm will file a lawsuit against the driver responsible for a deadly truck crash.
Hiring a Rhode Island truck accident attorney
If you, or your loved one, have suffered serious injuries in a trucking collision involving a commercial vehicle, it is essential to hire an experienced Rhode Island personal injury attorney to handle the case. A reputable RI law firm who specializes in Providence Superior Court truck vehicle accident cases can negotiate with insurance companies to ensure you receive a fair and adequate financial settlement or take your case to trial in front of a judge and jury.
Your personal injury lawyers in Rhode Island can build a case on negligence, product liability or other legal theory to show how your accident was caused by a tired trucker, defective part, mechanical failure, poorly secured cargo, reckless driving or the negligence of others sharing the roadway.
In the event of a fatal truck accident, the surviving spouse, family member or children must retain a Rhode Island wrongful death lawyer or a RI truck accident attorney with extensive experience handling trucking collision wrongful death causes of action. A garden variety rear-end car wreck lawyer will not be sufficient in the event of a deadly trucking motor vehicle crash. Only the executor or the administrator of the estate of the deceased killed in the tractor trailer or 18 wheeler wreck can pursue wrongful death litigation in Providence Superior Court as a result of a fatal big rig collision.
“In 2013, there were 3,964 people killed and an estimated 95,000 people injured in crashes involving large trucks. In the United States, an estimated 342,000 large trucks were involved in police-reported traffic crashes during 2013. The majority of the 2013 percentages show minimal change when compared to 2012. Fatalities in crashes involving large trucks remained relatively level with only a half-percent increase from 3,944 in 2012 to 3,964 in 2013. Of the fatalities in 2013: ■ 71 percent were occupants of other vehicles, ■ 17 percent were occupants of large trucks, and ■ 11 percent were nonoccupants. From 2012 to 2013 there was a 13-percent increase in the number of nonoccupants killed” National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA- Large Trucks Traffic Safety Facts, DOT HS 812 150, Revised June 2015 http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812150.pdf
Steve Daniel says
March 16, 2017 at 5:56 pmMost of the truck accident are due to heavy pressure on the divers to deliver the products on time, and due to inexperience in driving and due lack of well-maintained equipment.