Truck Accidents Are On Another Level In St Petersburg
Michael Babboni
Trucking Accidents
Most drivers in the St. Petersburg area have some familiarity with auto accidents, whether that’s being involved in one or just seeing the results while driving past. It’s well understood that motor vehicles are large, heavy hardware that can result in a lot of damage when combined with moving at higher speeds. This is especially true if a car strikes an unprotected individual, such as someone biking or walking.However, in the same way, that automobiles hitting unprotected pedestrians causes much more damage to the pedestrians than passengers in the vehicle, the same is true for a large, freight hauling truck getting into an accident with smaller vehicles like cars and SUVs.
The Physics Difference
The actual “Mac Truck” that hauls freight is a large, powerful piece of hardware designed to convey tons of goods. When added to a trailer full of cargo, the mass of a freight hauling truck on the road is many tons more than smaller vehicles around it, even SUVs.
This means that even if a truck is traveling at the same speed or even slower than another vehicle, the mass of the truck will inflict more damage on those other smaller vehicles. In addition, the mass of a truck makes it more difficult for trucks to slow down. For a car to brake to halt and avoid an accident requires 20-40% more space to achieve the same result. In other words, even if a truck sees a potential accident situation early and attempts to decelerate, its mass is so great it may not brake in time.
Other Damage Factors
Another result of the physics of trucks is the higher likelihood of a rollover or other action that upends the vehicle. Trucks have a higher center of gravity than cars, making them inherently less stable when it comes to maintaining traction while momentum is high. A truck driver reflexively trying to swerve to avoid hitting something can cause the truck and trailer to roll over.
In some circumstances, this can even cause a “jackknife effect,” where a truck tries to turn, but the trailer’s momentum carries it in the same direction, causing the truck itself to “fold” into the trailer while the rest of the vehicle continues forward.
A rollover or jackknifed truck has the potential to cause even more damage as the potential area of impact has now spread, and the truck is completely out of control, with no way to restore maneuverability. It will hit whatever gets in its path.
Fault Is More Complex
Another major factor is that the accountability in a truck accident is not as straightforward as it is in most motor vehicle accidents. In a typical collision, one driver or another is usually responsible, though there’s also a slim chance a manufacturing defect in a motor vehicle may be the culprit.
With trucks, depending on the nature of the business, many more parties may be responsible, not just the truck driver or the manufacturer of the truck. In some cases, another company may be responsible for truck maintenance, so accountability rests with that company if an accident occurs due to maintenance negligence.
On the other hand, if a truck is hauling logs, a different business may be responsible for securing the logs to the trailer. Should the logs detach and cause an accident, that company is held accountable.
This is why it can be critical to get legal help from an experienced truck accident attorney in accidents that involve trucks. In addition to the potential scale of injury, which can often exceed PIP maximum limits, there may be legal issues of accountability that need sorting out to determine the true party and fault and ensure that appropriate compensation is secured from the right people.