Auto - Truck Accident- Dangers*
Representing the Injured in New York
Trucks often weigh 20 to 30 times more than passenger cars. In 2003, 4,855 people died in large truck crashes. 14% of the fatalities were the truck occupants, 73% were people in cars and other passenger vehicles, and 10% were pedestrians, bicyclists, or motorcyclists.
Every 16 minutes, another person in the U.S. will die or be injured in a 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 trucks compete for space on our already crowded highways, the results can be disastrous, with occupants of smaller vehicles often becoming the unfortunate statistics in New York state truck accidents.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (www.iihs.org), in two-vehicle accidents involving automobiles and large trucks, 98% of the fatalities were occupants of the passenger vehicle. If you have been injured in a collision involving a tractor-trailer or similar vehicle, you may need a New York state lawyer experienced with truck accidents on your side.
Big 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). 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 commercial vehicles 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 big trucks have been steadily increasing for years, with their numbers currently hovering around the 8 million mark.
According to the NHTSA (http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/), trucks make up just 3% of all registered vehicles, but in 2003, were involved in 11% of all motor vehicle fatalities. This disproportionate involvement in traffic fatalities is largely because of their size, often 20 to 30 times the weight of passenger vehicles. As a result, truck drivers bear a responsibility to operate these dangerous vehicles safely and competently, but sometimes this is not the case. Some unsafe behaviors that truck drivers can get cited for include:
- 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
Free Contact Form
If you’ve been injured in New York state, contact William Mattar, a New York lawyer whose focus is auto injury, which includes car, bus, truck, bicycle, pedestrian, and motorcycle crashes. William Mattar’s Law Firm has advocated for hurt and injured clients across New York state, including in the Buffalo, Rochester, Albany, Binghamton, Corning, Elmira, Lockport, Niagara Falls, Plattsburgh, Schenectady, Troy, Utica, and Watertown areas. Fill out a Free Online Contact Form or better yet, call us at 444-4444 or 1-800-317-2424 for a free consultation today! Call us anytime, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We are on call right now. We have several locations in New York state to better serve you. Do not worry where you are located. We may be able to come to your home or hospital. Call us, we are ready to help.
*All facts and figures from the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the New York state Department of Transportation.
© Copyright William K. Mattar, P.C. | All Rights Reserved
