Trucks can get into front, rear, and side-impact crashes just like any other cars can. There are, however, certain types of truck accidents in North Carolina that can only happen to trucks or that are significantly more likely to involve trucks. These accidents can be deadly for truckers, as well as for motorists in passenger vehicles who are involved in the crashes.
Three Serious Types of Truck Accidents
Three of the most common types of accidents that only or primarily affect trucks include rollover accidents, underride accidents, and jackknife accidents. Truck drivers have to be aware of these kinds of collisions, as well as their common causes, so drivers can avoid doing things that increase the risk of one of these serious accidents.
Rollover accidents usually happen when a trucker loses control of a truck. This is especially likely to occur as a truck goes around a curve, when centrifugal force causes the truck to naturally lean away from the curve. If a driver takes the curve too fast, the truck can end up tipping right over. Trucks are more likely than cars to rollover because trucks have a high center of gravity and are top-heavy. The risk is even graver if there is an unbalanced load. A paper from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicated an estimated 18 percent of truck accidents involved trucks rolling over and around 35 percent of fatal truck crashes involved rollovers.
Law Offices of Richard Flexner 3805 Oleander Drive Wilmington, NC 28403 Phone: 910-794-3221 Fax: 910-794-3144 Toll Free: 800-353-9637
