The Reason Tractor Trailer Crashes are Serious

The reason tractor trailer crashes are serious is due to the sheer weight and size of the vehicle when it collides with another vehicle. This is because a fully loaded big rig can weigh as much as 80,000 pounds. Compare that to the average weight of a passenger vehicle that weighs in the range of 3,000 to 4,000 pounds. Even the pickup truck on the road does not stand a chance when involved in a collision with a big rig.

The passenger vehicle that collides with the tractor trailer is going to have massive damage and the occupants are going to be seriously injured in most cases. Traffic data shows that approximately 3 percent of the vehicles on the roadways are tractor trailers and they are involved 21 percent of all fatal accidents on the road. These accidents can happen on any highway, freeway or interstate and in Irvine, California.

The reason tractor trailer crashes are serious is not only because they are much larger vehicles, but also because they have blind spots that many drivers do not realize and make wider turns than smaller vehicles. On crowded highways this can put the driver of a smaller vehicle in peril of being severely injured or killed.

This is due to blind spots, which means they can pull out into a lane of traffic without ever seeing the vehicle that is in the blind spot. Stopping distance is also something that needs to be taken into consideration for the passenger vehicle driver, because tractor trailers cannot stop as quickly as a smaller vehicle. It can take the tractor trailer much loner to stop and this can cause a collision when a passenger vehicle cuts them off.

When there is a collision with a tractor trailer the occupants of the vehicle often sustain major injuries that can include spinal cord injuries, traumatic head and brain injuries, broken bones, cuts, gashes and even fatalities. This is when the injured victims or their family needs the attorney that specializes in tractor trailer crashes. The Irvine tractor trailer attorney will be able to relive the stress in filing a lawsuit, while the victim has time to heal. They are able to hold the negligent truck driver and company responsible and recover compensation for the injured victim.

Michael Ehline is a truck accident injury attorney and also a highly respected injury lawyer in Los Angeles, Orange, and San Francisco Counties. He writes free legal articles and can be contacted at: 50 Francisco Street, Suite 460, San Francisco, CA 94133. (415) 684-7688; 633 W 5th St, 28th Floor, Los Angeles 90071 - (213) 596-9642.