Trucking Accidents Bring More Varied & Serious Consequences
Michael Babboni
Trucking Accidents
Traffic accidents are common not just in Florida but throughout the United States. However, there can be a lot of variation in the types of vehicular accidents and especially the consequences. For example, vehicle accidents involving large freight hauling trucks essentially fall into a class all of their own. Florida residents recently got reminded of this with a trucking accident so unusual it made the headlines.Beer On The Road
On September 22nd, about 30 miles north of Tampa, on southbound Interstate 75, a truck got into an accident that turned the highway into a sea of silver beer cans. The accident occurred when one truck attempting to change lanes did so incorrectly and made contact with another truck in its own lane. The resulting impact caused both trucks to slow down, resulting in other trucks on the road attempting to emergency brake. One of those trucks, filled with Coors Light beer, failed to stop in time, resulting in a collision with a pickup truck that caused the freight to break and spill cans of beer all over the road.
While the mess was cleared out as expediently as possible to get traffic flow back up and running, the accident clearly illustrated one thing. The consequences of a trucking accident can have very different results versus that of cars impacting other cars.
Mass & Size Matter
Two of the biggest factors that differentiate the nature of a trucking accident are based on physics. The average freight hauling “mac truck,” especially fully loaded with cargo, weighs exponentially more than other vehicles on the road, even SUVs. In any confrontation of physics, whichever object has the most mass, all things being equal, will win that confrontation.
This is complicated by the fact that trucks that transport cargo are also much larger in addition to having much more mass than other vehicles. The truck itself needs a powerful engine to haul tons of freight, making it large. When a fully loaded cargo trailer is added to this, it greatly expands how much space a truck takes up on the road. Once again, physics plays a role, as the added mass and size affect the center of gravity for the truck, changing the way it behaves on the road and what happens to it when it takes turns below or above certain speeds.
The result of these factors means that while the damage to a truck in a vehicular accident is smaller, thanks to its larger size and mass, the damage the truck itself causes to everything around is much greater. Trucks, due to inertia, also take longer to stop, which means that even if there’s a requirement to take immediate, emergency, evasive maneuvers, it requires more time and space to do this. The sheer size of the vehicle means it can’t turn tightly or responsively.
The Cargo Factor
Another issue, as illustrated by the recent accident, is that with large cargo-hauling trucks, the cargo itself may also be an issue in contributing to and spreading the area of damage for a vehicular accident. This type of collateral damage can take many different forms. A truck hauling logs that get loose sends large, unprocessed trees all over the road, creating major accident points. A truck carrying a full fuel tank for gas stations poses an explosive threat if that gasoline leaks and ignites.
And in the case of this latest accident, cans of beer covered the entire road, causing a hazard for all vehicles, whether still contained in the can or spilled out on the asphalt of the road.
Truck Accidents Are Different
The nature of truck accidents and the severity of the consequences arising from them often mean specialized experience, and a more specific approach is required to deal with the aftermath, even in a legal sense. Even assigning fault in a truck traffic accident may not be as straightforward as simply blaming the driver. For example, if an accident occurs because of a mechanical failure in the truck or the cargo loosening, this is often not the driver’s fault but the fault of the company packing the freight or the company responsible for maintaining the truck’s operation condition.
This is why if you’re involved in a truck accident, and negligence is a factor, you should talk to an experienced truck accident lawyer to ensure proper legal action is taken.