Rented Trucks and Their Accident Likelihood and Liability
People who are moving can save a lot of money when they decide to DIY instead of hiring an expensive moving company. However, many people renting their own moving truck don’t know how to safely operate a big U-Haul style truck or a moving van.
When inexperienced rental drivers get out on the road, they cause crashes that result in catastrophic and fatal injuries. These accidents often involve pedestrians, cyclists, motorcycle riders, and people traveling in cars.
Big-Rig Truck Blind Spots and the Accidents That Result
Blind spots are areas around a vehicle where the driver has limited or no visibility, making it difficult to see other vehicles, pedestrians, or obstacles. In the case of big-rig trucks, these blind spots can be much larger due to the size and design of the truck. These areas typically include the following specific zones:
How Professional Truckers Are Required to Brake Safely
It is very important for truckers to use proper braking techniques while operating a big rig – particularly on a steep, downhill grade. If they fail to do so, it could cause the truck’s brakes to fail, resulting in a deadly crash. In a collision with an 80,000 pound fully loaded 18-wheeler, passenger vehicle occupants are likely to suffer catastrophic or fatal injuries.
Do Big-Rig Trucks Really Have “Black Boxes”?
There’s a lot of misinformation out there about big-rig trucks and their so-called “black boxes.” A black box is a device that records data about the performance of a vehicle so that if that vehicle is involved in an accident, valuable information about what caused the accident will be able to be recovered from the wreckage.
How a Truck’s “Black Box” Can Help Your Personal Injury Claim
Truck drivers are often responsible for carrying millions of dollars worth of goods. Along with this, truck accidents account for a large number of road injuries and fatalities—the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimated that 3,903 people were killed and 111,000 were injured in truck accidents in 2014.
What Causes Runaway Truck Accidents in New York?
Truck accidents often wreak far more damage to victims simply because of the size of them. Depending on where you’re driving on the road, trucks can weigh anywhere from 26,000-33,000 pounds, making them a dangerous weapon on the road. There are about 4,000 people killed and 130,000 injured in truck accidents in the United States every year, and the trucking industry is only continuing to grow.
New York State Works to Improve Bridge Safety
Across the state of New York, over 130 bridges see millions of travelers every year. While our state’s infrastructure needs continuous repairs and renovations to deal with high volumes of traffic, education is also extremely important to keeping our roads safe.
So, let’s talk about bridge strikes, which occur when truck drivers ignore height requirements and recklessly collide with bridges, putting everyone on the road in danger.
Distracted Driving Named 2nd Leading Cause of Fatal Truck Accidents
Independent research from multiple organizations has shed light on the dangers of distracted driving – specifically, due to cell phones. Based on this research and the growing issue of distracted driving accidents among truckers, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has outright banned commercial truck drivers from holding a cell phone in their hands at any time while driving. In addition, several states, including New York, have their own strict laws on cell phone use. Despite these regulations and the ever-present danger of distracted driving, truck drivers can still skirt the rules and put everyone on the road at risk.
Pedestrians vs Garbage Trucks: How to File a Government Tort Claim
Speedy, efficient, and thorough garbage pickup is absolutely necessary in a city as packed and busy as New York, but only if done safely. Garbage trucks are heavy, powerful vehicles that can cause serious damage in an auto accident, and they are even more dangerous if a pedestrian is involved. Given how many New Yorkers walk to and from work or jog for exercise, drivers should be keenly aware of everyone around them at all times. Otherwise, the everyday jogger could be severely injured in an accident.
Watch Out for Trucks This Holiday Season!
New York streets aren’t known for being clear and easily navigable at the best of times, and when holiday traffic is added, it can become a real nightmare.
Over the past few years, rideshare drivers have flooded our city streets. While that means affordable rides are always at the ready, it also means more traffic. One real concern for a lot of drivers and pedestrians in NYC is the large trucks making deliveries this holiday season. But the biggest risk many experts are seeing is the increase in crowdsourced deliveries that do not come from professional companies, but from delivery-share drivers.