Car crashes come in a variety of forms, and everything from vehicle size to road conditions will affect what kind of crash someone experiences. There are certain kinds of crashes that are unique to or more common with large commercial vehicles.
These crashes are often catastrophic and can occur on a crowded highway, which may lead to the involvement of multiple other vehicles. With three of the most dramatic and horrifying kinds of commercial trucking crashes, it may be possible for you to avoid the crash altogether by following one important safety tip.
These kinds of crashes often involve big trucks
Perhaps the most famous kind of trucking crash is the jackknife accident. This occurs when bad vehicle maintenance or dangerous road conditions affect a driver’s control over a commercial vehicle. In a jackknife crash, the trailer attached to a truck ends up traveling at a different angle than the cab, often resulting in severe crashes and possibly blocking multiple lanes of traffic.
A jackknife incident can lead to another common kind of trucking crash known as a rollover. Rollover crashes can occur because of secondary factors, like jackknifing. They can also occur because a driver takes a turn or a curve too quickly. Finally, they also happen when improper loading leads to the items or materials in the trailer shifting and making the vehicle unbalanced.
The third kind of trucking crash and arguably the most horrific is the underride collision. An underride collision occurs when a passenger vehicle ends up underneath a commercial truck. They can go under the back of the trailer in a rear underride, wind up under the cab in a front underride or slide under the trailer in a side underride collision.
This safety rule reduces your risk from all 3 kinds of crashes
In driver’s education, instructors often caution drivers to give commercial trucks twice the amount of space that they would other vehicles on the road. Giving trucks plenty of space and avoiding driving directly to the side of them or directly behind them can give you time to respond if the truck driver maneuvers unexpectedly or experiences an issue like a jackknife incident.
Being careful not to merge too closely in front of a truck is also critical because they can’t necessarily stop before they hit you. Understanding the blind zones around trucks and the limitations on their mobility can help you properly gauge the distance and speed necessary to stay safe around a commercial vehicle.
