When driving your car on the interstate around the Denver area, you’ll typically find yourself surrounded by large commercial trucks.
Sharing the road safely with these big rigs is paramount, but that doesn’t guarantee that a trucker won’t make a serious mistake that causes an accident.
Here are six of the many causes of car-truck accidents:
- Drowsy driving. If a trucker is drowsy for any reason, e.g., too many consecutive hours on the road, the risk of falling asleep is much greater.
- Distracted driving. This dangerous driving behavior takes many forms, including texting, talking on the phone, eating, drinking and reading maps.
- Driving under the influence. Driving under the influence of alcohol may be most common, but illegal and prescription drugs can also cause trouble.
- Inadequate training. All commercial truck drivers are required to pass a variety of tests related to technique, safety and defensive driving. Unfortunately, not all of them receive the training they need to navigate the roads as safely as possible.
- Reckless driving. This includes excessive speeding, changing lanes without signaling and passing in the right lane.
- Unrealistic schedules. When trucking companies impose unrealistic schedules on their drivers, it encourages fewer breaks for rest and speeding.
Here are some tips you can follow to enhance your safety when driving in close proximity to commercial trucks:
- Avoid blind spots, such as the area directly in front of, behind or next to a truck
- Never pass a truck (or any other vehicle) in the right lane
- Take special caution when merging onto the highway
- Use your turn signal when changing lanes and leave enough space between your vehicle and the truck
- Don’t speed up to attempt to stop a truck from maneuvering in front of your vehicle
Even with the best intentions, you could be injured in a car-truck accident. If this happens, move to the shoulder of the road and call 911 for help.
After you receive treatment, contact your insurance agent to file a claim. Immediately following the accident, you should also collect information pertaining to the wreck. Later, you can obtain a copy of the police report.
You have the legal right to seek compensation from the negligent party, so don’t hesitate to take action. Visit our website and read our blog for additional information on what to do after a motor vehicle accident.