Do You Need A Truck Accident Attorney After An Accident?

Truck Accident Attorney 

It is not everyday that you encounter something as drastic as being involved in a truck accident. Fortunately, the chances of encountering an accident that involves trucks is fairly low compared to encountering a car or motorcycle accident. Although the chances may seem low, it does not mean that you do not have to take extra precautions when you are on the road. Once you see yourself or someone close to you involved in a truck accident, you should immediately work with a North Carolina truck accident attorney.

Truck Accidents in North Carolina

The state of North Carolina recognizes the fact that it is not only small and mid-sized trucks that are traversing their highways. These vehicles also share the road with semi-trucks and large trucks used by companies for long-distance transportation of goods and hauling. While it is a common scenario, it is always ideal that all motorists on the road, whether they are driving a small car or a big truck, should take care while they are on the road, making each turn a careful one. However, even if all drivers practice utmost care when they are on the road, this cannot exactly guarantee the overall road safety for everyone. There is still a chance that a collision may happen on the road. Since truckers in North Carolina are subject to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, the process of investigating truck accidents would be far more complicated than the average accident. This is the reason why you should call a truck accident attorney to handle the case.

There are a lot of reasons why truck accidents happen. Let’s take a look at some of the most common causes of commercial truck accidents in North Carolina.

Failed Maintenance

Trucks have a heavy-duty build for a reason. Aside from the fact that these vehicles are the commonly used hauling means for different companies, it is also known for long-haul driving. That means one truck can go from coast to coast, depending on what its target destination is. Although trucks are built to handle these kinds of long drives, these trucks regularly need maintenance. Since trucks are no more than your average mechanical car that is built with different moving parts that could wear and tear after quite some time, it is important for any trucker to have their trucks regularly checked. The proper time to do the checking would have to be before the scheduled trip. This should be done routinely; if aa trucker fails to do so, then he might miss out on the important factors that need to be addressed before leaving.

Having the trucks regularly maintained may seem like it is an easy task. However, if you were to put your self in the shoes of the owner of the trucking company, you would want each haul to be cost-efficient as much as possible. Maintenance, on the other hand, is not too cost-friendly for the truck owners, but it is still far less inexpensive than paying off a personal injury case.

Driver Fatigue

Trucks are meant for long-distance drives. Although truck owners can rely on the capacity and durability of the construction materials used on their trucks, they cannot exactly say the same thing for their truck drivers. For every long haul, there are two things that are subjected to fatigue or wearing and tearing – one would be the truck itself and the other would have to be the driver. Wearing and tearing for the parts of the truck could be more likely to be predictable as it is a machine and it is programmed to show signs of any defects. A truck driver, however, is a human person and not a machine. It could be more deceiving than how it looks like. Driver fatigue can cause major accidents like side-sweeping. The driver could also lose control of the truck and could affect other trucks on the road. Since trucks occupy far larger road space compared to anyone else in the highway, it is not surprising to expect that a single truck accident caused by one truck driver’s overfatigue could endanger the lives of many people.

Excess Speed

It is the goal of all trucking companies to be able to transport goods on or before the scheduled date. This is the main reason why the commercial trucking industry is considered to be highly competitive and time-sensitive. Every second that their trucks spend on the road means they are losing a certain amount of money. Even if the speed of trucks on the road are carefully regulated by the proper authorities, it cannot be helped but to see some deviant drivers. Truck drivers would want nothing else but to get their destination on time so they could get their rewards from their respective companies. What they do not know, however, is that by traveling with excess speed, they could be the cause of a drastic accident. Hence, it is important that all truck drivers, no matter how late they are with their deliveries, should make sure that they follow the correct traffic rules, especially when it comes to the speeds.

Improper Loading

If you think that loading a truck will only mean that you need to put everything inside the container as much as possible, then you cannot be more wrong. That is not how it goes. Transport truckloads need to be secured in such a way that the contents inside the container will not move during the drive, especially on sharp turns and rough patches. If a trucker fails to secure the proper placement inside the containers, it could cause some unbalance to the truck and could be a reason of a truck accident

Make Sure That You Work With A Truck Accident Lawyer In North Carolina

Truck accidents in North Carolina are not of rare occurrence. Listed above are just some of the reasons that could warrant the possibility of a truck accident. It is not safe to assume that you are always safe on the road. Should you see yourself or someone you know in a truck accident, make sure that you work with the best truck accident attorney in your area.