Truck Accidents and Blind Spots: Causes of Collisions
Keeping a healthy distance from semi-trucks is important to driver safety but sometimes driving in a truck’s blind spot is unavoidable. Although truck drivers should check their blind spots before making a maneuver, that doesn’t always happen. Lakeland truck accidents can cause serious injuries, leaving accident victims with extensive medical bills and other burdens.
At Moody Law, our attorneys help those injured in truck accidents get the settlement they deserve for their injuries. With that said, let’s consider some ways truck accidents and blind spots causes of collisions in Lakeland, FL, Winterhaven, FL, and surrounding areas.
Semi-trucks Have Large Blind Spots
A blind spot is any area around a vehicle that the driver cannot see with the use of their mirrors or cameras. In order to see a blind spot, the driver must turn their head, requiring them to take their eyes off the road in front of them.
Semi-trucks have blind spots that are much larger than the average passenger vehicle. This makes driving in the blind spot of a semi-truck extremely dangerous. These large blind spots in trucks are generally located:
- About 30 feet behind the truck
- About 20 feet in front of the truck
- Below and directly behind the driver’s window
- Diagonally along each side of the truck
Causes of Truck Blind Spot Collisions
Driving in a truck’s blind spot can be dangerous if a trucker fails to see the vehicle and makes a maneuver that causes a collision. There are many possible causes of blind spot collisions between cars and semi-trucks. The following are some of the most common causes of truck accident blind spot collisions.
Distracted Driving
Distracted driving occurs any time a driver removes their attention from the act of driving. Truck drivers may be distracted by looking at a GPS system or texting while driving. If a truck driver is distracted while driving, they may not notice a vehicle in their blind spot and end up causing an accident.
The driver of a passenger vehicle may also cause an accident as a result of distracted driving if they aren’t paying attention and drive into a truck’s blind spot.
Failure to Check Blind Spots
It’s important that truck drivers check their blind spots before changing lanes or making other maneuvers. Failure to check blind spots can cause a truck driver to hit another vehicle.
Sudden Lane Changes
Sudden lane changes made by either a truck driver or the driver of a passenger vehicle can result in blind spot collisions.
When lanes are changed quickly, it can come as unexpected to nearby drivers and prevent them from having enough time to react and avoid an accident.
Truck Driver Fatigue
Truck drivers are often on a strict schedule to deliver their cargo. Sometimes this causes drivers to push themselves to keep driving even when they are fatigued.
Fatigued truck drivers are more likely to make mistakes while driving, like not checking their blind spots, which can lead to accidents.
Following Too Closely
Following a truck too closely can keep a vehicle in the truck’s blind spot, which increases the risk of a collision.
Contact Our Truck Accident Attorneys
If you have been injured in a truck accident, you may be entitled to damages in addition to medical expenses and lost wages. To learn more about your options, call our Lakeland office (863) 284-9090 or contact us online.