Serious and fatal trucking accidents can be influenced by the type of truck involved, as well as by one or more common causes.
Fort Collins Truck Accident Attorney Steve Shanahan understands there are many factors that go into the representation of a family impacted by a serious or fatal trucking accident. Elsewhere on this site, we talk about driver negligence and the state and federal rules that govern the operation of large trucks on the road.
Here we will look at the common types of accidents and the dangers involved when tanker trucks or trucks carrying other unsafe loads are responsible for causing serious or fatal accidents on Colorado roads.
Underride Guards and Truck Accidents in Colorado
In 2011, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reported that underride guards often fail on tractor trailers – even in low-speed crashes. When a vehicle travels beneath a trailer, what should have been a minor crash suddenly becomes life-threatening. As the agency noted, when an underride guard fails, even in a low-speed crash, your chances of walking away from an accident aren’t good.
The agency found only 22 percent of crashes in which a vehicle struck the rear of a tractor-trailer did not result in underride. In 75 percent of the crashes in which someone died, there was severe or catastrophic underride damage. The IIHS found many trucks have underride guards that fail to meet safety standards and that the standards in the United States were inadequate to prevent serious and fatal injuries.
Other common types of Colorado trucking accidents include:
- 80 percent of fatal trucking accidents involve multiple vehicles.
- 30 percent of fatal accidents involve frontal impact.
- Trucks are four times more likely to be struck in the rear when compared to other vehicles.
- Only 2 percent of truck drivers involved in fatal crashes had a positive BAC.
Colorado Trucking: Tankers and Hazardous Cargo
In other cases, a truck’s load can create a hazard. This is particularly true when dealing with tankers hauling hazardous cargo or trucks carrying unstable loads, such as logs, rolled steel, or motor vehicles.
Trucks and trucking companies have an obligation to protect the public when transporting dangerous loads. Specific laws and routes exist, which govern the transportation of liquids or gases. Other laws are designed to ensure shifting loads are stable in transport. When these rules and regulations are ignored, or when a truck’s load otherwise breaks free and spills onto the roadway, motorists and those living in surrounding neighborhoods may be put at undue risk.
These are complex cases that must be carefully reviewed by a law firm with the experience and resources to thoroughly review the facts and circumstances of an accident, identify at-fault parties, and pursue a claim for compensation on behalf of those who have been victimized.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a trucking accident in Fort Collins or the surrounding area, you need the experience and dedication of Fort Collins Injury Attorney Steve Shanahan. Consultations are free, and Shanahan isn’t paid unless you win. Justice shouldn’t be left to chance.
Fort Collins Accident Attorney – 970-204-9999 – Free Consultation