A truck accident in Fairfax last month sent three people to the hospital, including the driver, for severe injuries.
Police say that the driver of the truck may have suffered some sort of medical emergency that caused him to veer off the road at about 5 p.m., jumping a median and crashing into a gas station. One of the gas station attendants was hurt, and six cars were damaged in the process.
Truck crashes are often very serious in nature, as the size of the vehicle may endanger a significant number of other cars, especially during peak drive times. Truck accidents are most commonly the result of the following factors:
- Driver error. Experts estimate that driver error is by far the leading cause of truck accidents. Truck drivers are often on the road for extremely long periods of time, making them susceptible to distractions or fatigue. These problems become even more significant if a driver uses substances to stay awake.
- Equipment failure. Because truck companies and drivers will often delay, ignore or altogether refuse safety inspections on their vehicles to maintain productivity, equipment failures due to worn brakes, defective tires or design flaws are often not dealt with in time. This causes preventable crashes.
- Improper loading. If a truck’s cargo is not carefully planned, loaded and distributed, it may fall off and cause accidents on the roadway, or affect the truck’s balance enough to force the driver to lose control.
- Poor conditions. Because trucks carry so much more weight than other vehicles, they require a much longer response time to avoid hazards. If inclement weather or poor road conditions appear and have not been anticipated, the likelihood of an accident increases significantly.
If you or someone you know has been injured in a serious truck accident, contact an experienced Charlottesville personal injury attorney right away.
