You hear it all the time, “four-wheeled vehicles cause most truck crashes.” But is that actually true or is this stat misleading? To find out who causes more truck accidents, cars or trucks, let’s look at the data.
Smaller Vehicles
Those in the trucking industry commonly cite that smaller vehicle (cars or motorcycles) cause upwards of 80% of all truck crashes. There is some merit to that. Studies by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) consistently find that the driver of a smaller vehicle holds fault in about 80% of multi-vehicle crashes.
However, there is an important caveat here. Multi-vehicle crashes make up a little more than half of all trucking accidents. The others are single-vehicle crashes, which can include crashes injuring the driver, causing property damage, or even those involving pedestrians.
The Truck
While 40% of crashes are single-vehicle, not all of these are the fault of the truck driver alone. Sometimes, they can be due to negligent maintenance on the part of the trucking company, failing to maintain brakes or tires, for example. In other cases, truck drivers may face pressure from management to go beyond their hours of service limits and may fall asleep at the wheel.
Even when a crash involves just one vehicle, determining the cause of the wreck can be difficult. That’s why it’s crucial that anyone injured in a trucking accident hire an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible. Your attorney can investigate the circumstances of the crash and use all the available evidence to ensure the fault is correctly distributed.
If you or someone you love suffered serious injuries or wrongful death in a trucking accident, we are here for you. To discuss your crash with an experienced Kansas City Truck accident attorney from Shamberg, Johnson & Bergman, send us an email or call us at (816) 542-5999 for a free consultation.
