Passenger Vehicles Aren’t Safe Against Side Underride Truck Crashes

Underride accidents are very dangerous and cause hundreds of injuries and fatalities each year. When most people think of underride crashes, they only think of running into the back of a tractor-trailer. However, side underride accidents are even more dangerous.

Rear-end crashes with semi-trucks are extremely dangerous; however, the vehicle may be stopped by the underride guards on the back of the truck. This is not the case on the sides of tractor-trailers. Currently, there are no regulations that require the presence of guards on the sides of tractor-trailers.

While running into the side of a semi isn't as likely as running into the back, it is still possible. Cases in which a vehicle could run into the side of a tractor-trailer include:

• Tractor-trailer turning slowly across a road or highway
• Tractor-trailer making a wide U-turn across multiple lanes of traffic
• Tractor-trailer backing into a driveway or street
• Loss of control by passenger vehicle, sending it into the side of the truck
• Jackknife accident
• Inability of driver to see truck turning across, passing through or stopped in lanes at night

 

If someone you know has been injured in a Houston truck wreck that resulted in an underride, you may be eligible to receive injury compensation. Contact a Houston truck accident lawyer at Denena & Points for more information.