Important News from Your Texas Accident Lawyer
Dump trucks have more accidents than other types of large U.S. trucks
Posted on Jan 27, 2012
A key report by the U.S. NHTSA called the "Large Truck Causation Study in the United States" revealed that commercial dump trucks experienced a much higher accident rate than other type of commercial truck except for commercial vans. As a Houston dump truck collision lawyer, I noticed that dump truck involvement stood at around 20% for all truck accidents while van involvement took about 35% of the total. But when you consider the amount by which commercial vans outnumber dump trucks on our roads, the proportional rate of dump truck collisions actually outnumbers the rate of commercial van accidents.
Approximately 20% of all the truck accidents from the Study resulted in fatal injury. Another third of the crashes caused incapacitating injuries. And around another third caused non-incapacitating injury. Our Houston dump truck collision lawyers note that the interesting thing to note is that only a tiny percentage of truck accidents resulted in no injury or very minor injury.
The Study classified the following types of injuries as incapacitating:
- Broken or distorted limbs.
- Severe lacerations,
- Abdominal injuries,
- Skull or chest injuries,
- Unconsciousness at/when taken from the accident scene,
- Inability to leave the accident scene without assistance, and
- Other severe injuries
A typical, non-fatal group of injuries after a Houston dump truck collision might include a deep laceration to the forehead, a skull fracture and traumatic brain injury, a fractured pelvis, a ruptured spleen, and a hemorrhaged kidney. And it's no wonder. A single fully loaded dump truck of the usual 5-axle variety can weigh more than 65,000 pounds.
If a massive dump truck overbalances and falls on a passenger vehicle, even the best auto safety engineering can't hold up against the resulting crush and impact forces. And Houston dump trucks are huge vehicles, designed to carry heavy loads with a high center of gravity. To do this, they have to maintain high ground clearance. So bumpers on dump trucks are placed high or omitted altogether. This presents the dangerous potential for deadly underride accidents in collisions with smaller passenger vehicles.
Dump trucks (and similar garbage and waste disposal trucks) are omnipresent in residential Houston neighborhoods and in urban and rural developments under construction. Their omnipresence increases the potential for sudden collisions with pedestrians and smaller passenger vehicles as the large trucks turn at intersections or emerge from alleyways and intersecting streets.
Indeed, in Texas' major urban areas like Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio, dump trucks kill and injure more pedestrians per mile traveled than any other type of vehicle. Houston dump truck collision lawyers know that the heavy, lumbering dump trucks are extremely powerful; they must be to haul their intended loads. But they also have massive blind spots. Children playing in their neighborhoods, school children walking to or from their schools, and even adults out jogging or walking the dog suffer horrific and deadly accidents when dump trucks accidentally run over them.
Dump trucks are a necessity for the smooth functioning of our complex society. But they're also hazardous to pedestrians and smaller vehicles in their vicinities. So take extra care when you're driving near a dump truck. And warn your children to be vigilant as they play out in the neighborhood or go to and from school. If you'd like more information, our Houston dump truck collision lawyers' free e-book could provide you with some essential information you need to know about truck accidents and how to make a successful tuck accident claim. Just download it from our website; it's free.
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