Earlier this month, a flatbed truck accident on Selmon Expressway created a backlog of traffic after a truck driver collided with a barrier. The Tampa Tribune reported that “At 8:30 a.m., as the truck came to rest with its right-side wheels perched atop the barrier at the Kennedy Boulevard exit, cars behind it began to back up. Traffic into downtown was detoured onto Adamo Drive. More than four hours later, after the crews cleaned up debris and the truck’s cargo of ready-mix cement, officials reopened one of two lanes.”
Luckily, no one was seriously injured in the truck accident. However, this accident should serve as a warning to Tampa residents who commute to work every day on one of Florida’s many highway systems. Many drivers incorrectly assume that most truck accidents happen at night or during the midday hours. However, this accident occurred during the morning rush hour, which goes to show that medium and heavy trucks are present on Tampa’s roadways at all hours of the day, and pose a risk to passenger vehicles traveling to work or school.
Police who responded to the scene cited the driver for careless driving. The driver stated that he lost control of the rig. Luckily, no other vehicles were involved in this accident. When a truck driver loses control of their vehicle on a highway, there is a serious risk of injury and death not just to the truck driver, but to other motorists.
When a truck carrying a heavy load strikes another vehicle, they can send that vehicle off the road and cause a rollover collision. Rollover collisions are extremely dangerous and can cause fatal injuries.
Trucks also have additional dangers of spilling or ejecting the freight they carry. In this recent accident, the flatbed truck was hauling cement mix. This debris could be thrown from the back of the truck and could have struck another vehicle. In many truck accidents, the material that falls from the vehicle can cause additional secondary accidents if cars need to swerve to avoid it or are struck by it.
Falling objects from trucks and rollover collisions can cause serious injuries. But the biggest threat that large trucks pose to passenger vehicles is from their sheer size and height. When the driver of a passenger car or passenger truck is struck by a large truck, the body of the large truck is often in line with the top of the passenger vehicle. This means that any impact to the smaller car, even at a low speed, causes a serious risk of head and neck trauma, which can be deadly.
If you were hurt in a car accident, the attorneys at Brooks Law Group can help you. If your loved one was killed in an accident with a large truck, we can help you file a Florida wrongful death claim to compensate for your loss. If you have any questions about filing a claim, please call us at 1-888-WE-MEAN-IT (1-888-936-3264) or email us at: [email protected].
