Federal guidance highlights dangers of operating large vehicles

Truck accidents can be dangerous, damaging and deadly for Louisiana victims. Often when an incident occurs between a large commercial vehicle and a privately owned truck, car or van the failure of the commercial vehicle’s driver to spot the smaller automobile contributes to the collision. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has offered guidance to drivers about how to avoid vehicle accidents with large commercial trucks, and from that guidance drivers may learn more about the many dangers associated with semis, 18-wheelers and other commercial vehicles.

For example, FMCSA recommends that drivers avoid traveling in commercial vehicles’ blind spots. Long vehicles often have areas behind and next to them where smaller vehicles may remain unseen to the commercial vehicles’ drivers. These blind spots may hide smaller cars and when commercial vehicles fail to make checks of their blind spots before maneuvering between lanes they can cause collisions with other automobiles.

Additionally, FMCSA notes that drivers of smaller vehicles should give commercial vehicles more front space because buses and trucks can be very heavy and can require great distances to stop. To this end, a reader may glean the dangers that commercial vehicles present to others on the roads when the drivers of those large vehicles fail to begin breaking with sufficient time to stop before crashing into other cars.

There are a number of other recommendations that FMCSA makes to protect drivers from experiencing accidents with large commercial vehicles. However, most of these recommendations concern the lack of visibility that large trucks provide to their drivers, the limited control drivers have to stop and change directions quickly and other hazardous qualities big trucks present. Truck accidents can be very dangerous to victims and those who suffer as a result of these incidents can pursue their losses through civil legal claims.