According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, large trucks can weigh up to 30 times more than passenger cars, and most fatalities that occur in truck collisions are occupants of passenger vehicles. Unfortunately, even if fatalities do not occur, debilitating injuries often do.
Thanks to the proliferation of smartphones, distracted driving has become an epidemic in the United States. In 2014, at least 3,179 people died in distraction-related collisions, and thousands more were injured.
All car accidents are stressful, but when the at-fault driver does not have insurance, any victims face the possibility of falling into debt due to medical bills and lost income. Sadly, this scenario is alarmingly common in the United States. According to the Insurance Information Institute, approximately 1 in 8 motorists were uninsured in 2012. Although this number has declined in recent years, getting into a collision with an uninsured or underinsured driver is still a very real possibility.
Texas has one of the highest car accident rates in the United States. In 2015, a motor-vehicle collision injured one person about every two minutes, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. Many of these victims faced financial hardship due to exorbitant medical bills and lost income.
In 2014, there were 3,978 buses and large trucks involved in fatal collisions, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The vast majority of these accidents were caused by driver errors such as speeding, tailgating, or drunk driving.
It should come as no surprise that collisions with tractor-trailers can be devastating. Because of their weight, large trucks can do severe damage to passenger cars, and accidents between the two often result in fatalities.
Heavy loads, unfamiliar roads, poor weather conditions – truck drivers face some challenging work conditions. Although commercial truckers tend to have more experience behind the wheel than other motorists, they are not immune to accidents. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, approximately 342,000 trucks were involved in crashes in 2013, leading to 95,000 serious injuries and 3,964 deaths.
Fatal accident rates are on the rise in the United States. According to the National Safety Council, 40,200 people died in motor-vehicle crashes in 2016 – an increase of 6 percent compared to 2015. This is the first time the death tool has passed 40,000 since 2007.
Many people assume that purchasing a new vehicle would be safer than buying a used car – and they are usually correct. However, in 2014 alone, at least 63.9 million vehicles were recalled due to dangerous defects.
Cooper Law Firm
N. Eric Cooper
Mailing: P.O. Box 2222
Longview, TX 75606
Address: 501 N Third St,
Longview, TX 75601
Telephone: (903) 297-0037
Toll-Free: 1-855-297-HURT (4878)
Facsimile: (903) 236-0035
Hours: Open 24/7
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