Personal Injury Lawyer
The highways are littered with trucks across the country. One day, you may find yourself coming into contact with one, quite literally. You can, however, reduce the likelihood of a truck accident by following our guidelines.
Obey the speed limit
Trucks are extremely large vehicles and it may seem the best idea to get around them is to speed. This is actually counterintuitive.
Speeding around a truck can cause the driver to become startled. This can result in the truck swerving. When trucks start swerving at high speeds, they are very difficult to control. This swerving can quickly lead to a rollover or a jackknife.
Maintain a safe distance
This is great advice even when a truck isn’t around. Practicing defensive driving by maintaining a safe distance around any vehicle will increase your safety on the road. Doing so around a truck will further increase the safety of you, your passengers, and the other vehicle around you.
Trucks are heavier than your car, even when the trailer is empty. This means it takes the truck much longer to slow down than it does for you to slow down. Cutting in front of a truck and hitting your brakes and slamming on the brakes to make a turn you didn’t realize was coming up quickly, can lead to the truck behind you slamming into you.
Watch for turning trucks
Trucks take notoriously wide turns, especially in cities where the turns are tighter. Do not try to sneak around the truck when it’s swinging out to make a turn.
Doing so can quickly turn into disaster for you. When a truck is making a wide turn, their mirrors are positioned such that they won’t be able to see your vehicle. Obey the sign on the back of the trailer and don’t cut in when a truck is turning.
Avoid distractions
When traveling around trucks, keep your hands on the wheel and avoid distractions. Don’t change the radio and don’t check your phone.
Trucks create a wind field because of their vast size. Your car could easily be blown in one direction or another as you pass a truck so it’s best if you’re paying attention to what’s happening.
Even adhering to all of these guidelines, you may still find yourself involved in a truck accident. When you do, contact a lawyer to be the vigorous representation you deserve to make sure you get the compensation you need to make a full recovery.
Your ability to avoid a collision with a truck is important and you may have quick reaction time. But there may come a day when your reaction time has slowed or you simply didn’t see the accident coming. When that day comes, you need to have an experienced team of lawyers on your side fighting to protect your rights.
By using the services of a law firm to represent you in your truck accident case, you give yourself the best chance of recovery. A truck accident lawyer Des Moines, IA relies on will be working tirelessly to get you the compensation you need to get back on your feet. Thank you to our friends at Johnston Martineau, PLLC for their insight into truck accidents and personal injury.