Truck Accident

Representing the injured, the wronged and their families

An Alabama truck accident is the last thing you want to happen to you or your family. Trucks have become monstrous in size; there are trucks on our highways 70 feet long and weighing 80,000 pounds (36 tons). Any car or motorcycle driver will attest to the terrifying and reckless behavior many truck drivers display on the road including speeding, traveling in “car-only” designated lanes, and tailgating at high speeds. A responsible truck driver would not violate these laws yet most of them exhibit one or more of these behaviors on a regular basis, necessitating a skilled Alabama truck accident lawyer.

Consider, for example, traveling down the highway at sixty-five miles an hour and looking in your rearview mirror to see a truck bearing down on you. Several seconds later the truck totally fills your rearview mirror, dangerously obstructing your view of anything else. If there are other cars on the road and you are unable to quickly change lanes (because the other cars around you are also following the speed limit and are traveling at your relative pace) then you are faced with limited options, none of which are safe: you can speed up, endangering both yourself and the drivers around you; you can remain under or at the speed limit and hope the truck driver gets off your tail; or you can slow down – a choice that could prove fatal.

The laws of physics are against you in truck accident. Trucks often weigh 20-30 times more than a passenger car, making their stopping distance much further (and that distance increases with every pound of cargo carried). Cars can stop much more quickly and over less ground than trucks; if there is an unforeseen obstacle in the road and you have to stop quickly or hit your brakes, the truck will not be able to match your stopping distance and you will get rear-ended - and most probably killed - by the truck driver’s irresponsible and life-threatening behavior.

A rhetorical joke coined in reference to the last twenty years on the highways is as follows: “Wouldn’t it be nice if trucks had their own highway system where they could do whatever they wanted and drive however they wanted?” Answer: “They already do. Ours.”

The NHTSA
The following information comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (www.NHTSA.gov), part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, whom are responsible for reducing deaths, injuries and economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes. The NHTSA states their responsibilities as: “[NHTSA] investigates safety defects in motor vehicles, sets and enforces fuel economy standards, helps states and local communities reduce the threat of drunk drivers, promotes the use of safety belts, child safety seats and air bags, investigates odometer fraud, establishes and enforces vehicle anti-theft regulations and provides consumer information on motor vehicle safety topics.”

Follow the links below for more information about truck accidents and ways to better avoid this dangerous, and often deadly, situation.

Accident Statistics

Truck accidents make up a disproportionate number of accidents in Alabama and across the nation. [read more]

Truck Dangers

What are your chances of being involved in a truck accident? Statistically, big truck accidents and injuries are becoming more prevalent and thus a greater problem as the roads become more crowded. [read more]

Accident Procedures

If you were involved in an auto accident with a truck, would you know what to do? Truck accidents are more than just auto accidents involving larger vehicles. Learn more about the procedures to follow after a truck accident. [read more]

Hiring a Lawyer

When you’ve been involved in a truck accident, you need someone who is well versed in the letter of the law in these cases. You need an experienced attorney from Cory Watson on your side. [read more]

Truck Size

How big is too big? Many trucks travel our highways overloaded and with trailers larger than what laws allow, and the costs are greater than the resulting damage to the roads. [read more]

Underride Accidents

If you were in an accident with a truck, how safe would you be? The structure of some trucks makes them inherently deadly to occupants of passenger vehicles. [read more]

Truck Driver Fatigue

The laws regulating how many hours a driver of a truck can drive at a stretch have changed. How many hours has the truck driver next to you been driving? Is he or she too tired to be on the road? [read more]

Sharing the Road

Better than surviving a truck accident is never being involved in one. There are ways that both you and truck drivers can make the highways safer for everyone. [read more]

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Cory Watson Crowder & DeGaris, P.C.
2131 Magnolia Avenue
Birmingham, AL 35205
Phone: 800-852-6299
Local Phone: (205) 328-2200
Fax: (205) 324-7896