Among trucking accidents, rear-end collisions can be the most dangerous. The National Transportation Safety Board recently reviewed nine catastrophic rear-end crashes that occurred in the last three years and found 28 people were killed in them.
The agency now says it has an answer to preventing fatal rear-end collisions involving large trucks and passenger cars, which killed 2,700 people in 2011 and 2012 alone, and wants to take action.
Tractor Trailer Rear-End Collisions
In five of the nine rear-end accidents from 2012 through 2014 the NTSB studied, a tractor trailer hit the vehicle in front of it. One other had a commercial bus as the striking vehicle. Those six accidents accounted for 22 of the 28 roadway fatalities.
Based on its review of catastrophic rear end collisions, the NTSB says that all new cars and big rigs should have collision avoidance systems. The organization reports that rear-end crashes kill 1,700 people and injure 500,000 each year and collision avoidance systems would prevent more than 80 percent of those deaths and injuries. Specifically, the NTSB says that the systems might have prevented as many as 2,220 of the deaths that occurred in rear-end crashes in 2011 and 2012.
Collision avoidance technology the NTSB recommends involves sensors that monitor the road for possible dangers - including stopped or slowed vehicles in the distance - and warns the driver. If the driver doesn't respond accordingly, the brakes automatically kick in to slow or stop the truck or car.
Causes of Truck Rear-End Crashes
This technology would help address a leading cause of car and truck rear-end collisions, which is driver inattention. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration previously found thatinattentive drivers factored into 87 percent of rear-end collisions. Other factors cited in catastrophic rear-end crashes are:
- Speeding
- Fatigued drivers
- Inappropriate driving for road or weather conditions
It's clear that driver negligence leads to rear-end collisions. And when those catastrophic crashes are caused by large trucks, the results often times are deadly. If you were severely injured or had a family member killed in an accident caused by a semi, an attorney who handles trucking accident cases can investigate and pursue just compensation on your behalf from those responsible.
The choice of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely on advertising.
RSS Feed