Commercial vehicles come in many shapes and sizes, but one thing is true of all of them: They’re heavy. A large box truck, a semitruck, tow trucks, buses and other vehicles weigh thousands of pounds more than the passenger vehicles around them. As a result, any kind of crash has a tendency to result in injuries for those in the smaller vehicles.
As someone who has been involved in a crash with a commercial vehicle, there are a few things that you may want to look for. To start with, you may want to determine if:
- The driver was intoxicated
- The driver was driving while drowsy or fell asleep behind the wheel
- The driver was using digital devices or texting
- The other driver was distracted
- The driver’s license was expired
- The commercial driver’s medical records were up to date
There are many other factors that could help you get more out of your claim.
When a driver is placed behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle, it’s with the hope that they’re going to take that role seriously. They need plenty of solid training and should always obey traffic signals and laws.
Unfortunately, a large number of commercial crashes do happen because drivers are drowsy, distracted, speeding or impaired. Those actions would be serious and something to be concerned about in any vehicle, but when the driver is behind such a large, heavy vehicle, they’re truly being reckless.
Our website has more on commercial crashes and what you can do if you’ve been struck. It’s important that these drivers are held accountable for their actions.