Risk of Rear-End Truck Crashes in Longwood
Throughout Longwood, Orlando and surrounding areas, victims of rear-end accidents involving trucks may sustain serious and possibly fatal injuries. 
A report from the University of Connecticut revealed rear-end accidents involving trucks are more likely to cause severe soft-tissue damage, as compared to crashes with other kinds of vehicles. This is because the greater size of a tractor-trailer translates to a greater velocity, which increases the acceleration of the body. The more the acceleration of the body and the greater the magnitude of the force, the higher the chances that the soft tissues of the body will sustain damage.
A rear-end accident lawyer knows large truck drivers often fail to operate their rigs responsibly. Truck drivers and the companies that employ them to take steps to try to avoid these types of deadly crashes. This means ensuring that plenty of space is left between a truck and the car in front. Truckers must also be careful not to tailgate other large trucks.
Rear-End Truck Accidents Are Among the Most Dangerous on the Road
In the United States, approximately 144 million vehicle-hours of delay are caused by rear end crashes according to a recent Penn State University analysis. Rear-end accidents are responsible for around 30 percent of all U.S. motor vehicle accidents and almost five percent of annual motor vehicle fatalities.
Any vehicle can be involved in a deadly or serious rear-end accident, but there is a special risk when it comes to trucks because of the long stopping distance that large vehicles have. The Bendix Spencer Foundation reports that it can take twice as long for trucks to stop as compared with passenger cars. When a truck driver engages in panic braking, or stopping in an emergency to avoid a crash, the stopping distance may be even longer. This is because the thermal capacity of the brakes may be exceeded and brake fade can occur, reducing the effectiveness of the brakes.
Truck drivers need to leave extra space and always pay careful attention to vehicles in front of them so they ensure they have plenty of time to stop without having to slam on the brakes.
Rear-end accidents involving trucks are not only dangerous when it is the truck that hits the vehicle in front of it. If a car hits the rear of a truck, the crash could turn deadly. Many of the deadly accidents involve a phenomenon called underride, which happens when the vehicle slides partly underneath the body of the truck. A study from the University of Michigan indicated that underride happens in around 60 percent of deadly rear-end crashes where a driver hits a truck’s back.
Both truckers and other motorists need to respect each other on the road, leave ample space and do everything possible to avoid these serious rear-end crashes.
If you have been injured, contact Law Office of Scott M. Miller by calling (866) MILLER-5. Serving Longwood and Orlando, as well as many other communities in Florida, including Sanford, Altamonte Springs, Oviedo, Winter Springs, Winter Park, Casselberry, Wekiva Springs, Maitland, Lake Mary, Heathrow and Eatonville.
