Silhouette of a man with an amputated leg with crutches sees a reflection of herself in the mirror healthy. The concept of prosthetic legs
Trucks are a major part of today’s transportation industry. These vehicles make it easy to transport goods in bulk, saving time and money and allowing businesses and private individuals to do more with every transit.
But while they are very beneficial to us, they easily cause us a lot of problems when mishandled. Driving trucks requires a particular skill level some would consider higher than driving regular cars.
It comes with their design; truck manufacturers make them to be as large as possible depending on their intended use. Their parts are heavier and bulkier, and they almost always have to carry large loads on the road. They also take up a lot of space when they move around. And when something of that scale reaches a certain speed, it can be tricky to slow down or stop.
That’s why, in an accident between a personal vehicle and a commercial truck, the personal vehicle is much more likely to suffer serious damage.
How bad can truck accidents get? Whether you’re a trucker who takes on dangerous routes or a commuter who wants to know the risks of not being careful with trucks around, it’s good to have a good grasp of what you’re dealing with.
Here are some of the devastating consequences of truck accidents:
- Damaged Vehicles
This is the most obvious consequence of truck accidents. Usually, the smaller vehicle gets the full brunt of the damage. But that doesn’t mean the trucks get away scot-free. Due to the size and potential acceleration of trucks, the resulting collisions are almost always tremendous for any vehicles involved.
- Loss Of Lives
Following the previous point, most truck accidents have a high risk of fatalities. The latest statistics revealed that 97% of people who pass away in collisions with trucks are usually the occupants of smaller vehicles. Other lives that may be lost include the truck driver and crew, pedestrians, occupants of structures involved in an accident, and persons using much smaller vehicles like bikes.
- Physical And Mental Trauma
For those who survive truck accidents, the trauma can be debilitating.
Car accident on a road in September, car after a collision with a heavy truck, transportation background
Spinal cord injuries are a particular example. The spinal cord serves as the hub connecting your brain to the rest of your body. Damage to the spinal cord can cause a variety of medical issues like paralysis, incontinence, and chronic pain.
Broken limbs are another common injury from truck accidents. Legs and hands are vulnerable to serious fractures in high-speed crashes. In critical cases, these often lead to permanent disability.
You may also suffer from burns if the accident results in a fire. Severe ones can also result in chronic pain and disability.
All of these feed into the mental trauma survivors may receive after an accident. Even if they come away unscathed, they may experience grief over a loss of life or a major disruption to their lifestyle, survivor’s guilt, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or some form of anxiety or depression.
- Possible Loss Of A Career
For any surviving drivers, the bodily injuries they sustain may get in the way of fulfilling their responsibilities at work. This puts their career at risk if they can’t get back in shape. Usually, motorists can turn to personal injury insurance to cover lost wages and healthcare costs until they recover.
Truckers, in particular, have a more practical reason for losing their job from an accident: they don’t have something to drive. Major collisions also go into their license record, making them more liable to losing the capacity to drive legally.
- Financial Burden
Naturally, truck accidents cost a lot for all parties involved.
As mentioned before, truck accidents can cause serious trauma, physically and mentally. To recover properly, survivors will have to pay for treatment, hospital charges, therapy, follow-up consultations, and maintenance medication. Altogether, these lead to high medical bills.
Insurance policies also take a hit when insured vehicles get into a major accident. It’s standard practice for insurers to mitigate financial risks with their clients. To make up for increased liabilities, they will raise premiums. Those who have yet to get vehicle insurance may get bad policies or none at all.
Repairs also add to your financial burden after a truck accident. Even if the damage gets extensive, receiving coverage from an extended warranty plan can be tricky. Of course, you’ll have to pay much more if you decide to get a replacement for a totaled vehicle.
Conclusion
With all these points in mind, it’s easy to see why mitigating truck accidents should be a concern for private individuals, logistics companies, businesses, and all governing bodies. As much as possible, we should promote proper truck maintenance and driver protection. Everyone who goes on the road must learn and relearn the best practices of driving, including respecting the right of way, compliance with road signals, and above all, cooperation. With diligence and unity, every little effort can go a long way to preventing truck accidents
