Risks contributing to truck accidents: yes, there are many

We note on our legal website the often devastating consequences that ensue for New York drivers and occupants in passenger vehicles when they become involved in crashes or collisions featuring large commercial trucks.

In fact, we cite the obvious regarding big rigs on the Syracuse Truck Accident page at the personal injury law firm of DeFrancisco & Falgiatano, noting that, given their unrivaled size and weight, “they can readily mow over, crush or crumple a two-ton car.”

That is flatly scary. Moreover, the prospect of such accident outcomes might readily conjure up in the minds of drivers in passenger cars and trucks other factors that increase the accident odds for 18-wheel rigs and other highway behemoths.

Sadly, as noted in a recent article focusing on truck drivers and crash risks, there are multiple risk-enhancing factors at work in the cabins of many large trucks as they traverse New York roads and national interstates.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration cites several of them, starting off with driver obesity, a known health risk. According to the FMCSA, that condition afflicts nearly 70 percent of all commercial truckers. And nearly nine out of every 10 truckers surveyed cites concern with a personal risk factor that elevates the possibility for chronic disease.

Driving a truck commercially is hard business, to be sure. Drivers work long hours up in their rigs, negotiating traffic, dealing with fatigue and facing, as noted in the above-cited article, “an uphill battle for staying mentally and physically fit.”

Staying on top of all that sometimes proves impossible, resulting in the types of accidents described at the beginning of this post.

Innocent victims of truck accidents — and their families — often suffer greatly from truck drivers’ negligence.

Although the negligence can’t be remedied, victims in such accidents often take great solace from knowing that damage awards can help compensate for lost income, health care costs and related matters.

A proven New York truck accident attorney can provide further information and diligent representation in accident litigation featuring third-party negligence.