Free Online Personal Injury Legal Help
Commercial trucks can have a very intimidating presence when sharing the road with much smaller, standard-sized vehicles. A car driver may even be so fearful, that they move as far away from the truck as possible. This may be an understandable response, since these hefty trucks can cause steep damage if an accident were to happen. In truck-related accidents, it may be the car driver who suffers the most damage. This may be because of the vast difference in size between the standard car and commercial truck. To emphasize this point even further, keep in mind that the average commercial truck may weigh upwards of 80,000 pounds, while the standard passenger vehicle may weigh around 4,000-5,000 pounds. If a car driver were to be plowed into by a sleepy truck driver, lives could be lost.
An attorney understands how tragic commercial truck versus passenger vehicle accidents can be. One of the major culprits to commercial truck accidents may be a condition referred to as “microsleep.” Please read on to find out what this term means, and how it can be a factor in truck-related collisions.
Definition of Microsleep
Microsleep are episodes of sleep that can last only a fraction of a second, to as long as half a minute. This condition can arise in truck drivers who are severely sleep-deprived and mentally fatigued. A truck driver that has not had enough sleep can put others on the road in serious jeopardy. Imagine witnessing a truck driver next to you nodding off while in the middle of a highway. Just picturing this in your mind may be enough to understand the true fear and fatalities that can ensue. Perhaps the scariest part about microsleep is that the truck driver may not even realize this is happening, until it is too late.
An attorney highly suggests that those who are hit by a commercial vehicle call for police and an ambulance urgently. Critical injuries can arise in the immediate aftermath of a commercial truck accident.
Hazardous Material
Sometimes truck drivers are hauling produce or other goods across many, many miles. In other cases, a truck driver may be carrying hazardous material. The commercial truck may be stocked with radioactive material, explosives, toxic inhalation hazards, compressed or liquified methane/natural gas. If a truck accident were to happen, these harmful chemicals could leak out into the car driver’s vehicle and even across the entire highway.
What to Do Next
If you or a loved one has been hit by a sleep-deprived truck driver, you can meet with a truck accident lawyer Lakeland, FL trusts for guidance. We can help walk you through the process of filing a civil lawsuit against the truck driver who hit you. The truck driver and trucking company alike may be held responsible for the crash.
Thank you to our friends and contributors at David & Philpot, P.L. for their insight into personal injury claims and truck accidents.