How Big Of A Problem Is Posed By New Jersey Large Truck Crashes?
Many experienced New Jersey motorists reading this blog entry likely share a collective and strongly held view concerning the above post headline query.
They know this from ample time spent negotiating the state’s varied roadways: Big trucks are seemingly everywhere, and they command attention for some very concerning reasons.
Like their size, for starters. Large commercial rigs possess a sheer girth and coupled outsized presence on roads that literally dwarfs the dimensions of passenger vehicles seeking to share space with them.
Here’s a clarifying point supplied by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in a report issued relevant to a recent year: The agency defines a large truck as a vehicle exceeding 10,000 pounds in weight.
Given the sheer power of such a conveyance in motion, there is simply no question concerning the outcome of a collision with a smaller vehicle in almost any instance.
On-point crash data readily bear that out.
Sobering statistics regarding large truck accident results
The above-cited federal study of accidents involving large trucks presents stark conclusions that could hardly be clearer concerning the high risks and deadly outcomes linked with such vehicles. Here are a few NHTSA takeaways linked with a recently measured year:
- 4,761 fatalities nationally in accidents featuring large trucks
- Decade-long trend evidencing uptick in large truck-linked crashes
- Occupants of other vehicles comprising fatal crash victims in more than 70% of accidents
- Comparatively high number of commercial drivers with history of prior crashes
- Large trucks involved in 9% of all fatal crashes, but comprising just 4% of all registered vehicles
- More than 80% of deadly accidents involving more than one other vehicle
A spotlighting of state-level crash data authored by the NHTSA relevant to 2017 reveals that 54 large trucks were catalysts in fatal vehicle accidents across New Jersey that year.
That is obviously concerning, especially given the referenced upward trend in deadly outcomes and the fact that non-deadly yet catastrophic injuries occur in legions of other accidents involving big rigs.
One online New Jersey legal source addressing big truck accidents and their repercussions for affected parties duly notes “the serious challenges facing catastrophic injury victims.”
It also notes that those individuals and their loves ones are not powerless in the wake of a negligence-linked truck crash. Timely alliance with a proven personal injury legal team can help to secure a meaningful remedy, including maximum compensation that can be applied to diverse post-accident needs.