Large commercial trucks can have enormous blind spots that make it difficult for truck drivers to see nearby vehicles. When a truck changes lanes without detecting a smaller vehicle, the results can be devastating.
A passenger car can disappear from a truck driver’s view even when the vehicles are traveling only a few feet apart. If the truck moves into that lane, the smaller vehicle may be struck, forced off the road, or trapped between the truck and another object.
These crashes can cause serious injuries, particularly when a passenger vehicle is struck by the side or rear of a commercial truck.
Where Are a Truck’s Blind Spots?
Commercial trucks have limited visibility around several areas of the vehicle. The largest blind spots generally exist directly behind the trailer, along the sides of the truck, and in front of the cab.
The passenger side can be especially difficult for a truck driver to monitor.
A vehicle traveling alongside a tractor-trailer may remain outside the driver’s direct view for several seconds. If the truck driver checks a mirror and begins changing lanes without seeing the vehicle, a collision can occur before the driver realizes another motorist is there.
How Blind Spot Truck Crashes Happen
A blind spot collision can occur in several ways.
Common examples include:
- A truck changing lanes into an occupied lane
- A tractor-trailer merging onto an interstate
- A truck moving around slower traffic
- A truck making a wide turn
- A commercial vehicle drifting across lane markings
- A driver failing to check multiple mirrors before changing lanes
- A truck driver relying on an incomplete view of surrounding traffic
Driver awareness is critical when operating a commercial vehicle. Truck drivers have a responsibility to operate their vehicles safely and account for the limited visibility created by the size and design of the truck.
Why These Crashes Can Be Catastrophic
The difference in size between a commercial truck and a passenger vehicle can make a blind spot collision particularly dangerous.
A smaller vehicle may be pushed across multiple lanes, forced into a median, struck by another vehicle, or crushed against the truck itself.
Injuries may include:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Broken bones
- Internal bleeding
- Neck and back injuries
- Severe lacerations
- Paralysis
- Permanent disabilities
Some victims require extensive hospitalization followed by months or years of rehabilitation.
The consequences can extend well beyond physical injuries. A serious truck crash may affect a person’s ability to work, support a family, drive, or live independently.
Trucking Companies May Have Important Evidence
Commercial truck cases can involve more evidence than an ordinary passenger-vehicle collision.
Depending on the circumstances, relevant evidence may include photographs, witness statements, vehicle damage, surveillance footage, onboard camera recordings, electronic records, and information maintained by the trucking company.
The truck itself may also contain evidence that helps establish how the collision occurred.
Because evidence can become harder to obtain as time passes, investigating a serious commercial truck crash promptly can be important.
What If the Truck Driver Says You Were in His Blind Spot?
A driver being unable to see another vehicle does not automatically mean the smaller vehicle caused the crash.
The circumstances leading up to the collision must be examined. Questions may include whether the truck driver properly checked the surrounding lanes, whether the truck was changing lanes safely, whether the driver was distracted, and whether the truck’s position or movement violated traffic rules.
Photos, vehicle damage, witness accounts, video, and other evidence can help establish what happened.
Talk to a Birmingham Truck Accident Attorney
Blind spot crashes can become complicated when a commercial driver, trucking company, insurance carrier, and multiple vehicles are involved.
If you were seriously injured in a truck collision in Birmingham or elsewhere in Alabama, Shaun Capps Injury Law can investigate the circumstances and help determine what parties may be responsible.