Kingwood Personal Injury Lawyers

Sadly, many drivers have crazy driving schedules and must meet outrageous demands that limit their sleep time. This often leads to extreme drowsiness, which can cause the truck driver to experience delayed reaction times or fall asleep at the wheel. Driving while drowsy is just as bad as driving drunk and is a leading cause of fatal truck accidents in Texas and throughout the country.

While trucks are designed to be safe and well-maintained, not all commercial fleets adhere to the practices needed to keep them that way; there are several situations where semi-trucks can cause fatal crashes because of things like poor windshield wipers, malfunctioning brakes, or other maintenance mistakes that you can generally prevent simply by checking the trucks frequently.

Speeding is another significant factor that can almost always magnify the seriousness of a truck accident and cause many catastrophic injuries or even death. When a negligent truck driver speeds, they can create hazardous conditions that increase the risk of a devastating injury or death, surpassing that of any other type of crash, particularly on a highway. This is due to the truck’s already extremely powerful impact, which is exacerbated by its 80,000-pound weight, and the increased speed further amplifies this impact.

This makes driving the posted speed limit in itself dangerous. When weather conditions are poor, like snow, fog, ice, and heavy rain, it causes poor visibility and unsafe, slippery roads. And it’s even more hazardous when a driver is speeding. Truck drivers who fail to reduce their speed due to poor conditions may slide into other vehicles, either in front of or alongside their truck, sometimes trapping cars under the truck or causing a multi-vehicle pileup.

Loads can shift when transported, especially if they’re not properly secured or loaded. If the weather conditions are bad or the driver is speeding, it can keep them from maneuvering their truck safely.

Many individuals will be involved in a vehicle collision at some point in their lives. But when a crash involves a semi-truck, the result can be even more catastrophic. In the aftermath of an accident like this, especially if a death is involved, hiring a leading Houston truck accident lawyer is the best decision you can make.