Are truck accidents always the trucker’s fault?

As you go about making your daily commute on Texas roadways or as you run important errands, you may not think about how much your life is at risk just being on the road. Certainly, you try to be a safe driver, and because you have made it to your destinations safely more often than not, you likely do not have a fear of getting behind the wheel and hitting the road.

Of course, certain scenarios may make you uncomfortable during your travels, and driving beside or behind a tractor-trailer may be one of those situations. If so, you are not alone. Many people worry that a sudden slip-up from a truck driver will cause a devastating accident, and there are more ways that such an accident could occur than you might think.

Both truckers and passenger car drivers can cause accidents

It is not uncommon for many people to make the assumption that a truck accident was likely caused by the negligence of the truck driver. These incidents can result from errors on the part of the trucker, including due to the following issues:

• Driving while tired or distracted
• Trying to keep up with an unrealistic schedule set by an employer
• Attempting to get to their delivery destination more quickly in hopes of faster payment or due to some other type of encouragement from their employer
• Lacking adequate training when it comes to safe driving when operating a semi-truck

However, it is important to keep in mind that drivers of smaller vehicles could also contribute to such an accident, particularly if they do not understand the difficulties that come along with driving a commercial truck. Some unsafe maneuvers a passenger vehicle driver could carry out include the following:

• Cutting over in front of a big rig whether when changing lanes, passing or merging onto a roadway
• Driving in truck drivers’ blind spots
• Turning in front of a truck at an unsafe distance
• Pulling out of a side street or parking lot in front of a truck and not speeding up
• Failing to adjust speed when a truck starts changing lanes or merging

Even if you do your part to drive safely, a truck driver or another passenger car driver could cause a sudden event that leads to your involvement in a serious collision. If this happens, you could face severe, even life-changing, injuries. It is not uncommon for individuals who suffer harm in truck accidents to pursue compensation for those damages through personal injury claims.