Lexington Area Truck Accidents

They can have many causes, and results can range from minor to catastrophic. All commercial truck accidents, because of the size of the truck and harm they could do, have the potential to result in serious injuries or fatalities.

• A crash of a semi-truck on the southbound side of the Clays Ferry Bridge in June 2015 killed the driver, reported WKYT. The driver apparently lost control of the truck and hit a barrier. Leaking fuel caused a fire and explosions. The driver either jumped from or was thrown from the cab. His body was found by the Lexington Fire Department’s dive team under the bridge.
• Interstate 75 was shut down in Lexington after a truck containing hazardous material wrecked and overturned in 2014, according to the Associated Press. Reportedly, a Lexington police officer was helping a driver on the side of I-75 when the truck hit one of the cars. The officer and the driver he was helping were both hospitalized. Those living nearby were told to stay indoors while it was determined what chemicals were being hauled.
• An accident in Peytona involving a dump truck and pickup truck killed one man and sent another to the hospital in 2013. Kentucky State Police stated the crash was caused when a tire on the dump truck began to shred, according to WLKY. The dump truck collided into and crushed the pickup truck, killing the driver.

A total of 8,426 trucks (vehicles with a weight of 10,000 pounds or more) were involved in 74 fatal collisions and accidents, causing 1,315 injuries in Kentucky in 2013, according to the Kentucky State Police. These trucks were involved in 3.8% of all collisions but caused 7.7% of the year’s vehicle accident fatalities.

Nationwide 3,660 people died in large truck accidents in 2014, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety/Highway Loss Data Institute.

• 16% of the deaths were truck occupants; 68% were in cars or other passenger vehicles; and 15% were pedestrians, bicyclists or motorcyclists.
• The number of those killed in large truck crashes was 16% higher in 2014 than in 2009, when it was lower than at any time since fatal crash data was first collected in 1975.

Why commercial truck accidents happen

There could be a number of causes for truck accidents, many of them preventable and the result of negligence by the driver, the truck owner, the company loading the truck or the company maintaining it. A report issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 2006 covered the topic of what causes truck accidents. They used data from 2,284 vehicles involved in 1,070 crashes in 24 locations across the country.

• 87% of the crashes involved only one large truck; 12% of the crashes involved two large trucks; and 2% percent involved three or more large trucks.
• Fatal accidents were more likely to involve at least three vehicles.
• The most common types of accidents were rear end crashes (23%), followed by going off the right side of the road (10%) and side-swiping another vehicle (10%).
• Accidents in which the occupants of the commercial vehicle were not injured are much more common (52%) than those in which the passengers of the other vehicle escaped injury (17%).
• Most “nonincapacitating” (44%) and “incapacitating” (29%) injuries occurred in vehicles other than trucks.
• Other vehicles were where most fatalities occurred (7.4% of accidents), as compared to large trucks (1.6%).
• The most common immediate cause of a crash is loss of control of the truck (47%) followed by the truck’s being improperly driven (41%). The top reason for loss of control is speeding, followed by shifting of cargo. The most common driving problem is going off the road.
• The report found no driver error in 45% of the accidents; where driver error was a factor, it included poor decision making (21%) and failure to recognize the danger of the situation (16%). The most common problems with drivers were that they were asleep, being inattentive or that they looked for something (like another vehicle) but didn’t actually see it.

What to do if you or a loved one is involved in a commercial truck accident

These accidents can be complex and need to be fully investigated to determine who is at fault. This is not the type of case you want to handle yourself because of the many factual and legal issues that may be involved.

If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in an accident involving a commercial vehicle, you need an experienced Kentucky truck accident lawyer like Julie Butcher who knows this area of the law and has achieved favorable results for many injured victims. For free resources and answers to questions concerning your Kentucky truck accident, contact attorney Julie Butcher online or at 1-866-77-JULIE.