Big rig loading accidents

Improperly secured or shifting loads on semi-trucks (and other vehicles) that come loose can – and in many cases, have – caused property damage, injury and even deaths. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety – there are an estimated f 25,000 accidents annually across the country that result from improperly secured payloads and that cause as many as100 deaths.

Unfortunately, Austin is not immune to this problem. A quick ride on I-35 will confirm that this is a busy thoroughfare for semis and flatbed trucks carrying oversize cargo and other materials that are challenging to secure such as gravel, scrap metal, construction materials, and other items that can turn into deadly projectiles if they come loose .

The reality is that most persons who are charged with the awesome responsibility of securing a load often make not much more than minimum wage and are poorly trained. Later, when the hauler is in transit a piece may come loose when the vehicle decelerates, accelerates or turns. Cargo that falls off will cause accidents.

There is a need for greater oversight in this area. Stronger securement devices are necessary to prevent injury and death to unsuspecting drivers. In the last year alone around the country – a 44,000 pound steel coil load fell of a turning semi in a midwestern state – striking a passenger truck and killing its driver instantly – and hit and killed the driver behind the first vehicle as well – before coming to a stop.

The best way to avoid this type of accident is to ‘give a cargo-laden semi wide berth’…and drive defensively. If you have been injured in a loading accident with a big rig speak with a semi truck accident lawyer in Texas.