Big commercial trucks dwarf passenger vehicles and can easily cause catastrophic collisions. When semi-trucks collide with smaller vehicles, the passenger vehicles often suffer severe damage while the truck escapes unscathed.
Most drivers will do their best to give big trucks as much space as possible on the road, but crashes between commercial trucks and passenger vehicles are still relatively common. Many crashes are the direct responsibility of the drivers involved, but sometimes the commercial transportation company is partially to blame for a crash.
How could a trucking company potentially prevent a semi-truck wreck?
With underride guards
There are required trailer underride guards that protect vehicles from rear underride crashes. Unfortunately, because federal law does not require side underride guards, many trucking companies do not install these life-saving devices.
Even the rear guards they use are often the cheapest available instead of the strongest and most effective. Installing better underride guards is an easy way for trucking companies to protect the public.
With proactive maintenance
A small but noteworthy percentage of commercial vehicle crashes occur because of an issue with the large truck. Bad brakes, balding tires and a host of other mechanical issues can directly cause crashes.
When a company inspects its fleet frequently and does maintenance with a focus on absolute safety rather than cost-cutting efforts, the vehicles in its fleet will be safer and less likely to cause a major wreck.
Unfortunately, many commercial transportation companies put financial gain ahead of public safety. Pursuing a claim after a commercial vehicle collision can compensate those affected and possibly lead to better safety practices.
