One potential reason for serious truck accidents is that they have long stopping distances. This can sometimes lead to rear-end accidents that are hard to avoid.
The specific stopping distance that a vehicle has is dependent on numerous factors: The condition of the tires, the road conditions themselves, whether the driver has properly maintained their brakes, how quick their reaction time is, etc.
But what research generally finds is that smaller vehicles need just over 300 feet to come to a stop. Semi-trucks, on the other hand, need roughly 525 feet. This is because of their increased mass and weight, with some trucks weighing up to 80,000 pounds. Similar to how you can’t stop a train immediately, a truck needs more distance to come to a halt.
Driver distraction
This is one of the reasons why truck driver distraction is such a problem. Say the driver gets distracted by their cellphone, even though using it is a violation of FMCSA regulations. They look up and suddenly see that there is a construction zone ahead of them on the interstate. Other cars are backed up and have come to a complete halt, roughly 400 feet in front of the truck.
If that person was in a personal car, they could slam on the brakes and come to a stop in time. But because the driver is in a truck, they may already be so close that they can’t stop the truck before they rear-end the vehicle ahead of them.
These crashes can lead to severe injuries, and those who have been hurt need to know how to seek financial compensation.