Bakersfield is served by an extensive roadway system in all directions. Motorists in and around the area interact with a wide assortment of traffic. That varied mix of vehicles ranges broadly from passenger cars and small trucks to motorcyclists and other conveyances.
Including big trucks.
In fact, large commercial trucks operate at high frequency across Kern County. They are also common on roads leading both south toward the Los Angeles metro and north to the San Joaquin Valley and vast inland region of California’s Central Valley.
Those big rigs come in differing shapes and sizes, with drivers in smaller vehicles routinely sharing the road with them in ways that are sometimes challenging. Many big trucks are employed in various businesses, with drivers who must have commercial licenses to operate them.
Indeed, professional driving credentials are a must for any individual steering a tractor-trailer, flatbed truck, heavy hauler, semi-truck or other18-wheel rig. It is not uncommon for a commercial truck to span 80 feet or more and weigh scores of thousands of pounds. Such vehicles flatly dwarf other forms of traffic seeking to share the road with them. They are a risk catalyst for all other drivers.
Some sobering statistics/data concerning large trucks
Readers who confidently know that large trucks are comparatively dangerous might still underestimate the injury risks they pose for other drivers.
The National Safety Council provides some clarifying information on that point. The NSC highlights this data relevant to the outsized safety risks linked with big commercial rigs:
- Nearly 5,000 road deaths nationally involving large trucks in a recent measuring year
- Progressively spiking number of truck-tied crash injuries over the past decade
- High percentage of accident fatalities being occupants of other vehicles
- Big-truck fatal crashes occurring on all types of roads and at all times of the day
Taking legal action in the wake of a truck accident injury
Legal matters sometimes stress that “time is of the essence” for a victim seeking to respond to an injury owing to third-party negligence.
And that is certainly true concerning a crash involving a large commercial truck. Trucking companies and involved drivers will waste no time seeking to skirt accountability and minimize their liability following a crash. Moreover, they will assuredly employ a professional team to author a version of “facts” that does not favor an accident victim.
Those tactics can be countered by a victim’s proactive strategy guided by a proven and empathetic personal injury legal team. Forceful advocacy will focus on a full identification of all culpable parties, as well as the prompt preservation of all material evidence and a close investigation of what actually happened in an accident.
An accident victim should feel reasonably empowered rather than powerless in the wake of a crash involving a large truck. Diligent and timely legal representation can ensure accountability and strive to secure a meaningful remedy marked by maximum compensation.