Semi-truck trailers are naturally higher than the average passenger car, meaning that should a car collide with the rear of the trailer, it could slide under the trailer, causing serious injuries and death from decapitation. Unfortunately, rear-end collisions are not all that uncommon, and are often not the fault of the driver of the passenger vehicle. Because of this, there is a simple modification that the manufacturers and owners of big rigs can make, but few of them have taken the time to correct this hazard which could prevent a simple rear-end bump in from turning into a fatality.
Under-ride and Injury Severity in Real Crashes
While any collision between a passenger vehicle and a large truck is a risky event, under-ride makes death or serious injury much more likely as the upper part of the car will crush as the truck body intrudes into the vehicle’s safety cage. Rear guards are the primary means of reducing under-ride accidents. About 425 people driving passenger vehicles die each year when their vehicle strikes the back of a truck, and it is estimated that at least half of those were due to an under-ride which could have been prevented. Even though the front end of passenger vehicles are specifically designed to minimize injuries to the occupants, should your vehicle strike the back of a big truck without an under-ride guard, your chances of walking away are not good.
Factors at Play in a Mississippi Under-ride Accident
There are many factors involved in a serious under-ride accident, however the most common are inclement weather, driver carelessness, poor road conditions, poor road lighting or a truck driver making a wide turn or a u-turn. Fog and snow can mask the light color of many trucks, and poor lighting can form a sort of camouflage, especially on silver trucks. During nighttime hours a lack of lighting in the evenings can make it difficult to see the outline of a dark-colored truck trailer, making it nearly impossible for the driver of the passenger car to stop in time to avoid an under-ride. If the driver of the passenger car is momentarily inattentive they may miss seeing a truck which is inadequately pulled off the side of the road, or if the truck driver is inattentive he may brake suddenly, causing the car behind to collide.
When there is No Under-ride Guard or it Doesn’t Meet Safety Standards
Many of the under-ride accidents documented regarded trucks and trailers which were “exempt” from the necessity of installing the guards, or when the guards installed failed. Guard failure could be due to the attachment between the guard and the trailer being overly weak, or when the attachment between the guard’s supports and the trailer broke due to insufficient welding or bolting. In some instances the under-ride guard remained attached to the trailer, but the trailer chassis buckled, rotating the guard up. Other vehicles were simply exempt from having under-ride guards, including trailers which had the rear wheels set closely to the back of the trailer, or trucks with a cab and cargo body on one chassis. Dump trucks were a well-known hazard in this class, as few possess an under-ride guard, yet many are involved in fatal under-ride accidents.
If you or a family member has been injured in an accident involving a Mississippi18-wheeler, especially if the truck driver or his faulty equipment was at fault, you should contact our law firm to speak with a Mississippi truck accident attorney who is familiar with the laws governing the operation of commercial vehicles. Under-ride accidents are preventable, and if the trucking company or owner was negligent in the installation of guards, then an attorney from our law firm may be able to help you recover your losses for injury or death.