No one was hurt in a recent Pike County accident involving a log truck and a passenger vehicle. Drivers in the area experienced minor inconveniences when authorities closed the road to allow for removal of the wrecked log truck and its load of logs, which spilled out when the truck went off of the road.
Log trucks do the vital work of moving logs out of the forests where they are harvested to the wood products companies that turn those logs into lumber, paper, and many other useful items we use every day. Drivers of log trucks have a tough job, and since they are professional drivers, they must undergo professional training and licensing before they start hauling logs. Some of the rules for log truck driver qualifications are less stringent than the criteria required for other types of trucking jobs, and a lack of training or skill can sometimes lead to a dangerous or deadly log truck wreck.
Log truck accidents are less common now than they were before the early 1990s when the random, roadside inspection of trucks by trained law enforcement officers came into practice. Trucking companies and private owners of log trucks and other trucks started to pay more attention to keeping their vehicles properly maintained and in good repair because the fines and penalties for failing roadside inspections would negatively impact their businesses.
Unfortunately, some truckers continue to roll the dice and skimp on maintenance and repairs. Sometimes a failure to maintain a truck in a safe condition causes an accident, whether it be with a log truck or some other type of commercial vehicle. Some of the worst log truck accidents involve minimally qualified drivers driving older log trucks that are in poor condition. However, experienced log truck drivers driving newer, well-maintained log trucks do occasionally wreck their vehicles.
Most log truck accidents involve at least one other vehicle. Sometimes, the vehicle collides with the log truck, and at other times, the log truck is forced off of the road to avoid a collision with the other vehicle. In twenty-five percent of fatal log truck accidents, the log truck rolled over during the wreck. Over eighty percent of log truck accidents happen on dry roads during the daytime. Pictures of the aforementioned log truck accident show a daytime crash scene with dry roads.
Some log truck accidents occur when a log truck is overloaded. In some of those situations, the driver of the truck does not load it and is unaware that it’s too heavy until they drive it and experience trouble with braking, steering, or handling. Some drivers load their trucks, and some load them too heavy, again, deciding to take a chance if they do not feel as though they’ll be driving through an area where a roadside inspection is likely. Unfortunately, even a load of logs that do not exceed a log truck’s capacity can shift during transport and cause the driver of the truck to lose control of it.
Many things can cause log truck accidents, and log truck accident claims can be complicated. If you were hurt in a log truck accident, call the knowledgeable Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorney at Barrett Law PLLC, at 1 (800) 707-9577 today.
