Any car crash can leave you with worrisome injuries and without a vehicle for daily transportation. It can take weeks to resolve the consequences of even a basic fender-bender where no one gets hurt.
Crashes with particularly large and heavy vehicles can be especially devastating for the people in the smaller vehicle.
Most people have a natural, instinctive fear of commercial trucks. They understand that a crash between their vehicle and a commercial one would likely result in total devastation. The bigger and heavier a vehicle is, the more of a threat or the other vehicles in traffic.
The use of long combination vehicles (LCV) for commercial transportation has recently reignited debates about the safety of the public and the efficiency of commercial transportation operations.
What are long combination vehicles?
You may very well have already encountered an LCV on the highway. These vehicles are semi-trucks with not one but two trailers with cargo attached to the rear of a single cab. Commercial trucking companies like LCVs because they are cost-effective, they reduce the fuel costs to transport merchandise and also the staffing costs involved.
However, there are significant trade-offs for those benefits. LCVs are even more difficult for professionals to manage than traditional, single-trailer semi-trucks. The extra trailer exacerbates the existing driving issue that big trucks have.
There will be even larger blind spots around an LCV than there are around traditional semi-trucks. They will take longer to stop because they are so much heavier than a standard semi-truck, and they will also be much harder for the driver to turn at corners.
The risks of LCVs are well known
Most commercial transportation companies understand why regulatory agencies and members of the public may question the use of LCVs. They have an association with horrible wrecks. However, many of these businesses push for the right to use these longer vehicles to transport goods and materials for the sake of efficiency.
Those hurt in a crash involving a long combination vehicle may have grounds for a claim against the driver, a commercial transportation insurance policy or possibly the business itself. Realizing that a company may have intentionally overlooked risks to the public might motivate you to take action after a commercial vehicle crash.