According to professional reviews of crash data, the majority of collisions that occur are the result of mistakes by individual motorists. People driving their own vehicles and those who drive for a living often exceed the speed limit, violate traffic laws and otherwise create circumstances that lead to increased risk of a wreck.
The federal government seeks to limit how many severe crashes occur by implementing road rules and industry regulations. Therefore, there are numerous agencies that track different types of collisions. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) helps regulate semi-trucks and other commercial vehicles.
The FMCSA also tracks information about commercial vehicle collisions. While many crashes do involve people who make mistakes, the FMCSA also reports issues with commercial vehicles as a leading cause of collisions.
One in 10 wrecks stem from vehicle problems
Driver mistakes are the most common cause of crashes where commercial vehicles are at fault. Approximately 87% of the commercial crashes analyzed occurred because of something the driver did or did not do. However, some of the wrecks reported occurred due to factors outside of the driver’s control. Issues with commercial vehicles caused a small but concerning portion of the reported commercial vehicle collisions.
Fleet maintenance is one of the biggest regular expenses that transportation companies or owner-operators have to cover. Sometimes, they may delay necessary maintenance or cut corners when buying replacement components. Those cost-saving decisions may eventually lead to semi-truck collisions.
It is also worth noting that some of the crashes that occurred due to vehicle issues could be the result of improper trailer loading rather than issues caused by a commercial transportation company’s maintenance of the vehicle itself. Both circumstances might justify an attempt to hold a transportation company or possibly the client that improperly loaded the trailer accountable for a semi-truck collision.
Securing appropriate compensation following a wreck caused by a commercial truck can be a challenging process. Those involved in crashes with commercial vehicles often need help handling insurance matters or preparing to take the issue to civil court. Identifying the underlying cause of the crash is an important first step for those pursuing compensation either way.