The California Central Valley crisscrosses miles of road used for trucking trade and transport routes, agriculture trucks and daily commuters. With such diversity of vehicles traveling the same long miles of expressways, sooner or later you might experience being part of an override accident. Over one third of truck drivers confess to having been in at least one major truck accident in their work history. Fresno lies deep in the heart of the busiest roads in the valley, so experiences its share of override accidents.
What is an Override Accident?
Simply put, a larger truck has higher axles than a smaller vehicle, such as a car or pickup truck. An override is what it sounds like: a larger truck goes faster than the car in front of it, so that the front of the truck drives over and above the back of a car. This is an extremely dangerous situation that can trigger a devastating accident that often spins out of control, connecting with additional vehicles or roadside property. The smaller vehicles are clearly in more danger than the trucks, where these injury victims suffer life-altering injuries or fatalities in these accidents.
Many might be surprised at how common this type of accident is. A 2013 National Highway Traffic Safety Commission research report indicates that in frontal impacts occurring between truck vs lighter vehicles, truck override occurred in 72% of cases. This increased to 87.3% for trucks with axle-height front bumpers. Even trucks with lower bumpers showed almost 60% of front end accidents with lighter vehicles included truck override.
Causes of Override Truck Accidents
Almost all override accidents involve a truck following too closely to a smaller vehicle. The additional compounding factors that contribute to a resulting override accident include:
- Poor visibility – fog, rain, snow
- Failure of truck to yield right of way or changing lanes without checking
- Truck speeding –difficulty stopping quickly enough
- Lighter vehicle in front stopping too suddenly
- Truck brake failure
- Tire blowout for either vehicle
Negligence might be associated with an override accident. A claim might be filed based on errors made by the truck driver, mechanical issues due to poor maintenance or manufacturing defects, or poor hiring decisions or policies concerning the trucking company. The light vehicle driver could be implicated as well if it’s proven that they stopped too quickly in front of the truck.
When you’ve survived being a victim of an override truck accident, you might have significant injuries, a totaled vehicle and damages associated with loss of work and income, huge medical bills, a drastic change in life, and perhaps even permanent disability. These changes will affect your family and your choices for the rest of your life. The Maison Law Firm will provide an experienced personal injury attorney to fight in your corner for all that you are entitled to. Hiring us could be the beginning of restoration to your impaired life. Call us today.
