Tractor-Trailer Accidents

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General Info - Tractor Trailer Accidents

Tractor-trailer accidents are responsible for thousands of deaths and injuries around the U.S. each year, and the Las Vegas law firm Benson, Bertoldo, Baker, & Carter represents individuals who have been hurt or left without a loved one due to a tractor-trailer accident.

Large, Heavy Trucks
A tractor-trailer, also known as a “semi,” is a large two-part truck. The tractor is the truck’s cab where the driver sits, and the trailer is hitched to the tractor to be filled with freight. Many tractor-trailer combinations are upwards of 25,000 pounds, and they can easily reach 80,000 pounds when filled with cargo. These trucks carry freight of nearly every imaginable material, including:

• Livestock
• Cars
• Logs
• Hazardous materials (flammable, toxic, explosive, or radioactive)
• Prefabricated buildings

Although tractor-trailers are an integral part of the American economy, transporting millions of tons of consumer goods and supplies, their presence on the roads and freeways populated by smaller vehicles has resulted in many serious injuries and fatalities. Because of their great length and weight, tractor-trailers are difficult to maneuver and stop.

Tractor-Trailers Are Dangerous Vehicles
The dangers of tractor-trailers on the streets and highways around Las Vegas include:

• Blind spots: Tractor-trailers have large blind spots at their back, sides, and even front, where cars cannot always be seen by the tractor-trailer’s driver.

• Greater stopping distance: Tractor-trailers and other large trucks need a longer length of road and a greater amount of time to stop compared to other vehicles. If, for instance, a car/SUV/light truck moving on the freeway in front of a tractor-trailer has to stop suddenly, the trailer-tractor behind it may not have enough time and road space to stop without hitting the vehicle from behind.

• Wide turns: Tractor-trailer accidents sometimes occur because trucks of this length must swing wide to make a turn. If a car drives between the tractor-trailer and the curb, it may get squeezed or hit.

• Going off-track: When a tractor-trailer is moving at high speed and moves into another lane, the trailer may swing in an uncontrolled manner, perhaps hitting other vehicles.

These factors, combined with other problems such as tired, distracted, or drugged tractor-trailer drivers, overloaded trucks, inadequately maintained trucks, and drivers under pressure to deliver their cargos quickly to their destination have resulted in thousands of tractor-trailer fatalities and permanent injuries.

Tractor-Trailer Attorneys at Benson, Bertoldo, Baker, & Carter
If you’ve been injured in a tractor-trailer accident in the Las Vegas area, contact our truck accident attorneys today to discuss your case and explore your legal options.

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