Attorney
A truck driver suffered serious injuries when his tractor-trailer rolled over while he was traveling on Virginia’s Interstate 95. Around noon, his two-trailer-truck ran off the side of the road. He attempted to maneuver back onto the road, but overcorrected and ended up flipping the truck over. State police charged him with reckless driving for the accident, which backed up traffic for five miles.
The driver’s injuries were serious, but not life-threatening and the accident did not cause injuries to anyone else. Passers-by were also fortunate in this case in that the truck’s contents were not dangerous. In some situations, flipped trucks spill their hazardous contents onto the surrounding roads and area. That same day, there were two other tractor-trailer crashes in the area. Police cleared the initial accident by 3:30 p.m. Another truck crashed just before 4 p.m., and then, at around 5:30 p.m., a third tractor-trailer was involved in an accident.
The nature of tractor-trailers combined with negligent driving and lax regulation often make for dangerous situations for people sharing the roadways with these vehicles. Given their size, 18-wheelers and semi-trucks take considerably longer than smaller, lighter passenger vehicles to stop or maneuver in order to avoid accidents. Additionally, truck companies may pressure drivers into logging more miles, making more deliveries and staying behind the wheel for longer than the law permits. Victims of truck accidents may wish to consult a Virginia truck accident attorney for information on obtaining compensation for medical bills.
To learn more about the role that negligent driving plays in accidents, contact Julie H. Heiden, a Northern Virginia car wreck attorney, at Koonz, McKenney, Johnson & DePaolis L.L.P.