Tips for Avoiding Accidents When Possible

Though no one ever wants to be involved in an accident, if you have, you may want to consider enlisting the help of a truck accident lawyer Cheverly MD motorists recommend highly. The attorneys at Cohen and Cohen, P.C. have built a solid reputation for helping clients get the justice they deserve.

As experienced truck accident lawyers, Cohen and Cohen has several suggestions when it comes to avoiding accidents when possible. If you have been the unfortunate victim of an accident and need a truck accident lawyer Cheverly MD residents go to, call us at Cohen and Cohen today. We can arrange a free consultation for you with one of our attorneys.

How to Reduce Your Risk of Colliding with a Truck: Five Things You May Not Know

There are no guarantees that you won’t get in an accident with a large truck, but by taking these precautions, you might lessen your chances:

1. On multiple lane highways, large trucks will often stay in the far right lane to avoid the possibility of cars passing on all sides of them because they often have limited visibility.

• When merging into traffic, if you have to negotiate the merge lane with a truck, give them the right of way because they have less stopping power or slowing ability than a car.
• Go on the assumption that as you’re merging into traffic the truck driver can’t see you because, in fact, they may not be able to. Almost any truck accident lawyer Cheverly MD commuters talk to may attest to several cases resulting from a collision caused by a trucker’s blind spot.
• Plan ahead if you need to exit the freeway or highway and a truck is in a lane you need to cross or get into before exiting.

2.  Trucks need more time to slow down or stop compared to a car.

• If you are in front of a truck and see brake lights up ahead, knowing you may have to slow down, either turn on your hazard lights briefly, or tap your brake (provided you are a safe distance in front of the truck so that slowing down, even briefly, is not hazardous). This may draw their attention to the slowing traffic ahead.
• When trucks are loaded with cargo and they stop or slow suddenly, if the cargo isn’t properly secured or loaded, it can shift dramatically which may cause the driver to lose control of the truck. While investigating the cause of an accident, a good truck accident lawyer Cheverly MD respects will try to determine if a load shift contributed to the cause of the accident. If so, the trucking company as well as the person or company responsible for loading the cargo may share liability.

3. Because of the weight they’re carrying, some truckers will increase their speed before ascending a steep hill and then slow while climbing the hill as their speed naturally reduces. By anticipating these actions, you have a better chance at maintaining a safe distance from them.

 

4. Truckers have a larger blind spot than smaller vehicles. Many trucks have bumper stickers warning of this, but it applies to most trucks regardless. If you can’t see the driver, he or she probably can’t see your vehicle. When consulting with a Cheverly MD truck accident lawyer after an accident, the lawyer will likely ask if you were in the truck’s blind spot at any time before the collision.

 

5. The three second rule may not be enough. This refers to the adage that drivers should leave a three second gap between their front bumper and the rear bumper of the driving in front of them. Roughly speaking, this suggests that if driving at 55 m.p.h., then you need to keep at least 242 feet behind the vehicle ahead. The average truck accident lawyer Cheverly MD commuters turn to for answers may suggest that you at least double that distance.

 
Why Collisions with Trucks Can Be Particularly Dangerous

Any accident should be avoided, and can be serious under any circumstances regardless of which kind of vehicles are involved. However, due to the much larger size and weight of a truck as compared to a car, accidents between the two can be extremely serious. A top truck accident lawyer Cheverly MD has to offer may share these two of many reasons why truck accidents can be so devastating:

1. The sheer size and weight of a truck, particularly when loaded with cargo, can easily crush a car. Many occupants of cars that slide beneath the rear of a truck do not survive. The entire top of the car can shear off and crush the remaining car body.
2. A truck, when out of control, can react in many different ways which makes it particularly challenging to predict and avoid. It can skid, roll, jackknife, or swerve in any number of directions. If the truck or its trailer or trailers separates, they can each go into different directions, effectively making it impossible to avoid all of them and the surrounding traffic or barriers.

 
When You Need a Truck Accident Lawyer Cheverly MD Community Members Trust

Ideally, you will never be involved in a collision with a truck. Even close calls should be avoided when possible. By maintaining high awareness of who is around you at all times, and by driving defensively, you can decrease your risk of getting into an accident.

If, however, you are the unfortunate victim of an accident and have suffered a personal injury as a result, one of our attorneys at Cohen and Cohen may gladly represent you. In the last twenty years we have recovered more than $50 million on behalf of our 10,000 personal injury clients. We have served them in more than 5,000 personal injury cases. Call us at Cohen and Cohen, P.C. when you’re in need of a truck accident lawyer Cheverly MD citizens are proud to call their own.