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Every year there are many accidents between cars and commercial trucks. According to the Federal Highway Administration, commercial trucks cause 5000 deaths and 130,000 injuries annually in the United States. Bad visibility is one of the main causes of truck accidents.

Bad visibility can mean two different things. The first definition refers to the visibility of the truck. Many trucks are hard to see in the dark, especially along poorly lit roads and highways. Car drivers, often suffering fatigue at night, do not see the trucks until the moment before a collision. Some car drivers do not see a truck that is in an adjoining lane, and may try to move over in front of the larger vehicle.

The US federal government addressed this problem in 1999, when they enacted a law that requires all tractor-trailers to have reflectors that outline the lower edges of their trailers. They believe this will prevent car drivers from accidently driving under a truck or driving into the side of a truck. Many truck drivers also have a series of lights and reflectors all over their trailers so they are well lit and highly visible.

Another way to define bad visibility refers to the truck driver’s ability to see cars. Most car drivers are taught to stay out of the truck driver’s blind spots. These are the areas around and behind the rig where the truck driver cannot see. If a car driver drives along the side of a truck, they risk becoming invisible. The truck driver may move to that lane, believing that it is empty, and hit or run the car off the road.

Likewise it is dangerous to drive directly behind a truck. Some car drivers do this in the belief that they can get better mileage by following closely behind a large truck. Whether or not there is any validity to that claim, it is still extremely dangerous. The truck driver probably cannot see the car, and has no idea how close they are to the back of the truck. If they slow or stop, the car will slam into the back of the trailer.

This kind of driving also reduces the visibility of the car driver. If they are driving close behind a truck, they cannot see down the road. They often are only seeing a small amount on either side of the truck. They have no way of knowing if the traffic ahead is slowing down or if there is some kind of hazard in the road. This prevents them from anticipating problems and making changes to avoid accidents.

According to most laws, in the first example the truck driver is liable if their vehicle is not properly lit to increase visibility. In the second example, the car driver would be liable if they are driving too close for safety. These are just two of examples of bad visibility causing truck accidents. There are many other causes, including overloaded trucks and poorly maintained windows and lights, or misdirected mirrors. All drivers must be concerned with good visibility in order to avoid many unnecessary truck and car accidents.

This article should not be construed as legal advice.

Related Legal Source: If you are an accident victim due to a truck driver’s poor visibility or would like additional information regarding truck accidents laws please visit the attorneys at Gordon & Elias, LLP.