Delivery trucks are often seen zooming through Montana’s neighborhoods and speeding along our open highways. While the drivers of these trucks are trying to ensure that our packages are delivered in a timely fashion, the sad reality is that far too often, they skate safety measures in order to do so. This puts you and other motorists at risk of being seriously harmed in a truck accident.
But how are these delivery truck accidents caused?
Good question. Although these truckers should hold a special driver’s license and receive adequate training on how to drive a delivery truck, the fact of the matter is that far too often, these drivers operate their vehicles in an unsafe fashion. Here’s how:
- Speeding: This seems obvious, but speeding has long been a problem on Montana’s roadways. Couple that with the size of these vehicles and any resulting accident can cause an immense amount of devastation.
- Distraction: While many drivers on the road are distracted in some fashion, delivery truck drivers are oftentimes even more distracted. They’re looking at navigation devices and searching for addresses when their eyes should be on the road. This means that a significant distance may pass when the delivery truck driver isn’t even looking at where they are going.
- Sudden turns: Because the drivers are looking for addresses that are sometimes difficult to spot, they may make sudden movements, including turning sharply. Often, these turns are made without signaling and without checking for nearby motorists and pedestrians. As a result, these trucks sometimes turn right into other vehicles, including oncoming traffic, as well as pedestrians and bicyclists.
- Abrupt stops: Delivery trucks cause a significant amount of rear-end collisions, too. The drivers of these vehicles may slam on the brakes to stop at an address, or they might abruptly and drastically slow down for seemingly no reason. This erratic behavior can result in a tragic accident.
- Insecure cargo: A lot of times, the drivers of these trucks leave the side or back door of their vehicle open as they drive down the road. This may be because their next stop isn’t very far away and they’re trying to save themselves some time, but this can cause packages to fall out, which then forces motorists to take evasive action. This can cause vehicles to collide with one another, resulting in serious damage and harm.
- Erratic reversals: Delivery trucks, just like other large trucks, have to be reversed with care. But delivery truck drivers sometimes quickly back up to move on to their next address. Without properly checking their surroundings, drivers who swiftly reverse may end up striking a pedestrian, a bicyclist, or another driver.
- Improper training: Delivery companies should hire and train safe drivers. Sometimes, though, they hire individuals who have a bad driving record, or they simply fail to properly train their drivers. This can lead to unsafe driving practices that put others at risk.
Fight for accountability and compensation
Delivery truck accidents can cause a lot of damage, and victims of these accidents are often left with serious injuries that impact nearly every aspect of their life. This sort of outcome is unfair, which is why those who have been hurt in one of these wrecks should be proactive in seeking accountability and recovering the compensation that they need to offset their damages. This may include suing a delivery truck company.
Those who would like assistance in developing a persuasive personal injury claim might then want to discuss the specifics of their case with an attorney who they think will adequately fight on their behalf.