Squeeze Play and Wide Turn Truck Accidents

A tractor-trailer does not perform any maneuver with the ease of a passenger vehicle. It is longer, wider, taller, and heavier than passenger vehicles and may weigh 25 times more than a car. This means that the drivers must be especially careful when operating large trucks.

Making a turn may be the biggest challenge that a truck driver faces while out on the road. These turns require careful consideration and advance planning. A right turn often is too tight to simply make it without moving over to the left to create a larger path of clearance. This entails a number of complexities. The truck driver must be certain that there are no vehicles to the left of the truck when he swings into the adjacent lane or moves into the potential path of oncoming traffic in order to make the right turn. This is complicated by the existence of blind spots along the sides of the tractor-trailer.

When a tractor-trailer needs to make a turn along narrow residential or urban streets, the movement to the left may lead to a vehicle being pushed into the curb and crushed or swiped in a side-impact collision. If the truck does manage to clear the left lane, the right turn poses many problems. A car driver may have thought that the truck was moving into the left lane if there are multiple lanes and the truck left a large opening. The decision to move up next to the truck can lead to the car being impacted in a squeeze play, where it is pushed into the curb or a stationary object and compressed. It also may be forced underneath the truck in an under-ride accident. These crashes often result in the top of the car being crushed or sheared off completely.

Even if the commercial truck has managed to complete the right turn, there still may be an accident with another vehicle if the truck driver did not judge the clearance space properly and impacts a car at the end of the turn.

Although these accidents often take place at low rates of speed, they still may result in serious injuries, including:

• Traumatic brain injury;
• Broken or fractured bones;
• Spinal cord injuries leading to paraplegia or quadriplegia;
• Lacerations and abrasions, including permanent disfigurement; and
• Crush injuries.

The training that a truck driver receives is intended to prevent these accidents by educating tractor-trailer operators about the safe ways in which to make turns in tight situations. A failure to judge how much space exists to be sure the truck does not veer into oncoming traffic, ensure that there are no cars on either side of the truck before making the turn, or to slow enough to make a safe turn may lead to liability on the part of the truck driver. The trucking company also may share in the liability if it did not train the driver properly before sending him out on the road.

After a truck accident has happened, the truck driver and trucking company will act quickly to try and persuade the victim of the crash that he was the one at fault. Although this is not an unusual tactic, it may lead to someone settling without getting the money that is needed to pay bills, get ongoing treatment, and compensate for the pain and suffering endured. The dedicated and knowledgeable truck accident attorneys at Peter Thompson & Associates will work hard to get the results that you and your family need. To schedule an initial consultation, please call us at 800.804.2004.