Who is Responsible For a Florida Wide Turn Truck Accident?
Wide-turn truck accidents are most frequently caused by driver negligence. There are, however, certain situations where a third party might share the liability.
Keep reading to learn more about how wide-turn truck accidents occur, and who might be considered responsible for your injuries and other accident-related losses.
What is a Wide-Turn Truck Accident?
Tanker trucks, tractor-trailers, single-unit trucks, buses, and recreational vehicles all need a more extensive turning radius, particularly if the vehicle is attempting to make a righthand turn. If the truck operator does not execute the turn safely, another car, truck, motorcycle, or possibly even a pedestrian could be struck by the oversized truck.
On narrower roadways, these turns are especially hard for larger trucks such as tractor-trailers to perform safely. Additionally, in order to make a righthand turn, it is usually necessary for a tractor-trailer to first veer into the lefthand lane in order to create an ample turning radius. Under these circumstances, a truck operator has to exercise extreme caution to ensure that she or he does not crash into another vehicle. Also, the operator must be aware of any pedestrians, bicyclists, or other vehicles that may be in the vicinity on the roadway or the sidewalk to their right.
Who May Be Negligent For a Wide-Turn Truck Collision?
The truck operator is most often the person found to be responsible for a wide-turn accident, particularly if she or he did not exercise all sensible precautions before attempting to make a wide-turn. Truck operator negligence and well-known errors that may cause Tampa wide-turn truck accident include but are not limited to:
- Swinging too far out into the lefthand lane and colliding head-first with oncoming cars
- Not properly checking for cars and pedestrians before turning
- Turning from the incorrect lane
- Not properly adjusting side and rearview mirrors to minimize the truck’s blind spots
- Failing to wait for an ample break in the flow of traffic before making a turn
- Neglecting to use the appropriate turn indicator to signal your intentions to other drivers
- Making your turn too quickly, resulting in the truck to rolling over and crashing into another car
- Driving while under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol
Can a Trucking Company Share Liability for a Wide-Turn Accident?
While driver error is usually the cause of a wide-turn collision, there are extenuating circumstances that could result in sharing the fault with other drivers, or even the trucking company itself.
The trucking company could share responsibility for a Florida wide-turn accident because of:
- Failure to refuse a driver who has prior or current driving violations
- Inadequate driver training
- Failure to correctly supervise or manage drivers
- Irresponsible hiring methods
- Neglecting to drug test their drivers as required by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
After sustaining an injury during a wide-turn truck accident in Tampa, you will likely require legal representation. Our seasoned Florida personal injury attorneys are on hand to examine your Tampa car accident claim in a free, no-obligation legal consultation that will help determine whether or not you are entitled to file a claim of personal injury against the at-fault driver or their parent company.
Our Florida truck accident attorneys know exactly what to look for when we investigate the cause of your truck accident.
We firmly suggest that you contact the skilled Tampa personal injury attorneys at Fulgencio Law by calling (813) 463-0123 after your accident so we can start investigating your accident crash right away in order to safeguard as much evidence as possible.
