Last week, Fayetteville residents were reminded of how dangerous trucking accidents can be after an 18-wheeler and a passenger car collided at the intersection of Ramsey Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The tractor-trailer was transporting diesel fuel and spilled about 150 gallons of the fuel onto the road when the crash happened.
Truck accidents that also involve smaller vehicles can result in catastrophic injuries due to the size difference of the vehicles involved. A crash between a truck and a smaller vehicle could also result in a chemical spill like the one that occurred last week in Fayetteville. This type of accident is especially dangerous and could increase the risk of injury or death.
These are just a few reasons why it is so important that truck drivers and the companies they work for adhere to traffic laws, safety rules and regulations. When any violation contributes to a serious truck accident, even if the cause of an initial crash wasn’t entirely the truck driver’s fault, trucking firms must be held fully or partially accountable for the damages.
Last week’s accident resulted in a lot of damage, but it was not clear whether anyone was seriously injured. According to reports, the truck and vehicle collided on Oct. 24 shortly before 12:30 a.m. A spokesman for the Fayetteville police reported that the driver of the passenger car had ran a red light and hit the 18-wheeler. The collision caused the truck to leak diesel fuel onto the road.
Although the driver of the passenger vehicle may have been responsible for causing the initial collision, the trucking firm that owns the 18-wheeler might have been partially responsible for the amount of damage that occurred after the crash. Commercial vehicles must meet specific safety requirements, especially when carrying hazardous materials, in order to avoid accidents and to minimize damages from an accident. For example, if the truck was in poor condition before the crash occurred, the truck driver and his employer might have been operating the vehicle illegally.
Safety violations are common factors in trucking accidents. It is important that accident victims make sure collisions are investigated thoroughly in order to expose any violations and to hold trucking firms accountable for their roles in collisions.
Source: Fayetteville Observer, “Diesel fuel spilled after Wednesday morning wreck on Ramsey Street,” Nancy McCleary, Oct. 25, 2012