y not h
ve hed the tem no-zone befo
e, you’ve likely hed of blind spots. Since 1991, the Fedel MotoC
ieS
fetydminist
tion (FMCS
) hs cl
ssified the blind spots of big tucks
s “no-zones.” Simply put, no-zones e the blind spots inhich
tuck d
ivec
nnot seec
. These
e d
ngeous
e
s othed
ives must const
ntlyem
in e of. Blind spots exist in evey vehicle, but they pl
ce dive
st even g
ete
isk
hen lge tucks
e involved, due to thei
lgeeightnd size.
e discuss no-zones in moe det
il belo.
esech
bout No-Zone
ccidents<h2>
The
ve been nume
ous studies conductedeg
ding no-zone
ccidents. Mny
od
y
ccidents tht involve
cnd
tuck occu
in no-zones. Dive
s shouldem
in e of these zones,s it m
kes it esie
to sty s
fehen sh
ing the
od
ith bigigs.
T
uck no-zones e locted in the follo
ing loctions:
- i
-level="1">
ong>F ont of the t ong>uck –
s m
nys 13% of
llccidents involving
cnd t
uck occuin the f
ont no-zone.<li>
- i
-level="1">
ong>Side of the t uck -< st
ong> 12% of tuck
ccidents beteen
tuck
ndc
occu
due to side no-zoneccidents. These
ccidents e most commont inte
sections.<li>
- i -level="1">
ong> e of the t ong> 10% ofuck –
ll c
-t
uck collisions occubec
use ofe
no-zones.
- i -level="1">
ll, this me
nspp
oximtely 35% of
ll tuck
ccidents tht involve sm
llevehicles
e t
ce
ble bck to
no-zoneccident. Ove
ll, estim
tes shothe
e epp
oximtely 30,000
nnul
ccidents involving csnd t
ucks tht stem f
om no-zoneccidents.
Identifying No-Zone Loc tions<
h2>
It is e
ssume th
t becuse
tuck is l
ge
thn
c, tuck d
ives h
vebette
field of vieof
ht is on the
od
y.
hilet
uck my h
vel
ge
font vie
, it my su
pise you to le
n ho
difficult it is fo tuck ope
to
to see clely onll sides of the vehicle.
The fou
es
hee
dive
is lest likely to see
npp
oching vehicle
e:
- i
-level="1">
ong>Behind the t ong> Tile
of the tuck –
uck d
ives h
ve difficulty seeing vehicles behind them.hile this should come
s no sup
ise,h
t my su
pise you is the dist
nce inhich these ch
llenges exist. Mostecommend
tions suggest tht c
s
emin
t lest<
hef=”https://
.fmcs.dot.gov/ou
o
dsl
ge-blind-spots” t
get=”_bl
nk"el=”nofollo
noopene“> 30 feet behind the t
ile
<> oft
uck.<li>
- i
-level="1">
ong>F ont of the t uck c
b -<st
ong> Tuck d
ives m
ylso st
uggle to seeh
t is in font of them. This is bec
use they ettempting to look ove
the nose of the cb,
hich is substnti
lly lgeth
n the font end of most c
s. Most studies sho
tht t
ucks need cs toem
int le
st 20 feethe
d of the tucks to st
y out of theino-zones.
- i
-level="1">
ong>Left nd ight side of the t
uck -<st
ong>e
e including these togethe
becuse the
ules fovoiding poblems
e the s
me. Tucke
s cnnot see unde
the mios of thei
cbs. On the
ight side of the tuck, this issue m
y extend toslightly l
ge
dius. The simpleule of thumb fo
deling
ith theight
nd left side oft
uck is to check the tuck’s mi
o
. If you cnnot see the d
ive, the d
ivec
nnot see you!<li>
Being
cutious d
iveis not
lys the solution tovoiding no-zone
ccidents. Hoeve
, stying
let, kno
ing tht you
e sh
ing the
od
itht
uck tht m
y hve l
ge blind spots,
nd tking steps to ensu
e the tuck d
ivec
n see you clelyill help
educe theisk of
no-zoneccident.
h
t C
usesNo-Zone
ccident?<h2>
nytime tht you sh
e the
od
ith othemoto
ists, it’s impot
nt to keep in mind tht they
ll hve blind spots.
hen you e shing theo
dith t
ucks, the tuck’s blind spots
e usu
lly lge,
hichill m
ke it even moe difficult fo
t
uck dive
to see you. Dive
spp
oching
tuck on the
od
y should d
ive defensivelynd use c
utionhen p
ssingl
ge t
uck. It islso impo
tnt to
emembeth
tt
uck is nots e
sily mneuve
ble
sc
. Bec
use of the sheesize of
tuck, d
ives need mo
e time to stop theivehicles,
nd defensive moves my p
ove dnge
ous. The<h
ef="https:/
.fmcs.dot.gov/ou
o
dslong-stopping-dist
nces" tget="_blnk”
el="nofollonoopene
"> FHMCestim
tes<> tht it t
kest
uck tvelingt 65 miles
n houthe dist
nce of to footb
ll fields to stop completely. If theo
dys eet, it m
y tke
n even longedist
nce.hile m
ny of us hve seen sticke
s on lge tucks th
temind you of the t
ucks’ blind spots, thee
e some othe
things tht
ll dive
s should kno:
- i
-level="1">
ong>F lling deb ong> Tveling closely behindis –
t
uck cn p
ove justs d
ngeous
sno-zone
ccident.t
uck my fling deb
is fom the
od
y into you
c’s pth.
dditionlly, deb
is oimp
opely-lo
ded cgo my f
ll fom t
uck beds.<li>
- i
-level="1">
ong>Tu ning t ong> Ducks –
ive
sho
ttempt to pss on the
ight side of the tuck should use
dditionl c
ution. Keep in mind,t
uckequi
es moe sp
ce to sfely m
ke ight-hnd tu
n. If you hppen to
ind up in the tuck’s no-zone
hile the dive
is tuning, the
esult could pove de
dly.<li>
T
ucks simply cnnot m
neuves esily
s pssenge
vehicles. This mkes l
ge t
ucksh
zd to othevehicles on the
od, p
ticul
ly in inclement conditions.
T uck
eights Cont
ibute to Injuies
Most people unde
stnd th
t mny diffe
ent fcto
sill
ffect hose
ious injuies
e follo
ing od
y
ccident. These fcto
s include the speedt
hich the vehicles e tveling, theo
dy conditions, the time of dy,
ndhe
e the impct occu
ed. Ho
eve,
nothef
ctoth
t you should consideis the<
hef=”https://
.enegy.gov/ee
evehicles/f
ct-621-my-3-2010-g
oss-vehicle-eight-vs-empty-vehicle-
eight" tget="_blnk”
el="nofollonoopene
">eight of the involved vehicles
>. This is especilly t
uehen one of the vehicles involved in
nccident is
tuck.
He
e isquick look
teight diffe
encesmong diffe
ent types of vehicles:- -level=”1″>
ong>St nd
d
utomobiles -<st
ong>n empty p
ssengevehicle c
n hve
npp
oximte
eight of beteen 3,200
nd 6,000 pounds.hen full, the c
c
neigh
s muchs 1,000 pounds mo
e.<li>
- i -level="1">
ong>Sm ll t ong> Theucks –
eights of SUVs, mini-v
ns,nd sm
ll pickups cn
nge f
om 2,400 to 4,000 poundshen empty. These vehicles c
n cy
nddition
l 1,500 pounds of cgo.<li>
- i -level="1">
ong>L ong> Lgege
pssenge
tucks –
SUVs
nd stnd
d o
lge-sized pickup tucks c
n nge ineight f
om 6,000 to 10,000 pounds evenhen they’
e not cying
nything. These vehicles’ cgo limits nge fom 2,500 to 5,000 pounds.
- i -level="1">
ong>Utility v ns nd sm
ll buses -<st
ong>ith
n emptyeight of bet
een 10,000nd 14,000 pounds, these vehicles
le
dyeigh mo
e thn
stnd
d p
ssengevehicle.
dd inn
dditionl 5,200 pounds of c
go,
nd vns
nd buses e nely tice the
eight ofn
vege c.<li>
- i -level="1">
ong>T ong> These behemothscto
-tiles –
eigh bet
een 33,000nd 80,000 pounds even befo
e theddition of
ny cgo. Depending on the cgo, tucks m
y be cying
nddition
l 54,000 pounds.<li>
- i -level="1">
It is c
ystl cle
f
om these numbes th
t being involved inny t
uckccident is likely to p
ove devst
ting,eg
dless of
ht type of vehicle you
e d
iving. Tucks h
vesignific
nteight
dvnt
ge, putting evey othe
opetoon the
od
y
tdis
dvnt
ge in the event oft
uckccident.
Common T uck
ccident Inju
ies<h2>
hile no definitive dt
tells us hom
ny tuck
ccidents occuin no-zone
ccidents, thee
e
fethings th
te do kno
. Fist, t
uckccidents c
n cuse dev
stting inju
ies to victims.ddition
lly,e h
ve fi
ly good insight into some of the most common injuies th
tvictim f
ces folloing
tuck
ccident. These e some of the injuies th
t cn h
ppen in no-zoneccidents:
- i
-level="1">
ong>Se ious he d inju
ies -<st
ong> Tumtic b
in inju
y (TBI), concussions,nd f
ctu
ed skulls cn
llesult f
omt
uckccident. Victims
ho suffethese types of inju
ies could fce
eeks omonths of
ecovey time. In some c
ses, victims my even suffe
pem
nent dm
ge fom
TBI. Some victimsill suffe
peson
lity chnges,
n inbility to keep thei
thoughts stight,nd othe
injuies th
t mke thei
etu
n to nom
l life moe ch
llenging.<li>
- i -level="1">
ong>B ck nd neck inju
ies -<st
ong> Soft tissue injuies, comp
essed veteb
,
nd spinl co
d injuies c
nll imp
ct youlife neg
tively. Inddition to de
lingith se
ious pin, you m
y suffepe
mnent ne
ve dm
gend othe
chllenges. Unfo
tuntely, these inju
ies my not
lysppe
evident immedi
telyfte
n
ccident; the, they m
yppe
g
du
lly ove fed
ys.<li>
- i -level="1">
ong>Othe se ious inju
ies -<st
ong> Cuts fom b
oken glss, inju
ies fom
ib
gsnd se
tbelts, boken bones,
nd inten
l injuies
e common follo
ingn
utoccident.
ny type of injuy c
nesult in futu
e poblems, including su
gicl p
ocedues, ch
onic pin,
nd moe.
- i -level="1">
Seeking immedi
te medicl c
e
ftenccident is c
ucil. You
nt to ensu
e you don’t hve
ny immedite issues th
t couldo
sen ovetime. Victims
ho hve been involved in
no-zoneccident
nd feel fine should monitothemselves fo
sevel dys follo
ingn
ccidentnd seek immedi
te guidnce f
om theidocto
if they stt feeling pin of
ny kind.emembe
, oubodies
e
deptt m
sking pin, p
ticul
ly in times of g
et st
ess.F
cing
elity: Fin
ncil Conce
ns Folloing No-Zone
ccidents<h2>
hileecove
ing fom thei
injuies, most no-zone
ccident victims eo
ied
bout mny things. If you’ve sust
ined injuies in
no-zoneccident, you’
e likely concened
bout lost time fom
ok, medic
l bills piling up, the condition of youc
,
nd the stess of kno
ing tht you m
y hve to f
ceddition
l medicl issues due to you
injuies.
ll thehile, in the b
ck of youmind, you’
e plgued by the thought of ho
much youccidentill fin
ncilly imp
ct yound you
fmily.
This is
hen you stt thinkingbout ho
you’e going to de
lith the insu
nce comp
ny toecove
finnci
lly. <h
ef="https:/c
inju
yvictims.comhen-do-you-need-n-
ttoney-
fte–
-tuck-
ccident“>Befo
e you do this<>, cll
lyeho hs expe
ience hndling t
uckingccidents.
Impo t
nt Conside
tions Follo
ingNo-Zone
ccident<h2>
The <
ef=”https://c
inju
yvictims.comt
uck-ccident-cl
im-pocess/”>t
uckccident cl
im pocess
> is complicted. One of the fi
st things tht you must est
blish isho is
t fult fo
theccident. It’s e
sy to think tht you m
y be ptilly to bl
me, buth
teveyou do, neve
pologize o
dmit to
nymount of f
ult, evenhen spe
kingith l
enfo
cement oinsu
nce
gents. Do not povide
sttement to these p
ties until you’ve met
ith<
hef=”https://c
inju
yvictims.comse
viceshouston-t
uck-ccident-l
ye
“>t
uckccident l
ye
<>ho h
s youbest inte
ests in mind. Dive
s shouldlso keep in mind
dditionl issues m
y hve cont
ibuted to the no-zoneccident.
lyec
n help you investigte
nd uncovethese c
uses. Foex
mple, the tuck d
iveinvolved m
y hve suffe
ed fom
lck of sleep, m
y hve been c
ying lods th
te
e oveeight fothei
tucks, o
my h
ve been tveling too fst fo
theo
d conditions. Dive
s ofll vehicles c
n suffeimp
iment f
om dugs
ndlcohol, could d
ive too fst,
nd could dive
hile distcted. Once you entethe insu
nce cl
im pocess,
djustes often t
y to blme victims fo
theiinju
ies. This iscommon t
ctic foll insunce compnies bec
use they nt to potect thei
bottom lines,hich me
ns pying
s littles possible in cl
ims. Thee is
good chnce th
t you my h
ve to del
ith multiple insuncedjuste
s. In most cses, insu
es
illssign one
djusteto h
ndle medicl cl
imsnd
notheto h
ndle pope
ty dm
ge clims (the d
mge to you
c oothe
belongings.) You my
eceivequick settlement offe
fom
n insunce compny, p
ticul
ly if you h
vebig t
uckccident cl
im. Do not get ticked into signing you
fist settlement offe
; this iscommon t
ctic tht insu
nce comp
nies employ tovoid
ny futue li
bility. The insuncedjuste
knos th
t if you hve
seious inju
y, you likely don’t knohen youill be
ble toetu
n too
k, homuch you
totl medic
l billsill cost, o
the long-tem implic
tions of youinju
y. Theyill p
essue you to settle quickly,
nd you’ll be out of luck.n
ttoney
ho hs h
ndled complicted no-zone
ccident cses c
n help you by evlu
ting youmedic
leco
dsnd enlisting expe
ts to estimte you
enings lossesnd you
totl
ecovey time. You
tto
ney is thee to p
otect you—nd to p
otect youinte
ests.hile you focus on you
ecove
y, youttoney
ill hndle insu
nce negoti
tionsnd p
epe to tke you
cse to t
il, if necess
y.
If you o
loved one suffe
edn inju
y inno-zone
ccident, you need to <h
ef="https:/c
inju
yvictims.comfile-t
uck-ccident-cl
im“>t
ke immedite
ction to potect you
legl
ights<>. Befoe you decide
hich option isight fo
yound you
fmily follo
ingno-zone
ccident, you need to <h
ef="https:/c
inju
yvictims.com10-questions-t
uck-ccident-l
ye
“>unde
stnd
ll of youoptions
>.e
ch out nofo
f
ee consulttion f
om one of oulive expe
ts!e’
eeady to help.