What About Houston Makes Truck Blind Spots Worse?

Semi-t

ucks, tcto

-t

ile

s, 18-

heele

s,

h

teve

you

nt to c

ll them—if the

e’s one thing

e c

n

g

ee on, it’s th

t these monste

s

e huge.

fully lo

ded t

uck c

n

eigh 80,000 pounds

nd extend 72 feet long!

To put th

t in pe

spective, you

ve

ge mid-size vehicle is

bout 16 feet long

nd clocks in just unde

3,000 pounds. These st

tistics

e sc

y enough. Th

o

in the f

ct th

t semi-t

ucks h

ve eno

mous blind spots,

nd it’s enough to m

ke you think t

ice befo

e you pull up next to one. Unfo

tun

tely, if you’

e

d

ive

in Tex

s, you don’t

e

lly h

ve

choice but to sh

e the

o

d

ith these lge comme

ci

l vehicles. Tex

s is home to mo

e lge t

ucks th

n

ny othe

st

te. S

dly, this

lso me

ns the st

te le

ds the y in t

uck-involved f

t

lities.

If you o

someone you love h

s been

ffected by

semi-t

uck

ccident, you h

ve ce

t

in

ights unde

the l.

e

d up on them belo

.

he

e

e

t

uck’s blind spots?

Eve

y vehicle h

s blind spots. Unless you

vehicle is tnslucent on

ll sides, the

e e spots ound you

vehicle

he

e you just c

n’t see. Th

t’s

hy so m

ny ne

cs come

ith blind-spot

ning systems. Lge t

ucks h

ve blind spots on

ll sides,

nd they’

e much bigge

th

n you

c's blind spots. The Fedel Moto

C

ie

S

fety

dminist

tion

efe

s to these

e

s

s “<

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

semi-t

uck-guide-blind-spots

“>no-zones >.” <

h

ef="https:

/

.fmcs

.dot.gov/ou

o

ds

l

ge-blind-spots” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”noopene

nofollo

“>

cco

ding to the FMCS

<>, lge t

ucks h

ve blind spots in fou

specific

e

s:

• -level=”1″>20 feet di
  ectly in f

  ont of the c

  b<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">30 feet behind the t

  uck’s t

  ile

  <

  li>

• i
  -level="1">The d

  ive

  ’s side extending f

  om the mi

  o

  pp

  oxim

  tely mid

  y do

  n the tile
• i
  -level="1">On the p

  ssenge

  side f

  om the f

  ont of the c

  b

  ll the y beyond the b

  ck of the t

  ile

  , encomp

  ssing

  full t

  o l

  nes<

  li>

B

sic

lly, this is

h

t you must

emembe

: if you c

n’t see the d

ive

in thei

side-vie

mio

s, <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

t

uck-d

ive

s-e-blind-spots

“>they c

n’t see you<>!

hy do blind spot

ccidents h

ppen?

e’ve

ll seen ou

f

i

she of b

d d

ive

s. But

hen it comes to lge t

ucks,

e expect the d

ive

s to h

ve the expe

ience

nd t

ining to kno

h

t they e doing

nd keep othe

s s

fe. This me

ns they should kno

ho

to n

vig

te

t

uck’s blind spots. Unfo

tun

tely, this isn’t

l

ys the c

se. Blind spot

ccidents h

ppen y too often

nd m

y be esult of

nothe

d

ive

’s negligence. Some of the f

cto

s th

t cont

ibute to blind spot

ccidents include:

Speeding

hen you p

ss

t

uck o

ch

nge l

nes, you m

y end up in

t

uck’s blind spot. Blind spots

e

lmost impossible to enti

ely

void. If

t

ucke

d

ives

t

no

m

l speed, they should h

ve time to see you ente

the blind spot

nd

e

ct

pp

op

i

tely.

hen

d

ive

speeds, they h

ve less time to

e

ct

nd m

y not even notice

d

ive

ente

thei

blind spot. But it gets

o

se:

vehicle tveling

t

f

ste

speed t

kes longe

to stop. This me

ns even if the t

uck d

ive

sees the vehicle ente

o

exit thei

blind spot, <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

houston-t

ucking-

ccidents-c

used-by-blind-spots

“>the t

uck m

y not stop in time >.

Poo

t

ining

Did you kno

the l doesn’t

equi

e much speci

lized t

ining to become

t

uck d

ive

?

ll you h

ve to do is p

ovide the p

ope

p

pe

o

k

nd p

ss the skills

nd kno

ledge test. It is up to individu

l employe

s to dete

mine

hethe

they

ill hi

e someone

ho h

s not gone to t

uck d

iving school.

<

h

ef=”https://

.cdc.gov

niosh/topics/t

uck

s

fety.html" tget="_bl

nk”

el="nofollo

noopene

">epo

t f

om the CDC<> found

pp

oxim

tely 38% of long h

ul t

uck d

ive

s h

d “in

dequ

te tining”

t the beginning of thei

cee

s. Th

t’s

bsu

d!

hen you d

ive up next to

l

ge t

uck, you h

ve no ide

ho

much expe

ience the d

ive

h

s o

h

t they kno

. Do they kno

hen to check thei

blind spots? Do they kno

ho

to p

ope

ly ch

nge l

nes?

D

ive

f

tigue

e c

n

ll

g

ee: Nobody m

kes good decisions

hen they’

e ti

ed.

hen you don’t get enough sleep, you

body begins to shut do

n

nd doesn’t function

s it should. F

tigue c

n c

use slo

e

e

ction time, blued vision,

nd poo

decision-m

king.

Still, d

y

fte

d

y, d

ive

s

c

oss the st

te continue to d

ive f

tigued. The <

h

ef="https:

/

.cdc.gov

sleep/

bout_sleep

d

o

sy_d

iving.html" tget="_bl

nk”

el="nofollo

noopene

">CDC estim

tes >, up to 6,000 f

t

l cshes pe

ye

e the

esult of

d

o

sy d

ive

. M

ny studies equ

te d

iving on too little sleep

ith d

iving d

unk.

The CDC

lso

epo

ts comme

ci

l d

ive

s e

mongst those

ho e

t the highest

isk. Common

e

sons fo

d

ive

f

tigue include:

• -level=”1″>Long
  o

  k hou

  s<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Ove

  night d

  iving<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">St

  enuous

  ctivity<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Poo

  sleep conditions

• i
  -level="1">Unde

  lying medic

  l issues<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Medic

  tion, d

  inking

  nd d

  iving, o

  d

  ug use<

  li>

In

dequ

te su

veill

nce

hen you d

ive

vehicle, you should

l

ys be

e of you

suoundings. It’s just pl

in common sense! Check you

mio

s, sc

n

he

d of you, look befo

e ch

nging l

nes—these

e

ll things

e le

n just f

om being on the

o

d. So it’s

stounding to he

<

h

ef=”https://

.fmcs

.dot.gov/s

fety

d

ive

-s

fety

cmv-d

iving-tips-in

dequ

te-su

veill

nce" tget="_bl

nk”

el="nofollo

noopene

">14% of

ll

ccidents<> in the Lge T

uck C

sh C

us

tion Study

e

e bec

use of the t

uck d

ive

’s in

dequ

te su

veill

nce. These numbe

s e sickening

nd illust

te pu

e negligence.

Inju

ies

fte blind spot

ccident

Moto

vehicle

ccidents

e

mong the le

ding c

uses of se

ious inju

ies

c

oss the United St

tes. In Tex

s, the <

h

ef="https:

/ftp.txdot.gov/pub/txdot-info/t

f

c

sh_st

tistics

2020/01.pdf” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”nofollo

noopene

“>most

ecent numbe

s > sho

one pe

son s inju

ed eve

y t

o

nd

h

lf minutes bec

use of

moto

vehicle

ccident.

hen

lge t

uck

nd

sm

lle

vehicle collide, the occup

nts of the p

ssenge

vehicle e most likely to sust

in inju

ies. In

blind spot

ccident, the t

uck d

ive

m

y not h

ve enough time to co

ect thei

vehicle, compounding the se

iousness of

ny inju

ies. Common inju

ies include:

Spin

l co

d inju

ies

The spin

l co

d is ou

body’s mess

ging system. Ou

bin tells us

h

t

e need to do

nd the spin

l co

d sends th

t mess

ge to the coesponding pt of the body.

hen

spin

l co

d inju

y occu

s, the mess

ge gets inte

upted. In m

ny c

ses, this c

n le

d to pe

m

nent p

lysis.

cco

ding to the <

h

ef="https:

/

.m

yoclinic.o

g

dise

ses-conditions

spin

l-co

d-inju

y

symptoms-c

uses

syc-20377890″ t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”nofollo

noopene

“>M

yo Clinic<>, spin

l co

d inju

ies c

n h

ppen due to ve

tebe, lig

ment, o

disc d

m

ge, o

d

m

ge to the co

d itself. Moto

vehicle

ccidents

ccount fo

pp

oxim

tely h

lf of

ll spin

l co

d inju

ies. Symptoms of

spin

l co

d inju

y do not

l

ys sho

up

ight

y. Th

t is

hy it’s

l

ys best to see

doctofteny se

ious

ccident. If you expe

ience symptoms of

n SCI, it is

n eme

gency

nd you must seek immedi

te medic

l

ttention. Symptoms of spin

l co

d inju

y include:

• i
  -level="1">Numbness o

  tingling

• i
  -level="1">Loss of sens

  tion

• i
  -level="1">In

  bility to

  lk

• i
  -level="1">Difficulty b

  e

  thing<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Loss of bo

  el o

  bl

  dde

  cont

  ol

• i
  -level="1">Ext

  eme neck o

  b

  ck p

  in<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Disto

  tion of the neck o

  b

  ck

T

um

tic bin inju

ies

T

um

tic bin inju

ies

e mo

e common th

n you m

y think. <

h

ef="https:

/

.cdc.gov

t

um

ticbininju

y/pubs/tbi_

epo

t_to_cong

ess.html#:~:text=E

ch%20ye

%20

n%20estim

ted%201.5,50%2C000%20people%20die.” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”nofollo

noopene

“>

cco

ding to the CDC >,

pp

oxim

tely 1.5 million people suffe

f

om

TBI eve

y ye

. Of these, 80,000 to 90,000

ill

esult in long-te

m dis

bility. Once

g

in, moto

vehicle

ccidents

e the le

ding c

use of <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

t

um

tic-bin-inju

ies-sust

ined-t

ucking-

ccident-c

ses/”>this type of inju

y.<> Eve

ybody’s b

in

esponds diffe

ently to inju

y. The

efo

e, the

e is no

y to p

edict

h

t type of life

pe

son m

y le

d

fte

TBI. Like spin

l co

d inju

ies, tch closely fo

TBI symptoms,

s they m

y

ppe ove

time.

Common symptoms of

TBI include:

• -level=”1″>He
  d

  ches

• i
  -level="1">Difficulty concentting<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Dizziness<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Ch

  nges in vision

• i
  -level="1">Mood ch

  nges

• i
  -level="1">Loss of consciousness<

  li>

B

ck

nd neck inju

ies<

h3>

emembe

, l

ge t

ucks h

ve

signific

nt blind spot in the f

ont of thei

vehicle. This me

ns they c

n e

sily

e

-end

nothe

vehicle. In its most

ecent

epo

t, the <

h

ef="https:

/

.iihs.o

g/topics/f

t

lity-st

tistics

det

il

l

ge-t

ucks" tget="_bl

nk”

el="nofollo

noopene

">Insunce Institute fo

High

y S

fety<> found, out of

ll t

uck-involved collisions, 22% involved the f

ont of the t

uck

nd the

e of the p

ssenge

vehicle.

hen it comes to l

ge t

ucks, even

seemingly mino

bump c

n c

e

te

signific

nt fo

ce on

sm

lle

vehicle. <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

neck-

nd-b

ck-inju

y-settlements

“>B

ck

nd neck inju

ies<> e ext

emely common

ith this type of collision.

hen

c p

opels fo

d, the body c

n be slo

to

e

ct. This c

n c

use st

in

nd even teing o

s

elling,

hich c

n le

d to signific

nt p

in. P

tients

ho suffe

f

om

hipl

sh m

y

equi

e extended

eh

bilit

tion.

T

e

tment options m

y include:

• -level=”1″>P
  in m

  n

  gement<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Chi

  op

  ctic c

  e

• i
  -level="1">M

  ss

  ge<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Injections<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Physic

  l the

  py

• i
  -level="1">Su

  ge

  y<

  li>

B

oken bones<

h3>
B

oken bones e p

inful. In seve

e t

uck

ccidents, the fo

ce of the collision c

n c

use the body to become pinned, c

ushed, o

hit by

nothe

object. Common b

e

k inju

ies in

t

uck

ccident include the f

ce, legs,

ibs,

ms,

nd pelvis. These inju

ies

e se

ious

nd

lys

equi

e immedi

te medic

l t

e

tment. Even

ith t

e

tment, someone

ho suffe

s

b

oken bone m

y neveeg

in full mobility o

m

y suffe

f

om ch

onic p

in.

Se

ious bu

ns

hen t

o vehicles collide, the fo

ce c

n c

use one of the vehicles to ignite.

hen

fi

e st

ts,

ny occup

nts inside of the vehicle

e

t high

isk fo

bu

ns. Bu

ns c

n h

ve se

ious

nd long-te

m consequences, including:

• i
  -level="1">Sc

  ing

• i
  -level="1">P

  in

• i
  -level="1">Infection<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Loss of mobility<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Disfigu

  ement

• i
  -level="1">Ne

  ve d

  m

  ge

Emotion

l dist

ess

hen you think

bout t

uck

ccident inju

ies, it’s e

sy to focus on the physic

l inju

ies… But the emotion

l dist

ess of

n

uto

ccident is just

s

e

l.

hen

pe

son expe

iences t

um

like

se

ious t

uck

ccident, it c

n be difficult to he

l. Victims of se

ious

ccidents m

y h

ve difficulty moving on f

om the

ccident o

suffe

f

om nightm

es.

In f

ct, <

h

ef="https:

/

.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

pmc/

ticles/PMC2396820/” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”nofollo

noopene

“>one study > suggests moto

vehicle

ccidents m

y be one of the le

ding c

uses of PTSD. If you

e expe

iencing PTSD,

nxiety, o

dep

ession

ften

ccident,

e

ch out fo

help. Common symptoms of emotion

l dist

ess include:

• -level=”1″>Mood ch
  nges<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Difficulty sleeping<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Nightmes<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Fl

  shb

  ckseliving the

  ccident

• i
  -level="1">Iit

  bility

• i
  -level="1">Guilt<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Pe

  sistent fe

• i
  -level="1">Disinte

  est in things you once enjoyed

ho

ill p

y fo

my inju

ies

fte

t

uck blind spot

ccident?

It’s

common t

ctic fo

insunce comp

nies to t

y to bl

me othe

d

ive

s fo

blind spot

ccidents. Let’s m

ke one thing cle

—t

uck d

ive

s h

ve

esponsibility to cont

ol thei

vehicles. Pe

iod.

h

t the insunce comp

ny

on’t tell you is, sometimes it’s not just the t

uck d

iveho’s

t f

ult. T

uck d

ive

s

e often employees,

hich me

ns othe

pties m

y come into pl

y.

esponsible p

ties in

t

uck

ccident m

y include:

• i
  -level="1">ong>The t
  uck d

  ive

  :<

  st

  ong> Ultim

  tely, the t

  uck d

  ive

  is

  esponsible fo

  h

  t h

  ppens

  hen they e in the t

  uck. These d

  ive

  s kno

  the blind spots exist

  nd they must do eve

  ything in thei

  po

  e

  to

  void

  n

  ccident.

  hen

  t

  uck collides

  ith

  nothe

  vehicle, it’s s

  fe to s

  y the t

  uck d

  ive

  held some level of f

  ult.<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">ong>The d
  ive

  ’s employe

  :<

  st

  ong>

  emembe

  ho

  it’s up to employe

  s to dete

  mine

  hethe

  they

  equi

  e thei

  d

  ive

  s to pticip

  te in t

  ining?

  hen

  n employe

  doesn’t ensu

  e thei

  d

  ive

  s h

  ve the expe

  ience they need to get on the

  o

  d, it’s

  p

  etty st

  ong negligence c

  se. Besides tining, t

  ucking comp

  nies must keep b

  d d

  ive

  s off the

  o

  d. This me

  ns if

  d

  ive

  h

  s

  ccidents, cit

  tions, o

  compl

  ints on his

  eco

  d, the employe

  must t

  ke

  pp

  op

  i

  te

  ction.

• i
  -level="1">ong>
  pts o

  vehicle m

  nuf

  ctu

  e

  : ong> T

  uck d

  ive

  s

  ely on thei

  vehicle’s s

  fety devices to help them n

  vig

  te blind spots.

  hen these devices f

  il,

  ccidents c

  n h

  ppen. Ho

  eve

  ,

  m

  nuf

  ctu

  e

  ill only hold

  esponsibility if

  p

  t is defective, not if the d

  ive

  f

  iled to m

  int

  in it. S

  fety equipment th

  t c

  n cont

  ibute to blind spot

  ccidents includes mi

  o

  s, lights,

  nd blind spot monito

  ing systems.<

  li>

Kno

youights

fte

blind spot

ccident<

h2>
If you h

ve been in

blind spot

ccident, you m

y h

ve

cl

im fo

fin

nci

l compens

tion. In Tex

s,

ccident victims h

ve t

o yes to

ttempt to

ecove

d

m

ges

ften

ccident. Don’t let time

un out! You shouldn’t h

ve to

oy

bout ho

to p

y fo

you

inju

ies

hen you h

ve mo

e impo

t

nt things you need to focus on.

emembe

, you

e not

lone. No

is the time to le

n on the people ound you

nd the leg

l help

v

il

ble to you. If you h

ve questions o

need help

fte t

uck

ccident, don’t it to get help. <

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.com

se

vices

houston-t

uck-

ccident-l

ye

“>T

uck

ccident l

ye

s<> e

e

dy to p

ovide f

ee consult

tions, 24/7.