The average commercial truck cab is the biggest and tallest vehicle on most roads, with the driver situated much higher above the road surface than anyone driving a sedan or SUV. Due to their driving position, truck drivers have larger blind spots, meaning there are much bigger areas of the road that the driver cannot see without help from side mirrors or collision detection systems.
A truck driver who fails to check their blind spots carefully before turning, merging, or changing lanes may wind up colliding with and causing serious injuries to people inside those blind spots. If you are dealing with injuries stemming from a blind-spot truck accident in Pensacola, you should strongly consider reaching out to a semi-truck crash lawyer from Emmanuel Sheppard & Condon for help demanding financial restitution.
Where Are the “Blind Spots” on a Tractor-Trailer?
Every motor vehicle has blind spots just beyond the front bumper, right behind the back bumper, and in broadly diagonal shapes along both the left and right sides of the car. Because commercial trucks are much larger than commuter cars, the blind spots are larger as well, often with the following approximate dimensions:
- From the cab’s front bumper to about 20 feet in front of it
- From the trailer’s rear bumper to about 30 feet behind it
- From below the driver’s side door to about two-thirds of the way down the trailer’s left side, and stretching out from the truck up to one full traffic lane
- From below the passenger’s side door to about 10 feet past the end of the trailer’s right side, and stretching out from the truck up to two full traffic lanes
These blind spots are big enough to hide entire vehicles from a truck driver’s view, making it crucial for truckers traveling through Pensacola to regularly check their blind spots to prevent collisions.
Establishing Civil Fault for a Blind-Spot Truck Crash
Failing to check blind spots while driving qualifies as a violation of the duty of care all drivers have—especially commercial truck drivers—to act lawfully and responsibly behind the wheel at all times. If you can prove a truck driver crashed into your vehicle specifically because they did not check their blind spots, you should be able to establish that the truck driver was negligent based on their breach of duty.
You too can be found partially at fault for a blind-spot truck wreck in Pensacola if you were acting negligently prior to the accident—for instance, if you stayed inside what you knew to be a trucker’s blind spot for an unreasonably long time. As a qualified legal professional can explain in more detail, any amount of comparative fault assigned to you may result in a court reducing the total amount of compensation you could receive for your accident-related losses.
Talk to a Pensacola Attorney About a Blind-Spot Truck Accident Lawsuit
Unlike many other types of truck wrecks, there may not be a specific traffic law violation you can reference to hold a truck driver liable for causing a blind-spot crash. While this certainly does not mean filing suit successfully over blind spot truck accidents in Pensacola is impossible, the process can be more complicated in practice than many expect.
Fortunately, you have help available from our team of professionals here at Emmanuel Sheppard & Condon. Call today to learn more.
