Tractor trailers and large commercial trucks travel through Kansas City all the time, and they are all over the roads across our nation. At any given moment, tens of thousands of these trucks are driving on the same roads as smaller vehicles carrying families, loved ones, friends, and innocent people. When these trucks are involved in an accident, it is likely that serious injuries will occur due to their large, powerful nature, and the accident victims could require major medical care.
But this is the typical way we tend to think about truck accidents. We picture a truck colliding with other cars, and we think it was due to negligence or recklessness. However, those aren’t the only two factors to consider. Sometimes the cargo of a truck can directly or indirectly cause an accident. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has guidelines around cargo securement, overloading, and other cargo-related rules that commercial vehicles in the trucking industry are supposed to follow strictly.
Many factors cause a trucker to lose control, and a truck accident ensues.
Common Causes of Truck Cargo Accidents
The cargo of a large truck can cause problems for the truck driver, and it is the responsibility of the truck driver to have their cargo properly secured.
Cargo transport conditions can be:
Off balance
If the cargo is improperly loaded, it can make the vehicle unstable and susceptible to tipping over on turns. During high speeds, if the truck driver swerves, it can cause the cargo to shift from the off-balance loading, and the truck’s cargo can cause the truck to jackknife, which is a common trucking accident due to off-balance loaded cargo and cargo shift.
Overloading
If the cargo is too heavy or there’s an improper amount of cargo, the truck may have difficulty stopping on time or adjusting to rapid changes in traffic. This, too, can cause the truck to jackknife from a sudden deceleration that cannot be controlled with the truck’s brakes due to the overloading of the cargo. Whether it is or is not secure cargo doesn’t change the overloading of weight.
Hazardous types of cargo
If the cargo is hazardous, it can cause serious problems if it spills onto the road. If the cargo isn’t properly secured, then it can jostle and have cargo shift during the trip and potentially fall into or onto other vehicles as the driver swerves to avoid passenger vehicles or other motor vehicles on the road.
Unsecured Cargo
If the cargo is not properly secured, whether with tie-downs, locking nuts, chains, or other methods, it can cause a truck accident. Flatbed commercial vehicles can often have this problem because their cargo-related accidents involve falling cargo because their truck bed is open to the air, which can cause huge property damage.
This unsecured cargo can also become a projectile in the event of a truck crash involving a flatbed truck. Cargo securement is vital for safety and is part of the FMCSA rules and guidelines.
Cargo can play a pivotal role in terms of liability for an accident. From rollovers and jackknifes to not having the ability to stop and having falling cargo, there are many ways for truck accidents to happen as a result of improper or unsecured cargo.
If you have been injured in a truck accident, it behooves you to consult with a Kansas City truck accident attorney to investigate the entire incident thoroughly.
Kansas City Truck Cargo Accident Attorney
Our Kansas City law firm can offer a free consultation today to review your truck accident case. Our experienced truck accident attorneys can offer legal advice on your truck accident case.
Call our personal injury attorneys today to schedule your free case evaluation and have someone to help fight the trucking companies for you. A professional truck accident lawyer can make a huge difference in getting the maximum compensation you deserve.
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