A large truck can have a specific feature, in addition to its enormous size. The truck’s feature defines its name. It could be a big rig, a tractor trailer or an 18-wheeler. One of those specific types of large trucks becomes involved in 1/8 of the on-road accidents.

Typical causes for accidents involving big trucks:

• Human error
• Mechanical failure
• Intoxication
• Trucking company fails to maintain inspection standards.
• Parts used to secure cargo do not get inspected; a trucking company is responsible for damages caused by a lost load collision.

Questions asked during an investigation of a large truck accident.

• Did the driver have a commercial driver’s license (CDL)?
• Did the driver meet the requirements for a CDL?
• Was the driver at the wheel of a vehicle that matched with the vehicle used during the test taken by that same driver?
• Did the driver inspect the truck before taking it out on the road?
• Did the driver inspect the parts used to secure the truck’s cargo? Did the trucking company allow the driver sufficient time for securing the load properly?

The role of the dash cam, when a given accident gets investigated:

That video footage can be used to support or refute the story offered by one of the 2 parties. An incident that happened in western Canada helped to draw attention to the benefits offered by the presence of a dash cam.

That incident involved a large truck. It was traveling down a large highway, when one of the vehicles on the opposite side of that same highway lost its tire. That tire rolled onto the lanes on the other side of the highway. The tire’s sudden appearance came as a surprise to the driver in that one large truck. The driver could not avoid the rolling tire. Consequently, the tire’s appearance led to creation of an accident.

Luckily for the driver in the truck that got hit by the tire, that particular vehicle contained a dash cam. The video footage in that dash cam showed the source of the rolling tire. Personal Injury Lawyer in Saint John knows that owing to the existence of that video footage, the driver of the big truck did not get blamed for the tire-caused accident.

In the absence of that footage, either the driver or the trucking company might be held responsible for the accident-caused damages or injuries. On the other hand, the possession of that footage could support the driver’s claim. At the same time, that footage could get used to show that the trucking company had played no part in creation of a big truck accident. In fact, it had trained the driver and had prevented a load collision by ensuring the driver’s possession of cargo-securing equipment.