New Jersey Legal Blog

Being involved in a semitruck crash is a traumatic experience for the people in the passenger car that was struck. The immediate priority is getting the medical care for the injuries they face. Once this is done, they might turn to building a case to seek compensation for the financial damages they are dealing with now. One factor that matters in these cases is the cause of the wreck. While it is possible for this to be a single cause, there is also a chance that there will be more than one reason for the accident.

You might automatically think about the actions of the trucker when you are trying to determine what happened. Sometimes, fatigue, distractions and other factors might mean that the trucker didn't operate the rig in a safe manner. This type of negligence is unacceptable, but the rig operator might not be the only liable party.

The winter season is one that is filled with snowy weather. While this is beautiful, it can also lead to considerable dangers for people who are walking about. When there is snow on the sidewalks and in parking lots, people are going to track that moisture in on their shoes. This can be very dangerous if businesses don't take proper steps to control the water on the floors.

The entryways are a particular concern since this is the first point of contact for people coming in from outside. There should be controls in place to minimize the wetness and to warn customers to watch their step. Industrial blowers, entryway mats and "wet floor" signs can all help to control the situation. Without these, customers might fall and suffer injuries.

The ramifications of a truck accident can be catastrophic. Trucks weigh far more than passenger cars and drivers face unique driving challenges -- wide turns, blinds spots and long braking distances, just to name a few -- that can make things complicated.

To better understand the situation, take a look at a few key statistics about crashes:

• The statistics from 2016 show that a total of 3,986 people passed away in semi-truck accidents.
• Most of those people (66 percent) were in other vehicles.
• Another 16 percent of the fatalities involved motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians.
• Another 17 percent of fatalities involved drivers and passengers in the trucks themselves.
• When stopping, a truck needs about 20 to 40 percent more distance than a standard passenger car.
• The above is largely due to weight, which can be 20 to 30 times higher than sedans and other passenger vehicles.
• Between 2009 and 2016, the number of fatalities in these wrecks jumped by 27 percent.

The holiday season is full of events that people of all ages can enjoy. Some of these are geared toward adults and involve consumption of alcoholic beverages. It is imperative that all drivers who drink alcohol get a sober ride home. Impaired drivers run the risk of causing accidents that can kill or injure innocent people.

Interestingly, New Jersey has a lower number of traffic accident fatalities caused by drunk drivers than the national average. While there are 3.3 deaths per 100,000 population in the nation as a whole, that rate here drops to only 1.8. Still, this is too high since these are all deaths that could be prevented if the drunk driver had just stayed off the road.