Construction season on the highway and roads of Indiana increases the risks of truck accidents. This is a dangerous time because drivers risk being hit by truckers not practicing safe driving practices. Speed limit changes, narrower roads, congested traffic, lane changes, and workers entering the road construction zones are factors that increase the risks of truck accidents in construction zones.
According to research, trucks play a significant role in causing wrecks in road construction zones. Rear-end, angle, and head-on collisions are Indiana’s most prevalent construction zone truck accidents. Common causes why truckers cause these accidents include:
Speeding
Speeding truckers are one of the reasons why collisions at highway construction zones are prevalent. In a rush to meet delivery deadlines, commercial truck drivers tend to overlook the importance of slowing down in construction zones, leading to accidents.
A crash with a speeding truck can result in severe injuries like internal organ damage, spinal cord injuries, head concussions, or even death. Craig, Kelley, and Faultless LLC: semi-truck work zone crashes lawyers advise filing a personal injury claim immediately to seek compensation for the injuries and other damages.
Not anticipating the unexpected.
In a highway or road construction zone, lane changes, speed limit reductions, and workers entering the construction zone can happen anytime. However, some truck drivers are too tired to notice or are inattentive, leading to fatal crashes.
Driving too close to the construction equipment
Barrels and barriers are common in road construction zones, and they can make the road narrower than usual. Since trucks are oversized, a truck driver must concentrate too closely to stay on track to avoid crashing into the construction equipment or other road users. Otherwise, disaster can happen faster when they hit the construction equipment and bump into other motorists.
Tailgating
Another common cause of truck accidents in construction zones is tailgating. Many truckers do not maintain a safe distance behind the front car, tailgating. Since truckers take longer to stop, if the front vehicle hits an emergency brake, the trucker can easily collide with them, resulting in a deadly accident.
Not paying attention to road work flaggers.
During road constructions, road work flaggers redirect the traffic to ensure the safety of the motorists as they drive through the construction site. But some truckers do not obey them, and others are inattentive, risking injuring them and other motorists.
Not merging in advance.
Another mistake truck drivers make in construction zones is barging in at the end of a lane merge resulting in bottlenecks and crashes. Therefore truckers need to merge early enough with a lane closure to avoid causing a crash.
Inadequate pre-trip
Truckers must check the travel route beforehand to ensure enough time to complete the trip and deliver goods within the allocated time. Otherwise, they are likely to get behind schedule, hence unsafe driving practices in construction zones, leading to an accident.
Wrapping up
In construction zones, truck crashes can be devastating if not deadly, so you should drive carefully while in such zones. If involved in a truck accident in a construction zone, you should seek legal guidance from an experienced attorney.
