If you pass any truck accidents on a stretch of highway, or more likely, find you are stuck in a queue of blocked traffic because of yet another truck accident, you probably don’t even think about what the truck was carrying. Some of the worst potential accidents are caused by trucks carrying hazardous materials. The danger of one of these truck accidents rolling over or bursting into flames could happen and affect other road users. The product being carried could potentially cause far more damage to buildings and to people near the scene of the accident.
Hazardous truck accident examples in Mississippi
A typical hazardous truck accident happened the other day on US 49 in Simpson County MS near the town of Legion Lake. The truck veered off the highway and overturned. The driver was apparently not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the truck as it overturned and was killed on the spot. The truck was carrying propane, a potentially flammable product. In this case, the only fatality was the driver and the only nuisance factor was a blockage of the highway for an hour before the crash was investigated and the truck removed.
Another recent hazardous material truck accident happened near the Mississippi town of D’Iberville on Highway 10. In this accident, the truck apparently collided with another vehicle. Both the two drivers were killed.
Driver error is the most likely cause of all truck accidents
It has not yet been determined what the cause of these two accidents was. In the majority of truck accidents, it has been found that the driver is usually at fault. Truck companies, even those that deal with hazardous materials, put tremendous pressure on their truck drivers to get their loads delivered on time. Drivers may not be prepared to admit that they are too tired to drive. Some drivers may not be able to cope long-term with the effects of their job. Typical causes of truck accidents are driver exhaustion; distracted driving; speeding; failure to keep to a lane; aggressive driving and intoxication or use of controlled drugs or medications that have an effect on driving ability.
These driver errors are not restricted to drivers of trucks carrying hazardous materials of course, but there should be absolutely no excuse for a driver to drive under any of the circumstances described above. Too many lives depend on hazardous materials whether they are gasoline products, chemical liquids or gases, radioactive products, and any other clearly dangerous substances, for them to remain securely inside the containers they are carried in on the back of the truck.
It has been estimated that there are nearly a million truck movements a day involving hazardous materials. The U.S. Department of Transportation, which holds data for different types of traffic accidents, has revealed that 200 of the annual fatality figures for all truck accidents (5,000) are due to truck accidents where the trucks are carrying hazardous material.
Contact a truck accidents attorney
If you or a family member have been injured by a truck carrying hazardous material, whether you were in another vehicle, a bystander, or simply happened to be nearby, you should contact a truck accident attorney at the Diaz Law Firm in Jackson, Mississippi to discuss your chances of a personal injury lawsuit if it can be positively determined who or what was to blame. Contact the Diaz Law Firm online or call us at 601-607-3456.