Any car accident can be incredibly violent, leading to devastating injuries or fatalities. Now, consider the size of a semi-truck. A loaded tractor-trailer can weigh up to 80,000 pounds, powered by engines with more than 400 horsepower. That’s a lot of weight and inertia for something traveling in excess of 70mph on the highway. Because of this, trucks need a lot of stopping distance, even in the best of circumstances. Depending on speed and road conditions, it can take a truck the length of almost two football fields to come to a complete stop. If there’s a brake failure or the driver falls asleep behind the wheel, the result can be catastrophic.