Following a truck accident, you must consider these differences:
Big trucks often cause more severe injuries in accidents. Big trucks weigh significantly more than smaller passenger vehicles. They take longer to slow and longer to stop. They also need more space to maneuver before completing turns to avoid collisions. As a result, truck accidents often cause much more severe injuries than passenger vehicle accidents. Smaller passenger vehicles have little protection against the sheer mass of a big truck.
Truck drivers spend many hours on the road each day. Truck drivers can drive up to eleven hours out of each shift. That means a lot of hours spent on the road and, therefore, a lot of opportunities for accidents. While truck drivers receive some special training before they can drive a commercial-weight vehicle, they may end up out on the road before they have the experience needed to avoid accidents and navigate the challenges they face. Long hours on the road can also lead to increased driver fatigue and a higher risk of accidents.
Truck drivers often carry higher-value insurance policies. Truck drivers must carry insurance policies that provide higher-value coverage than the average passenger vehicle driver. Those policies can substantially increase the overall value of a truck accident claim. Your damages, however, will still depend on your injuries and the financial losses you faced due to your accident.