There is an extraordinary amount of commercial truck traffic here in Indiana and Illinois. The volume of semi-truck (big rig, 18-wheeler, tractor-trailer) freight traffic on Indiana’s roads is so great that the Indiana Department of Transportation reports 724,000,000 tons of freight moves along Hoosier routes each year, with Indiana ranking as the 5th busiest state in the country for commercial freight traffic.
Meanwhile, in neighboring Illinois, more truckers reside in the Chicago metroplex than any other city other than the New York City and Houston metro areas. As for commercial trucking in the Windy City, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) explains that “[b]y almost any measure, metropolitan Chicago is the nation’s premier freight hub…. Trucks account for about one in seven vehicles on the urban interstate highways in Illinois, and some facilities in metropolitan Chicago carry over 30,000 trucks each day.”
The high volume of commercial freight trucks on our local roadways brings with it a corresponding high risk of serious injury or death in a semi-truck crash. The risk of a fatal big-rig or tractor trailer accident here in the Crossroads of America is unacceptably high.
Occupants of Passenger Vehicles Face Greater Risk of Death in Semi Crash
The risk of dying in a large truck crash is a consideration for all commercial truck drivers, as well as occupants of their rigs. However, statistics show that most large truck crash fatalities involve victims who were riding in the passenger vehicles involved in the accident.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, these fatalities are the result of the disparity between smaller vehicles (4-wheelers) and the bigger commercial trucks, particularly those heavy with cargo and moving at highway speeds. These semis can weigh as much as 30 times that of the 4-wheelers on the roads with them.
The big rigs are also substantially bigger than cars, SUVs, pickups, and minivans: they are taller and have a higher ground clearance. This increases the risk of underride accidents. For more, read: Fatal Truck Crashes: Will Congress Pass the Stop Underrides Act?
How Do Blind Spots Contribute to the Danger of a Fatal Semi-Truck Crash?
Of particular importance when considering the risk of a serious or deadly semi accident in Indiana or Illinois is the reality that these big trucks are driven by truckers who must operate their rigs with known “blind spots” on all four sides of their vehicle.
What is a blind spot? It is an area of the roadway where the truck driver cannot see the road, or nearby vehicles, either from looking out the windshield or windows or by checking rearview or side mirrors. The design of these large commercial trucks prevents the trucker from seeing a significant amount of the area surrounding the moving rig.
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association (“FMCSA”), commercial motor vehicles on our roads have “large blind spots” on all four sides of the truck. On a large commercial motor vehicle, there are four recognized blind spots:
- in the front of the truck;
- under the truck driver’s window;
- on the right side of the truck cab, extending down the side of the rig to the end of the cargo trailer; and
- in the rear, behind the trailer.
These blind spots mean even the most prudent and experienced truck driver will have gaps in his or her line of vision where even large motorcoach RVS, other big rigs, or passenger buses will be hidden. This poses a great hazard for the trucker who is driving on our interstates, as well as when the rig is being parked, backing up, or changing lanes.
Large vehicles need longer following distance to see vehicles behind them. If you can’t see the driver in his or her side mirror, the driver can’t see you.
Semi-Truck Blind Spot Accidents
Most blind spot accidents occur when the semi-truck or tractor-trailer is merging from one roadway lane into another, often in preparation for entering or exiting a highway ramp. Other blind spot collisions can happen when lanes are obstructed by road hazards, or when large trucks are entering into or exiting a construction work zone.
The four blind spots on these large commercial trucks are particularly dangerous when merging is required.
Statistics show that these blind spot merging crashes often involve a semi-truck colliding with a passenger vehicle (4-wheeler) positioned in front and to the right of the rig, not that far from the rig’s front bumper (around one car length ahead of the truck). This places that passenger vehicle in one of the truck’s blind spots, which exists in an area eleven feet (11’) behind the front bumper to twelve feet six inches (12’ 6”) in front of the bumper.
In the event of a blind spot collision between the truck and the passenger vehicle, the result can be a sideswipe accident or a complete rollover of the smaller motor vehicle, given the weight and speed involved in the incident.
For more on rollovers and other types of semi-truck accidents, read:
- What’s Causing These Deadly Rollover Accidents in Indiana and Illinois? Is It Roof Crush?
- Different Types of Fatal Semi-Truck Accidents and Tractor-Trailer Crashes.
Justice for Victims of Fatal Blind Spot Truck Crashes in Indiana and Illinois
After a severe or deadly truck accident where investigation suggests that the trucker’s blind spot contributed to the incident, investigation must be undertaken to determine the cause of the crash.
Truck Drivers
Truck drivers are instructed and trained in the risks they face driving with these four blind spots, and know to minimize the risk of a blind spot accident by doing things like making sure their mirrors are clean and adjusted to maximize visibility, as well as checking to make sure the driver’s seat is in the proper position before hitting the gas.
While driving, the trucker knows or should know to monitor the roadway to keep track of all the vehicles in front of the rig, as well as those approaching it from behind. Of course, turn signal blinkers should always be used before merging into another lane of traffic. After changing lanes, the trucker should take some time before changing back in front of another vehicle if the rig is passing a slower car, van, SUV, or fellow semi.
Motorists
Motorists driving alongside these large trucks should also drive appropriately, particularly on our high-speed interstates. Drivers should understand the trucker’s limitations in vision and stay clear of the blind spots as much as possible. For instance, impatient drivers tailgating a tractor-trailer truck are endangering themselves, their passengers, as well as the occupants of the rig and others on the road.
Both the laws of Indiana and Illinois provide relief to those hurt or killed in blind spot semi-truck accidents, with personal injury, negligence, workers’ compensation, and wrongful death laws providing avenues for justice to the accident victims and their loved ones.
While some may assume the truck driver to be liable in every instance, there may be situations where other parties share liability with that trucker (e.g., the trucking company) or the driver of the passenger car (SUV, pickup) may be found to have caused the crash. In some incidents, third parties may have legal responsibility for the accident, as for example designers and manufacturers in roof crush fatalities.
Blind spot semi-truck cases must be thoroughly analyzed with the possible need for accident reconstruction experts before the cause of the crash can be legally ascertained.
For more on fatal semi-truck crashes and accident liability, read:
- Trucking Companies Liable for Semi-Truck Crashes in Indiana and Illinois
- Danger of Fatal Semi-Truck Crashes in Indiana and Illinois and the 2021 Infrastructure Bill
- Nuclear Verdicts in Fatal Semi-Truck Crashes
- Pending Trucking Legislation Before 2021 Indiana Statehouse and the Danger of Fatal Truck Crashes with Faster, Heavier Rigs on our Roads.
In our Crossroads of America, the risk of a fatal semi-truck crash is very high for those driving the roads of Indiana and Illinois. Awareness and respect for blind spots can help prevent a tragedy. Please be careful out there.
