One of the risks of sharing the road with commercial semi-trucks is that their stopping distances are longer than you would expect. In many cases, it takes them roughly twice as far to come to a stop as it would for a passenger vehicle.
For instance, some researchers studied how long it took a vehicle to stop when traveling at 65 mph. Under optimal conditions, it would still take a semi-truck 525 feet. This is starkly different from the 316 feet required for a passenger vehicle.
Plus, conditions are often far from optimal. Perhaps a driver delays their reaction because they’re talking to a passenger. Maybe the roads are slick, so the truck slides as it tries to stop. Maybe the brakes simply haven’t been maintained, so they work, but they’re not in perfect condition.
The risk of a rear-end accident
What this means is that anytime you’re driving in front of a semi-truck, there’s a serious risk that you could be involved in a rear-end accident. If the truck driver behind you doesn’t brake perfectly, even if the rest of the traffic behind you is able to stop in time, that semi-truck could hit the rear end of your vehicle.
You will sometimes see this happen if there’s an unexpected stoppage in traffic. Maybe there’s a traffic jam, or perhaps there’s a road construction zone where traffic slows down. Numerous passenger vehicles might stop in time, but they could all be involved in a rear-end accident as a semi-truck approaches the backup too quickly to stop safely.
If you have suffered serious injuries in a truck accident or lost a loved one, you need to know how to seek financial compensation for medical bills, funeral costs and much more.