Beware of trucks in construction zones. Any road work crew poses a major hazard.
We’re so used to seeing road work being done all over America, we tend to just shrug our shoulders and grumble about yet another delay in getting from point A to point B. Construction is considered to be royal nuisance, best avoided wherever possible. Very few people think of construction zones as being dangerous, after all, drivers are to slow down when passing workers.
Many drivers do not slow down. Many more ignore the lower speed limits for a construction zone and push on through to get to the other side as fast as they can. Everything is at the side of the road, and the workers are in ditches, and the equipment is on the shoulder – no worries. Think again. Construction zones are a threat to workers on site and truckers.
Taking a look at statistics produced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration tell a revealing story. Construction zones are hot spots for a high number of fatal and catastrophic injury accidents. Every year people are seriously maimed or killed in road construction areas. Just because the traffic may be slower in the work zone, does not reduce the severity of an accident between a big rig and a passenger vehicle.
Consider the case that involved a line of cars, all stopped at the lip of a work zone, waiting for the flagger to wave them through when a tractor had cleared the road. Suddenly, a big rig trucker, who had not been paying attention to the warning signs, slammed into the last car in the line of seven, shoving it forward, like an accordion. Only one person survived that wreck.
Or the case where a fully loaded gravel hauler was leaving a roadside work site, to dump his load in the nearby gravel pit. He thought the road was clear and did not stop to look before entering the highway. He broadsided a small vehicle, sending it into oncoming traffic, where it collided head-on with another car. No one survived that accident, but the trucker. He had not paid attention to the safety rules in place for those working the construction site – stop, look, listen – and but for his negligence, three people would still be alive today.
If you have been involved in an accident with a large truck, do not wait to call an experienced Atlanta injury lawyer. Their job is to pursue reimbursement for you for future and current medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages, and so forth. If the accident resulted in a death, a wrongful death suit may be filed to recover compensation.
Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.