Richardson Bad Road Conditions Truck Accident Lawyer
Bad road conditions cause thousands of truck accidents every year. In addition to injuries and deaths, bad road conditions cost taxpayers billions of dollars. An Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine study found that bad road condition crashes were responsible for $217.5 billion in losses in 2006 alone.
Bad road conditions include infrastructure damage like potholes. Weather also contributes to bad road conditions. Ice, snow, and flooding are responsible for many truck accidents in Texas. In some cases, bad road conditions could include manmade hazards such as loose gravel.
Did bad road conditions contribute to your truck accident? If so, you could be eligible for compensation. A settlement can help pay your medical bills, cover lost wages, or replace a damaged vehicle. If bad road conditions caused a crash involving a truck, you may be able to sue the city or county as well as the other driver.
Call (214) 740-4556 today for a free consultation with one of our Richardson, TX accident lawyers. Our legal team has experience with cases just like yours. When bad road conditions cause a truck accident, you could be feeling overwhelmed. Let us help.
The Worst Road Conditions for Truck Drivers
Certain road conditions are more likely to cause a truck crash. Unfortunately, you can’t always predict or prevent these hazards. It’s estimated that bad road conditions cause over 42,000 accident deaths per year.
In general, unsafe road conditions fall into three categories:
- Poor Infrastructure
- Natural Causes
- Objects on the Road
Often, all three categories overlap. This can result in multi-vehicle accidents with millions of dollars in damages, as well as severe injuries or deaths.
Poor Infrastructure
Cities like Richardson, TX require a lot of maintenance and service. Unfortunately, many cities neglect their infrastructure due to budget shortages, bureaucracy, or other issues.
Sometimes, poor infrastructure doesn’t have a direct effect on truck drivers. In other situations, it can be deadly. Here are some examples of poor infrastructure that lead to truck accidents:
Potholes
Potholes form due to the expansion of groundwater. Water expands when it freezes. When it enters the ground below a street and freezes, it expands outward and pushes against the pavement. Then, when the ice melts, it leaves small gaps or cracks.
Over time, the constant cycle of freezing and melting creates a weak spot in the road. As heavy cars and trucks drive over the weak spot, they erode the blacktop. Eventually, this creates a pothole.
When potholes become wide and deep, they can cause truck accidents. A truck’s wheel may lodge in the pothole, sending it spinning into other cars or even flipping it over.
Potholes also cause truck accidents indirectly, when drivers swerve to avoid them. If you don’t signal and check your blindspots before driving around a pothole, you may crash into another vehicle.
Faded Road Paint
Road paint is used to mark lanes, crosswalks, speed limits, and other important safety information. Over time, these markings start to fade. If the city doesn’t repaint them, accidents occur.
When road paint becomes less visible, truck drivers miss vital information. They may not know when to stop or yield. Pedestrians and cyclists are vulnerable if the paint marking a crosswalk or bike lane becomes too faded. Faded road paint is also difficult to see in bad weather.
Damaged or Missing Traffic Signs
Similarly, truck accidents happen when traffic signs are damaged or missing. Signs tell vital traffic details, such as speed limits, when to yield, and when to stop. Without these signs, a driver may break the law without realizing it — and cause a dangerous truck crash.
Traffic signs occasionally go missing during construction. They may be temporarily removed and never replaced. Signs also be stolen, damaged, blocked by overgrown trees, or covered in graffiti. If you ever notice a traffic sign you can’t read easily, call your city’s public works to report it.
If this causes you to get into an accident involving a truck, make sure you document this. Take a photo or video showing the damaged sign, or the empty pole where a sign should be. This could help you win a settlement against the city.
Wheel Ruts
Wheel ruts are grooves that create an uneven surface in a street’s asphalt. They are formed by ice, exposure to the elements, and years of heavy damage from large vehicles.
Wheel ruts are shallow and long. Like potholes, they cause truck accidents because they affect the road’s surface. Drivers often have problems braking due to wheel ruts and may lose control of their truck.
Natural Causes
Natural causes are also responsible for creating bad road conditions for drivers. Extreme weather contributes to many truck accidents. When a road is covered in snow or ice, cars and trucks have difficulty braking.
Rain is also a dangerous problem for truck drivers. On a flooded road, a truck may “hydroplane.” This occurs when too much water gets under the tires and the driver loses control of the vehicle. When a truck hydroplanes, it often collides with other vehicles.
Objects on the Road
Finally, objects on the road create a hazard for everyone. From small items like loose gravel to objects like fallen trees, the accident risk increases whenever there’s something in the road that truck drivers aren’t expecting.
Truck accidents happen when cars stop suddenly or swerve to avoid a road hazard. Objects on the road could also cause a truck driver to lose control of their vehicle. When other bad road conditions are present, the crash rate increases.
Did Bad Road Conditions Cause Your Truck Accident?
If bad road conditions contributed to your truck accident, you could be eligible for a settlement. Seek legal assistance today. Your compensation can help you get your life back on track after a truck accident.
It’s also recommended to consult a lawyer to help determine accident liability. When there are bad road conditions, the other party may try to blame you. With our Richardson lawyers on your side, we’ll help prove your case.
Call (214) 740-4556 for an appointment. Consultations are always 100% free. If we don’t help you win compensation for your truck accident, you won’t pay for our services.
