Whether you are a road worker or you occasionally drive through work zones, it is essential to understand the traffic accident risks you face in these areas. Sometimes, large trucks become involved in work zone accidents, which can lead to especially devastating outcomes. Truck crashes that occur in work zones can leave road workers, pedestrians, bicyclists and those riding in other vehicles seriously hurt or even dead.
It is crucial to go over various risk factors that are present in work zones and review data on these accidents in order to understand the prevalence of large truck accidents in these locations.
Large trucks and work zone accidents
In a work zone, a large truck accident could occur for various reasons. Sometimes, truck drivers do not pay attention to the road and they fail to slow down or bring their truck to a stop. Truckers under the influence, distracted by an electronic device or drowsy due to excessive time behind the wheel are especially likely to cause an accident.
Due to the sheer size of large trucks, they pose an especially dangerous risk, whether a large truck hits a road worker or slams into another vehicle.
Data on large trucks and work zone crashes
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration states that in 2019, 14% of injury accidents in work zones involved large trucks. When it comes to fatal work zone accidents over the course of 2019, 33% involved large trucks. Clearly, large trucks play a role in many devastating work zone accidents, and negligent truck drivers who cause these crashes need to answer for their actions.