Truck Crashes onto Median Causing Lengthy Delays on Interstate 77 in Huntersville, North Carolina

HUNTERSVILLE, NC- Wsoctv.com writes that a severe collision took place on Interstate 77 earlier this week. The crash occurred in the late afternoon in Huntersville. A large truck ended up on a median where it became stuck.*

Police did not say what caused the collision. 

Deadly large trucks crashes are on the rise around the United States. Semi-trucks outweigh smaller vehicles by about twenty times or more. The result of these trucks being so massive is that they are not easy to maneuver and are extremely dangerous when it comes to collisions between these vehicles and passenger vehicles. Trucks take far longer to stop than other vehicles as well, which means that when a car slams on its brakes in front of a truck, the truck driver will not be capable of stopping as quickly and will be at risk of striking the back of the smaller vehicle. Swerving out of the way is also a dangerous proposition as a truck can jackknife if the driver swerves, or it can even roll over. 

The risks are increased even more by the fact that drivers often travel in their trucks for long and extended periods of time. A shift can last up to eleven hours, which means a high potential for driver fatigue. Many truck drivers admit that they sometimes push themselves past the eleven hours they are legally allowed to spend behind the wheel. It is unlikely that a driver who is sitting for that long will be able to avoid any kind of driver fatigue or distractions. 

While it is unclear why truck accidents are increasing, at least part of the problem could be solved by better crash prevention technology on vehicles. Crash prevention technology has helped to reduce the number of fatal car accidents involving passenger vehicles, and many of the systems will be used in trucks now too. It is too early to say whether these systems will be successful in reducing crashes.

Accident News is a safety and education initiative from Montlick & Associates, designed to help people better understand and thereby avoid common accident causes.  To learn more about our injury prevention programs, including iridesafe.com - click here. We hope you are never in an accident, but if you or family member are injured, call Montlick & Associates 24/7 for your free consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333) or use our live chat at Montlick.com.

Sources:https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/tractor-trailer-stuck-on-top-of-median-shuts-down-i-77-in-huntersville/1017392810/ and https://trucksafety.org/tag/collision-avoidance/ and https://www.iihs.org/topics/large-trucks and https://www.trucks.com/2018/10/04/large-truck-fatalities-29-year-high/