Most people in Georgia have had the experience of feeling dwarfed when a semi-truck pulls up alongside their passenger vehicle. These moments provide clear reminders of just how massive these big rigs really are.
The sheer size of tractor-trailers may contribute to an increased risk for anyone involved in an accident with them. Their heavy weight may also pose unique risks. Despite clear safety regulations for commercial truckers, accidents can and do occur.
Georgia’s large truck fatalities
According to records from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, fatalities from large truck accidents continue to be a problem in Georgia. In 2014, truck accident deaths accounted for 13.3% of all vehicular fatalities statewide. Fortunately, that declined slightly to 12.7% the following year only to increase the subsequent two years.
In 2016, truck accident fatalities represented 13% of the state’s deaths and then jumped to nearly 15% in 2017. A welcome decline occurred to 12.4% in 2018, yet that year still saw 187 people lose their lives in large truck crashes in Georgia.
In Cobb County alone, 28 people died in large truck accidents in the five years spanning 2014 to 2018.
Recent headlines highlight the ongoing dangers
Carscoops.com reported on a recent crash in which a semi-truck driver apparently drove through into an intersection and crashed into another vehicle, toppling over onto it. The occupant in the passenger vehicle remain trapped until emergency workers could free them.
After the truck’s cab hit the first vehicle, the truck’s trailer hit yet another vehicle. Few details about the cause of the driver’s entrance into the intersection were released.
