Big Rig Accidents

America’s trucking industry is extremely important to our economy. Trucks were first made popular during World War I, when the U.S. military used them extensively. As sky rises sprang up and as paved roads were laid down, trucks played an essential role to the building of our country. Trucks were used to transport materials from point A to point B with ease. By the late 1950’s and 1960’s, the trucking industry was in high gear due to the construction of the Interstate Highway System, and the network of freeways connecting major cities across the nation. If you were injured in a big rig accident, contact a Houston personal injury attorney without delay!

Today, nearly 80% of the communities across the U.S. rely on the trucking industry to deliver fuel, food, clothing, medicine and all other consumer products. There are approximately 3.5 million truck drivers employed in the U.S., who are responsible for driving 15.5 million trucks on the U.S. roadways. Of this figure, 2 million of them are big rigs.

Trucking Accident Statistics

Car accidents are one of the leading causes of death to Americans. In the United States, approximately 5,000 people are killed each year in a truck accident. Of those accident fatalities, nearly 98% of the people killed are the drivers and passengers of the other vehicle, not the trucker. Of all fifty states, the states of California, Texas, and Florida have the highest rate of fatal truck accidents involving a big rig.

Althoughtruck accidents are far rarer than passenger vehicle accidents, they can and do occur, claiming the lives of innocent people every day. Trucks contribute to a large chunk of the American economy and are here to stay. As long as small passenger vehicles are sharing the road with the road monsters, people will continue to be involved in collisions with big rigs. Truckers are normal people, just like anybody else. They are just as likely to make a human error as any other driver on the road. Unfortunately, when a trucker makes an error, it spells disaster for those people sharing the road around them. If you or someone you love has been injured or killed in a big rig accident, contact a Fort Worth big rig accident lawyer fromKirklin & Soh, LLPtoday!

Contact a Houston bigrig accident attorney from our firm for a free initial consultation.