Underride truck accidents rank among the deadliest crashes on Missouri roads and highways. These violent collisions happen when a smaller car strikes and slides partially or completely underneath the rear or side of a commercial semi-truck or trailer. Drivers and passengers in smaller vehicles often suffer catastrophic or even fatal injuries in these crashes. Pursuing damage claims can be exceptionally tough, which is why working with a St. Louis truck accident lawyer can help victims and families understand their legal options.
Why Underride Accidents Are So Dangerous
By nature, underride collisions expose vehicle occupants to maximum force in the worst places and compromise many design protections found in most cars.
- Severe Impact: When a car goes underneath a truck, it crashes right into a solid metal edge; it’s like hitting a wall, and it’s disastrous at almost any speed.
- The Roof Gets Crushed: Because the bottom of the trailer sits higher than a car’s hood, the entire roof can get crushed or even pulled off, damaging the car’s entire structure.
- Deadly Head and Neck Injuries: Things like seat belts and airbags can’t do much against the force and direction of an underride crash; many people suffer catastrophic injuries to the head, neck, or upper body that are often fatal.
Without important safety features, like strong guards on the back and sides of large trucks, people in smaller cars are left exposed to some of the most dangerous types of crashes on the highway.
Common Causes of Truck Underride Accidents
Unfortunately, underride accidents often come down to everyday oversights and preventable mistakes. It’s usually not one big error, but a collection of issues that add up to disaster for car drivers. Here are some of the common causes:
Lack of Safety Guards
Many trucks don’t have sturdy guards on their backs or sides, or they may have ones that are damaged, which end up being essentially pointless. These guards are supposed to prevent cars from sliding underneath, but when they’re missing or worn, cars can slide through.
Unexpected Truck Stops and Bad Parking
A truck that stops suddenly, or one parked awkwardly on the side of a highway without adequate lighting or warnings, gives drivers almost no extra time to react. A car can run underneath before the driver even knows what’s happening.
Poor Visibility
Dim or broken truck lights, old or missing reflective tape, and faded signs on tractor-trailers are a big problem, especially at night or in heavy weather. Other drivers just might not see the back or side of a trailer until it’s too late.
Dangerous Truck Maneuvers
When truckers change lanes abruptly, turn without signaling, or make wide sweeps across multiple lanes, they can put cars in just the right spot for an underride collision, with little to no warning.
Cars Following Too Closely
Tailgating, impatient driving, or speeding don’t leave much room for error. This can easily lead a car to slide underneath the truck if something unexpected happens and the truck is forced to stop abruptly.
These accidents show how small lapses in truck safety or driver decisions can lead to heartbreakingly sudden and severe consequences.
Who Can Be Held Responsible for an Underride Accident?
After a devastating underride accident, one of the first questions is often who can be held liable and who is responsible for paying for your damages and other losses. These crashes are often the fault of more than one party, and this could include:
- Truck Driver: The truck driver may be liable if they were speeding, failed to signal, ignored safety procedures, parked improperly, or made sudden maneuvers that contributed to the collision.
- Trucking Company: The trucking company itself can share responsibility when it fails to maintain proper safety guards, overlooks necessary equipment inspections, doesn’t provide adequate driver training, or insists on unsafe schedules that pressure drivers into bad decisions.
- Cargo Loading Company: The cargo company may be at fault if improper loading or shifting of cargo increased the risk or severity of the underride accident.
- Maintenance Company/Contractor: The maintenance contractor may be liable for neglecting equipment that requires routine service or for failing to repair lights, reflectors, brakes, or underride guards as needed.
- Truck or Parts Manufacturer: The truck manufacturer could be responsible if it sold defective equipment or designed the truck, trailer, or guards in a way that made a crash more deadly than it should have been.
- Government Entity: In rare instances, government entities might also be held accountable if unsafe road conditions, poor signage, missing guardrails, or faulty highway lighting in known hazard zones directly contributed to the accident and its severity.
A thorough legal investigation is needed to determine if one or more of these parties, or someone else, is responsible for the accident, which is why speaking with a personal injury lawyer can help victims understand their options. If you or a loved one has been the victim of an underride collision, don’t try to sort this out on your own. Contact our team for a free consultation.