Georgia Truck Accident Lawyers Blog

A trucking accident in Atlanta could have taken a quick turn for the worse after a tractor-trailer was involved in a four-vehicle accident on I-285 eastbound in DeKalb County, according to Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That tractor-trailer was carrying nearly 37,000 pounds of class-3 explosives.

According to Shata Spikes with Georgia Department of Transportation, the explosives did not spill. The four-vehicle accident shut down two lanes of I-285 near Flat Shoals earlier this week. Two tractor-trailers and two passenger vehicles were involved in the wreck.

Our Atlanta trucking accident attorneys recognize the dangers of these trucking accidents. We also understand that these dangers can be greatly increased with the amount and type of cargo that a truck is carrying. Luckily, no explosive were set off in this crash. Injuries could have been much worse -- even fatal.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were nearly 3,500 fatalities resulting from traffic accidents involving such large trucks in 2009. Another 74,000 motorists suffered serious injuries. These large trucks are classified by having a gross vehicle weight of more than 10,000 pounds. Reports indicate that 296,000 large trucks were involved in motor-vehicle accidents in 2009.

While 2009 saw a near 20 percent decrease from the previous year in the number of injuries resulting from these accidents, the severity of the injuries remain. Of the people that were injured in these types of accidents throughout the year, more than 75 percent were occupants of another vehicle, about 2 percent were non-occupants and more than 20 percent were of a large truck.

Large trucks accounted for nearly 10 percent of all motor vehicles involved in fatal accidents. They also made up nearly 5 percent of all vehicles that were involved in accidents that resulted in injury and property-damage-only crashes.

Georgia saw 133 fatal motor-vehicle crashes involving large trucks in 2009.

AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety offers these tips for motorists to help them share the road safely and efficiently with these large and dangerous trucks:

-Be cautious of the wind gusts created by these large trucks. Be sure to keep both of your hands on the steering wheel when you're passing a truck or a truck passes you.

-Remember to leave plenty of room between you and a truck if you're coming to a stop on a hill. These large trucks have a tendency to roll back when the driver takes their foot off of the brake pedal.

-If you see a truck signaling a lane change, give them room. An average-sized truck needs at least an 8 second gap, or 700 feet, when changing lanes at highway speeds. Think of this distance as the length of 2 1/2 football fields.

-If a truck is passing you, don't speed up. Instead, you should stay to the right and slow your speed. Go ahead and let the truck pass you.

-Be sure to stay out of the truck's large blind spots. Remember that if you can't see the driver, then the driver cannot see you.