Millions of semi-trucks rumble along the roads of Northwest Indiana and Chicago Illinois area, as well as the rest of the nation, carrying vital freight from distribution to destination. The importance of the huge trucking industry to our state and national economies cannot be underestimated. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) maintains the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS), which compiles information regarding the safety performance and crash statistics of commercial motor carriers (large trucks and buses) subject to federal regulation. The latest information from MCMIS was released in an October 2020 FMCSA publication entitled “2020 Pocket Guide to Large Truck and Bus Statistics.”
From the new FMCSA 2020 Pocket Guide we get a glimpse into how massive the trucking industry is in this country (using 2018 data):
- There are over 273,602,100 registered vehicles in the United States operating as commercial motor carriers;
- Single-unit Trucks (straight trucks) on our roads tallied 10,327,899 in the latest count;
- Combination Trucks (tractor-trailers) made up another 2,906,011; and
- These Large Trucks travel over 304.9 billion miles delivering cargo during a single year.
Each year, preventable accidents involving these commercial rigs happen on our highways and rural roads, where truck drivers, their passengers, as well as the occupants of other motor vehicles involved in the crash are likely to die as a result of their sustained bodily injuries.
From the IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) comes the following warning from 2018 data on large truck crashes:
- 16% of these truck crash deaths were truck occupants;
- 67% of these deaths were occupants of cars and other passenger vehicles; and
- 15% of these fatalities were pedestrians, bicyclists or motorcyclists.
Key here is the finding that in 2018, deaths in large truck crashes overall were 31% higher than in 2009, when it was the lowest it has been since the collection of fatal crash data began in 1975, with the number of large truck occupants dying in the truck crash being 51% higher in 2018 than in 2009.
Given the millions of large commercial trucks on our roads, and the growing number of fatal large truck crashes in our country, it is shocking for some to learn that certain types of accidents continue to happen year after year. These crashes are notorious for causing the death of one or more victims in a fatal truck accident.
Common Types of Fatal Large Truck Crashes
Commercial truck drivers as well as those that share the roadways with these large vehicles should be well aware of the known dangers of certain types of large truck crashes. Chicago semi-truck accidents can be increased due to harsh winter conditions we experience in the Chicagoland & NWI area. They include:
Underride Accidents
In an underride accident, the large truck stops fast as the trucker hits the brakes while driving in front of one or more smaller vehicles on a roadway or traffic lane. The approaching car, truck, SUV, or minivan is unable to stop before colliding with the rear of the truck, which is setting much higher off the ground. The result can be a horrific incident where the roof and top of the approaching vehicle is sheared off as it slams into, and underneath, the large commercial truck.
- For more on underride accidents, read our discussion in Fatal Truck Crashes: Will Congress Pass the Stop Underrides Act?
Jackknife Accidents
Jackknife accidents also happen when the truck driver hits the brakes. In these types of crashes, the braking results in the trailer swinging out from behind the truck cab and the trucker losing control of the vehicle. The trailer ends up at a sharp angle from the cab, giving this type of crash its name: a “jackknife.”
Jackknifing alone may not cause injury. However, the swift movement of the huge and heavy trailer often results in the trailer overturning onto the pavement, causing injury to the cab (and its occupants) as well as precipitating a crash with other vehicles on the road.
- For more on jackknife accidents involving large trucks in our part of the country, read our discussion of an incident in 2014 where 18 different semi-trucks jackknifed on Indiana’s Interstate 94 during a winter storm: Indiana Interstate 94 Crash of 40 Big Rig Semis and Cars Last Week: Severe Storm Conditions vs. Truck Driver Duties Under US Transportation Code 392.14.
Rear-End Collisions
It takes longer for a truck driver to bring any large truck to a stop than it does for someone driving a smaller motor vehicle (e.g., a 4-wheeler). The heavier the rig, the longer the distance needed to bring it to a halt. In rear-end accidents, the large truck collides with the rear-end of a motor vehicle in front of it. If the impact is great, the large semi or big rig will essentially drive right over the top of the smaller vehicle before coming to a full stop.
- For more on the dangers of rear-end accidents, read: Rear End Accidents Are Cause of Serious Injury and Death: What Will Auto Emergency Brakes Do?
Rollover Accidents
There are various reasons that a trucker may lose control of his rig and end up in a rollover crash. The truck driver may be driving drowsy or distracted; he or she may be speeding; or there may be other variables including brake failure, a tire blowout, or a shifting load.
These commercial trucks carry a tremendous amount of weight in their secured freight or cargo. If that load loses its balance and shifts in the trailer, then the entire rig can be tossed off-balance and the driver may be unable to keep the truck in the lane or otherwise in control resulting in a rollover.
- For more on rollovers, read: Rollover Danger: What You Need to Know Driving Roads in Indiana and Illinois.
Seeking Justice After Fatal Commercial Truck Accidents in Illinois or Indiana
For those of us driving the roads of Illinois and Indiana, we are familiar with sharing our roadways with all sorts of large commercial trucks, as we live and work in what is commonly known as the “Crossroads of America.” It is commonplace to drive a car, SUV, minivan, or pickup truck on popular routes like the Borman Expressway alongside any number of fully-loaded big rigs, semi-trucks, tractor-trailers, and 18-wheelers with everyone driving at speed limits exceeding 60 mph.
This high volume of commercial truck traffic in our part of the country means that we face a greater risk of a fatal truck crash, where the trucker, the cab’s occupants, as well as the driver and passengers in other motor vehicles can be killed in the truck crash. For details, read our discussion in “Semi Trucks and Big Rigs: High Indiana and Illinois Commercial Truck Traffic Creates Dangerous Conditions.”
Understanding the known risks of certain types of fatal truck accidents can help to prevent these tragedies. Keeping a safe distance behind any large rig, for instance, may protect against a deadly underride accident. Truck drivers likewise maintaining a safe space between their rig and vehicles ahead of them may serve to prevent a rear-end collision.
For those who are harmed by a fatal truck crash, there are laws in both Indiana and Illinois that provide avenues for justice both for the wrongful death of the driver and other truck crash victims as well as the damages sustained by their loved ones and survivors in the accident’s aftermath.
Fatal truck crashes are a very real danger in Indiana and Illinois. Let’s be careful out there!
