Flatbed Trailers Come With Unique Accident Dangers
Commercial trucks roam our roads day and night, in various sizes and styles and performing various services. Many are considered to be “freight trucks” in industrial terms, where the driver is responsible for moving a huge machine made up of two parts: (1) the tractor with its engine/cab; and (2) the trailer that carries the goods or freight that is being transported. For more, read “Types of Freight Trucks & What They Haul,” written by Alex Dryjowicz and published by Freight Waves on August 11, 2022.
Among seven types of freight trucks are the popular, open-trailer “flatbed trucks.” For several reasons, these flatbed trucks pose significant dangers for not only the truckers and their cab occupants, but also for all those sharing our roadways with them.
Flatbed trucks are some of the most dangerous types of freight trucks being driven today.
What is a Flatbed Truck?
The distinctive characteristic for the flatbed truck is how it carries its goods. The trailer’s bed is flat, hence the name. The flatbed trailer is also open to the weather conditions. It has no walls or gates. It has no roof. Straps are used to hold down the cargo onto the bed of the trailer. Tarps offer some protection for the freight itself.
From this simplicity comes the flatbed truck’s popularity. First, its truck tractor comes with huge engine power, allowing the flatbed truck to haul substantial loads of freight. Flatbed trucks can carry very heavy and even oversized loads.
Second, the bed’s open space invites all sizes and shapes of cargo. An amazing variety of goods can be moved throughout Indiana and Illinois and the rest of the country on a flatbed.
Third, the flatbed offers an ease of movement for both the loading and unloading of its goods. Just remove the truck’s straps and the cargo is ready to go onto forklifts, to be hoisted by cranes, etc.
Flatbeds have a maximum weight limit of 48,000 pounds. The standard flatbed trailer can range from 48 to 53 feet in length with an extended flatbed legally allowed to be 80 feet long.
Flatbed Truck Crash Risks
With flatbed truckers hauling their unique and heavy cargo down the roadways of Indiana and Illinois come some distinct dangers and risks that arise from the flatbed truck’s unique characteristics. The absence of walls and gates may help at the loading docks, but it also contributes to a significant risk that the cargo will move during transport. Perhaps it is only a subtle shift during a turn; maybe it is a full slide or falling off of all or part of the load.
Any alteration in the freight’s stability while the flatbed truck is in motion can result in tragedy. Truck crashes can end in the death of the truck driver and cab occupants as well as others involved in a collision with the truck or with the moving, falling freight.
Rollover accidents, for example, often involve flatbed trucks. Jackknives are a constant threat to the flatbed truck driver. Truck crashes can be deadly where falling cargo is the direct cause of the collision or where the falling flatbed freight is the proximate cause of a motor vehicle accident on the road alongside the flatbed truck itself. For more, read Overweight or Overloaded Semi Truck Accidents: Growing Danger of Fatal Crash and Jackknife Semi-Truck Crash: Deadly Danger on Indiana and Illinois Roads.
Finally, there is the continual danger facing any flatbed truck driver during the loading and unloading of goods onto the flatbed itself. Drivers can be permanently harmed or killed in falls from the truck itself; being crushed between objects; injured in a struck-by accident; etc. It is for this reason that No-Fall Flatbed Truck Protection Systems have been offered by manufacturers and approved by both safety agencies and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. For more, see “Flatbed truck fall protection system,” published by Safety + Health Magazine on March 27, 2022.
Causes of Flatbed Truck Accidents
Sadly, research substantiates there are several known causes of flatbed truck crashes that often result in death or catastrophic bodily injuries for those involved in the accident. See, OSHA Online Database: Accident Search Results for Flatbed Trucks.
1. Duties: The Truck Driver
The failure to properly load and secure the cargo on a flatbed truck is one of the primary reasons for flatbed truck accidents in this country. Here, the duties of the shipper as well as the truck driver to inspect before taking the wheel both contribute to these crashes.
However, there is also the responsibility of the trucking company to make sure that the truck driver is trained and ready to undertake the task of operating a flatbed rig. There are specific federal and state regulations governing the operation of commercial motor vehicles, especially the heavily loaded flatbed truck.
Flatbed trucks should be driven by individuals who are qualified to do so. Trucking companies have a duty to make sure that any flatbed in their possession, custody, or control is being driven by someone with proper education, training, and experience. A driver unqualified to handle a flatbed truck should never be placed behind its wheel.
Moreover, no driver should be allowed to drive a flatbed who is fatigued or in need of sleep. Flatbed trucks cannot be safely driven by the most experienced of truckers when they are sleep-deprived. For more, read Truck Driver Fatigue: Battle Continues Over Tracking Truckers with Electronic Log Devices (ELDs) and Commercial Truck Safety and Truck Driver Fatigue: Fatal Truck Crashes, ELDs, and HOS Rules.
2. Duties: the Flatbed Truck
There is also the duty to make sure the flatbed truck itself is in proper working order and ready for the road in the conditions it will face while en route. Tires and brakes must be inspected, maintained, and replaced as needed. Straps on the bed must be well tended and checked out both before the load and after the cargo is on board and ready for transport. Additional safety precautions to make sure the straps remain secure must be in place.
Justice for Flatbed Truck Accident Victims in Indiana and Illinois
For anyone who has been seriously injured or killed in an accident involving a flatbed truck, there is the right to have an independent investigation into the incident to find out and confirm the reasons the crash happened. Legal remedies may be available to the flatbed accident victim and their loved ones under federal law and/or the state laws of Indiana and Illinois.
These claims may be based upon violations of state or federal safety regulations designed to protect against trucking dangers, especially the dangers of flatbed truck transport. Workers’ compensation may provide benefits. There may also be claims for personal injury damages based upon defective product or premises liability laws which can be advanced against manufacturers, designers, landowners, and other third parties.
For more, read:
- How Great is the Danger of Workers Dying in Fatal Work Accidents in 2022?
- Semi-Truck Crashes: Who Can Be Held Legally Responsible for Commercial Trucking Accidents in Indiana and Illinois?
- Premises Liability and Workplace Accidents: Third Party Injury Claims
- Workers’ Compensation and Third-Party Claims for On-the-Job Accidents.
Every day, flatbed trucks can be seen maneuvering alongside drivers throughout Indiana and Illinois on our Crossroads of America routes like the Borman Expressway. Flatbed trucks bring a great danger of serious or fatal injuries if there is an accident. Please be careful out there!
