Cross-border personal injury: Truck awareness can save lives

When British Columbia residents travel across the border, they will likely share the road with big rigs. Road Safety BC says that the sheer size and weight differences between cars and commercial trucks put car occupants at four times higher risk of suffering fatal injuries in the event of a collision with a big rig. When this involves cross-border personal injury, recovering damages could be a complicated process.

According to a safety program to improve truck awareness, safety authorities used footage captured on the dashcams of commercial trucks. Shockingly, the recordings showed that drivers of cars were at fault in a significant percentage of truck vs. car accidents. It is believed that many passenger car drivers do not understand the significant differences in the ways trucks respond and perform.

According to the campaign, about 60 fatalities occur in car vs. truck collisions in British Columbia each year. Drivers of passenger vehicles are reminded that commercial vehicles need more space than cars to come to a halt, and merging too soon could be fatal. Furthermore, car drivers must avoid the blind spots of truck drivers and remember that the large vehicles need more room to turn than passenger cars.

Although the dashcam footage showed that car drivers are often at fault, there are also many commercial vehicle accidents in which the truckers are at fault. When this happens during a trip south of the border, the injured victims might have questions about recovering financial and emotional damages. They can get answers from an experienced cross-border personal injury lawyer, who will also provide support and guidance throughout ensuing legal proceedings.