What is an underride crash?

What is an underride crash?

Underride accident is a type of road accident where it involves a small car and a trailer truck. This occurs when the smaller car crashes and propelled towards the side or back of the truck below. Given that hood of small cars can easily fit beneath the open gap below the trailer truck. This type of accident is the most fatal, given these statistics:

• More than 300 people dies every year because of underride accidents in the U.S., making it the most fatal accident on road up to the date. 
  
  
• 80% - 90% of trailer truck are prone to underride occurrences with serious injuries and fatalities. 
  
  
• An estimation of 2 individual could die every day. (StopUnderrides)
  
  
• 50 person could die from underride. (StopUnderrides)

Causes of Underride Crashes

Underrides does rarely happen, but when they do, there are msot common reasons why it did happened such as:

• Trailer truck crashed and stopped immediately without noticed that smaller car's hood ran into the gap
  
  
• Small car suddenly slide under the gap of trailer truck maybe because of overspeeding or as a result of accident
  
  
• Small car and the trailer truck collide along road and as a result, small car situated below the trailer truck

Ofcourse, there are underlying factors that should be accounted when encountered a underride accident, some of them are similar to common road crash such as: 

• Adverse weather conditions
  
  
• Slick roads
  
  
• Driver fatigue
  
  
• Brake failure
  
  
• Driver distraction or inattention
  
  
• Failure to signal a lane change
  
  
• Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
  
  
• Driving too fast for conditions

How to Avoid Underride Accident

Underride accidents are the most undesireable yet expected outcomes from not adhering to traffic rules nor imposed traffic safety measures as everyone on the road, both truck drivers and motorists ought to work together and meet an agreeable behavior towards each other to avoid these devastating accidents. With that said, any occurrence of these type of accidents are both fault of the involved parties but it is highly charged against at-fault driver's car who made all the accident-prone actions. Some of the decisions and actions that can help mitigating chances of underride accidents are:

• Small cars and SUVs should stay in their lane and avoid making contact within truck lane to free up their path as it may cause traffic congestion or worse, collision of trailer trucks and smaller cars who merged with the lane given. 
  
  
• Oftentimes, sidelanes or inner lanes are blindspots for larger trucks, this is where truck drivers can't see other vehicles due to blocked vision, it is not recommended to stay beside them and it is better to stay behind them to avoid being literally eaten under their truck. 
  
  
• As a truck driver, if you are unable to see smallers cars from your side mirror without removing your attention, bodd, and hands from the wheel, then it is better to drive slow and use turn signals effectively. These are the areas in which truck drivers cannot see other vehicles since blindspots are not only present from side but from front to back. 
  
  
• Trucks and buses often swing wide to the left in order to successfully execute a right turn. Motorists need to be aware of this because it impacts drivers both to the left and to the right of the truck.

What can a victim do in this type of accident?

If the victim is sure that he/she didn't instigate the said accident, with given proofs, police reports and photos of the override scene, surely the police can determine who is at fault and strengthen your statements. And if the victim has sustained significant injuries and has suffered from physical and emotional pain, the victim is highly recommended to file an injury claim since following those injuries sustenance are the high medical bills and the possible temporary loss of income. 

Process of civil litigation may not sound so easy but hiring a professional that would fit its description to the job being sought is encouraged. Such as this, hiring an injury lawyer could fasten everything and they will give you summaries of every context and clear every confusion that had built up since you were thinking of filing a claim. 

Ryan LLP is an Ohio based injury law firm that has been representing their clients' claim to insurers for more than 40 years. They specialized personal injury, wrongful deaths and medical malpractice claims and has been successing every lawsuits they have. Call our offices now for free legal consultation.