Although it’s not uncommon to see many trucks while driving in Long Island or any other place in the U.S., not many people know how to drive when being near a truck. Even if all vehicles on the street follow the traffic rules, driving in no-zones can still end up causing a huge crash.
What are no-zones? All the blind spots a truck driver has while driving. However, people often ignore this because they don’t know no-zones are dangerous or where they are in the first place. The problem with ignoring no-zones is truck accidents can cause serious injuries and even end up killing their victims. In these cases you may want to contact a semi accident lawyer in Long Island NY.
Anyone willing to learn about no-zones and how to avoid them will find all the information they need in this article. Victims of truck accidents in Long Island, NY, can also call the Law Office of Carl Maltese to schedule a case consultation to get compensation for what happened, so they shouldn’t hesitate to do it. Also, learn more about tread separation and truck accidents.
Why Is It Dangerous to Drive in a Truck’s No Zone?
The problem with truck no zones is truck drivers don’t have any way of knowing if any other vehicles are driving there. Hence, they won’t see if they will crash with them while switching lanes or turning in any direction. Trucks are so big that even moving a bit within the same lane could destroy average cars.
It’s worth noting that, even if the truck is the one causing damage to other vehicles, truck drivers are not often liable for no-zone accidents. The reason for this is that passenger vehicles are the ones responsible for staying far from the truck to keep anything from happening. Accidents involving non cdl drivers can also cause damage to other vehicles.
Apart from damaging the vehicles crashing, these are some of the most severe injuries drivers can get after a truck accident:
Traumatic brain injuries
Spinal cord injuries
Facial fractures
Wrongful death
Broken bones
Paralysis
Some No-Zone Examples
As it was mentioned before, many drivers get into trucks’ no zones because they don’t know where they are. Trucks have four no zones; the front, rear, driver side, and passenger side. The rear and driver side’s no zones are the biggest ones, so those are the ones drivers need to be more mindful of when driving close to them.
Regarding the rear no zone, it goes 200 feet beyond the rear bumper since most commercial trucks don’t have rear-view mirrors. As for the driver side no zone, it goes from the pilot’s door to the middle of the truck.
The front no zone goes 20 feet from the truck’s front bumper, and the passenger side one starts from the passenger door past the trailer’s rear and lanes.
How to Know When Drivers Are in a No-Zone
Since passenger vehicle drivers are the ones who need to stay out of no zones, they need to understand where they are and how to notice when they get into one.
Drivers in front of large trucks should look at their rearview to check they can see the truck body entirely including its bumper and cab; if drivers can see all that, they are still safe.
People able to see the truck driver’s face in the truck’s side mirrors are also out of the no zone since that means the truck driver is also aware they are there.
Regardless of that, if that’s complex to apply when hitting the road, the best passenger vehicle drivers can do is stay as far as they can from trucks.
Do Truck Accidents Happen a Lot?
Motor vehicle accidents are more common than many people think, and although truck accidents are just 6.5% of all the crashes that happen in the country, that means there are at least 300,000 truck accidents yearly. The truth is truck accidents could happen at any time or in any city, so drivers need to do what they can to keep themselves from being the next victim.
Final Thoughts
It may be intimidating to see trucks on the streets after reading this article, but there’s no need to worry about them as long as drivers drive as far from them as they can.
Nonetheless, any truck accident victim who wants to file a claim against the liable party for the accident can call the Law Office of Carl Maltese to know how it can help them.