Hayward Legal Blog

It's hard to imagine anything more frightening on the road that looking in the rearview mirror and seeing a big rig barreling toward you. Or going through an intersection, with a green light, only to find a truck driver didn't obey a red light. In both instances, you do your best to take evasive action.

But accidents with tractor-trailers happen in California and across the United States - far too often. In 2016, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), 4,440 crashes of large trucks and buses that involved a fatality occurred.

There is more to truck safety in California and across the country than just being a safe driver.

A rig could have the safest driver in the world but if the truck is improperly loaded, a tragedy can occur. An improperly loaded (or overloaded) truck can cause tires and brakes to wear faster or cause a loss of control that can result in rollover accidents.

When you work construction in California, your various worksites usually are busy, noisy and hectic places. Sometimes they also can be dangerous. Considering that you often must perform your work on ladders, scaffolding and/or roofs, you run a high risk of falling and sustaining serious, if not catastrophic, injuries. This is especially true if you hit your head and receive a traumatic brain injury.

A traumatic brain injury occurs when your head and/or neck sustains a blow of such force that it causes your brain to jerk violently back and forth in your skull. The consequent injuries to its delicate cells, nerves and tissues, plus the severity of those injuries, make your brain malfunction. Depending on precisely where the injury occurs and its severity, the effects of this dysfunction can linger for months or years. In the most severe TBI cases, you could become disabled for life.

Motorcyclists are some of the most "at-risk" drivers on the road. That's because they can accelerate and travel at high speeds, yet their bodies don't benefit from any kind of protection in the event of a crash. Yes, motorcycle helmets help. Yes, armored riding pants and jackets help. However, if a motorcyclist gets into a serious collision, there's a good chance he or she could suffer a catastrophic injury or death, so it's vital for cyclists to do everything they can to avoid getting into a collision in the first place.

Scanning ahead is one of the best things a motorcyclist can do. This involves looking ahead and around oneself to assess the upcoming risk factors. If a motorcyclist is approaching an intersection, for example, the biker should look to see if there are any vehicles waiting to make a left turn, which would cross in front of the biker's path. The biker should also check for vehicles that are waiting to pull out into the road. When these kinds of risk factors are identified, the biker can slow down and/or get ready to take evasive action should the other motorist not be paying attention.