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Large trucks and buses still cause significant injuries and death

Trucks are essential to the California economy. Shops would be empty and some people would go hungry if trucks stopped bringing food and consumables to small rural communities and large cities such as San Francisco. 

The convenience of truck freight sometimes comes with a price as big rigs can pose hazards to drivers, passengers and pedestrians. Large trucks such as tractor-trailers and construction vehicles can cause catastrophic damage and serious injury, perhaps even death, to those who are involved in accidents with large truck drivers.  

In the last few years, crashes involving large trucks and buses have been on the rise across the country compared to a notable significant decrease of crashes in the last decade. Some trade observers believe a class of new commercial drivers with less training and experience than their predecessors may be contributing to a drop in safety.

More than 115,000 crashes involving large trucks and buses caused one or more injuries in 2016–4,440 of these vehicles were involved in a fatal crash. The majority of the $115,000 crashes involved buses, although there has been a steady increase over the last three years of large trucks being involved in crashes.  .

Liability for a bus/truck crash in California can be against other persons/entities besides the truck or bus driver.  Trucking companies, bus companies are also liable if the driver was acting within the scope and employment of his/her employer at the time of the crash. 

Victims of truck accidents and the families of truck accident fatalities may sue any of the responsible parties for financial damages to help with recovery. An attorney can advise victims or their survivors on the best way to file a claim in civil court.

Source: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, “Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts 2016,” accessed May 30, 2018

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