There are numerous kinds of motor vehicle collisions. Some of them are much more serious or visually dramatic than others. The wrecks caused by big commercial vehicles like 18-wheelers and garbage trucks are among the most severe collisions possible.
Not only can commercial vehicles cause all of the standard kinds of crashes that people experience in other vehicles, like T-bone and rear-end collisions, but they can also cause some unique types of crashes that rarely occur with other vehicles.
What are the kinds of crashes that usually only occur with commercial vehicles?
Jackknife crashes
What a driver has to do to maintain control of a vehicle is much different with a big commercial truck than it is with a car, an SUV or other passenger vehicles. The way that they brake, accelerate and turn are all different.
If the roads are slick or a driver makes a mistake in the management of the vehicle, the trailer and the cab might travel in different directions, leading to the truck driver completely losing control of the vehicle. Jackknife wrecks often involve multiple other vehicles and can block even multi-lane highways.
Rollover collisions
Sometimes, when a truck jackknifes, the momentum of the trailer and the weight of the merchandise or supplies inside are enough to make the entire vehicle flip over. Rollover collisions do also occur with smaller vehicles, but massive commercial vehicles are at high risk.
Especially when the roads are icy/wet or the winds are high, rollover collisions are a sincere concern for commercial trucks. Improperly loaded trailers can increase the likelihood of these collisions occurring as well.
Underride or override collisions
The weight of a commercial truck can make it an immovable object during a collision with a smaller vehicle. Underride collisions occur when a small vehicle hits the side or rear of a truck and goes underneath it, causing catastrophic vehicle damage. Override collisions occur when a truck can’t stop before it reaches the rear end of another vehicle and goes over part of that vehicle.
Any of these kinds of collisions could completely destroy a vehicle and cause life-altering injuries for the occupants inside. Learning about different kinds of truck wrecks can help you avoid experiencing one yourself.