Kentucky Truck Accidents

Trucks were involved in 8,622 collisions in Kentucky in 2011, resulting in 83 fatalities and 1,832 injuries, according to the Kentucky State Police. Just over half of the collisions took place on U.S. and state-numbered routes, while 20 percent occurred on county or city streets, and 26 percent on interstates.

Although the number of fatal crashes involving large trucks has declined nationwide in recent years, they still number around 3,000 per year. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration,  more than half those deaths involve large truck tractors pulling semi-trailers. Only 3 percent of fatal accidents involve a large truck carrying hazardous material.

Truck drivers are blamed for about one-third of fatal truck collisions. Among the driver errors are:

• Diverted attention in regards to road conditions
• Speeding
• Drifting into other lanes
• Neglecting to yield right-of-way
• Obscured sightlines

Other causes of large truck accidents include vehicular malfunctions such as steering failure, brake failure, oversized loads and blowouts. While vehicular malfunctions caused approximately 10 percent of Kentucky truck accidents, most fatal truck accidents caused by vehicular malfunctioning had to do with tire failure. Brake failure was one of the leading causes of injury, according to Kentucky State Police.

If you have been injured or lost a loved one in a Kentucky truck collision, an experienced Kentucky personal injury attorney can advise you about how to receive compensation.