Trucking Accidents Are On The Rise Again In Bradenton Florida
If you live, work and drive around the Sarasota or Parrish areas, then the sight of a large, commercial freight hauling truck on the freeways and highways of Florida is a familiar sight. Cargo trucks are a crucial link in the logistics chain, often completing the critical “last mile” that brings products directly to retailers so that people can use their products or services.
However, trucks can also cause serious accidents when truck-involved mishaps occur on Florida roads, and unfortunately, this incidence rate is on the rise.
Florida Is #3
When it comes to traffic accidents, especially those involving larger vehicles such as commercial trucks and buses, in 2019, Florida was #3 in the United States for these accidents, surpassed by only California, then Texas. In 2019, for example, a truck driver that had already been ticketed for unsafe driving veered out of his lane and caused one of the worst accidents of that year in the
Fort Lauderdale area.
Throughout the state, thousands of accidents involving trucks happen every year. Unfortunately, hundreds of them are so severe that they result in a loss of life, usually for the drivers and passengers in the much smaller, more delicate vehicles.
A Logistics Center
One reason for this is the way the logistics chain in Florida works. Central Florida is where most cargo is ultimately sent for final distribution. From here, cargo, often brought by train or ship, is transferred to warehouses and loaded onto trucks for delivery to grocery stores, electronics shops, clothing boutiques, and even restaurant ingredients.
This means a huge fleet of massive trucks flowing outward, north, south, east, and west to the remainder of Florida, and sometimes even other states, like Georgia or Alabama, since Florida is a coastal state that receives much international cargo via its harbors in cities like Miami and St. Petersburg, making the state a major shipping hub for the entire country.
On The Rise
For a year or two, the number of trucking-related incidents in Florida—and traffic accidents in general—went down, but that was because of one clear driving factor; the COVID-19 pandemic. As more people stayed home, fewer vehicles were on the road during 2020 and 2021. However, with the worst of the pandemic behind the United States, that is now changing, and more drivers are back on the road, sharing it with truck drivers. Unsurprisingly, this has caused accident rates to climb again.
The biggest risk with trucks is that the severity of damage to vehicles, drivers, and passengers is always magnified when trucks are involved. In any collision, physics will always favor the truck because of its larger size and mass, meaning that a truck and its driver tend to receive the most protection. At the same time, smaller, lighter vehicles are damaged far more seriously, and so are the occupants of those vehicles.
If you or someone you know has been injured in a trucking accident due to negligence, you should talk to an experienced truck accident attorney. Find out what steps you should take to get the compensation you are legally owed from the people responsible.
