Commercial trucks share South Carolina highways with vehicles that are only a fraction of their size. Although truck drivers are trained to operate these large vehicles safely, their height and length create substantial areas around the truck where another vehicle may be difficult or impossible to see directly.
These areas are commonly called blind spots or “No-Zones.” When a truck driver changes lanes, merges, or turns without accounting for a vehicle in one of these areas, the result can be a devastating collision.
A blind spot may help explain how a crash occurred. It does not necessarily excuse it.
Where Are a Commercial Truck’s Blind Spots?
Large trucks have significant blind spots on all four sides. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, these areas can extend directly in front of the cab, behind the trailer, and along both sides of the truck.
The right-side blind spot can be particularly large, extending across multiple lanes in some circumstances. A passenger vehicle traveling alongside a truck may therefore disappear from the driver’s view.
Dangerous situations can arise when a truck driver:
- Moves into another lane without confirming it is clear.
- Merges into traffic without adequately checking surrounding vehicles.
- Turns across the path of a nearby car, motorcycle, or bicycle.
- Fails to account for a vehicle alongside the trailer.
- Backs up without recognizing someone behind the truck.
These crashes can involve sideswipes, vehicles being forced off the roadway, underride collisions, or motorists becoming trapped beneath or alongside a trailer.
Truck Drivers Still Have a Responsibility to Check Before Moving
Commercial drivers know, or should know, that their vehicles have limited visibility. Safe operation requires accounting for those limitations before changing direction.
Mirrors are an important part of that process. Depending on the truck, cameras, sensors, and other safety technology may also provide additional information about surrounding traffic. However, technology does not replace the driver’s responsibility to use reasonable care.
A truck driver who knows another vehicle was recently alongside the trailer cannot simply assume it disappeared because it is no longer visible in a mirror. Likewise, activating a turn signal does not automatically give a truck driver the right to move into an occupied lane.
When investigating a blind-spot crash, the driver’s actions leading up to the collision can be just as important as the other vehicle’s location.
Turns Can Create a Different Kind of Blind-Spot Danger
Lane changes are not the only concern. Large commercial trucks require considerably more room to make certain turns than passenger vehicles.
A truck may swing wide before completing a right turn, confusing motorists beside it. As the cab turns, the trailer follows a different path, potentially placing a nearby vehicle, cyclist, or pedestrian in danger.
Determining responsibility may require examining whether the driver properly checked the area around the truck, signaled the intended movement, positioned the vehicle appropriately, and allowed enough space to complete the maneuver safely.
Evidence Can Help Reconstruct What the Driver Could See
After a serious truck crash, simply knowing that another vehicle was in a blind spot does not answer the liability question. Investigators may need to determine how the vehicles reached their respective positions and what happened in the seconds before impact.
Relevant evidence may include:
- Dashcam or surveillance video.
- Photographs and physical evidence from the crash scene.
- Electronic data from the truck.
- Driver logs and other trucking records.
- Witness statements.
- Inspection records for mirrors, cameras, or other safety equipment.
- Information about the truck’s movements immediately before impact.
In some cases, crash reconstruction may also help establish the relative positions of the vehicles and whether the truck driver had opportunities to recognize the danger.
A Blind Spot Should Not End the Investigation
Commercial trucks have unavoidable visibility limitations, but those limitations are precisely why drivers must take precautions before turning, merging, backing up, or changing lanes.
At David W. Martin Accident & Injury Lawyers, our South Carolina truck crash attorneys investigate what occurred before and during serious commercial vehicle collisions, including whether a driver’s failure to account for a blind spot contributed to the harm. If you were injured in a collision with a commercial truck, contact us at (803) 258-6199 to discuss the circumstances and the evidence that may help establish responsibility.
Related Link:
- Truck Accidents on I-26 and I-95: Understanding the Role of Federal Regulations in South Carolina Claims
- Why Greenville’s Growth Has Led to More Dangerous Truck Accidents
- Why South Carolina Truck Accident Investigations Must Begin Immediately
- Why Fatal Truck Collisions Often Lead to Wrongful Death Litigation in South Carolina
- How Company Safety Policies Can Become Evidence After a South Carolina Truck Crash