Truck accident injuries are often worse if the truck was speeding at the time of the crash. Yet, truckers often exceed safe speed limits on Kentucky roads. Accordingly, all Kentucky motorists should know why truckers speed, how speed impacts accidents, what can be done to prevent truckers from speeding, and how our Kentucky truck crash attorney can help if you’ve been involved in an accident with a speeding truck.
Why Truck Drivers Speed
Trucking companies often put extraordinary pressure on truckers to arrive at their destinations at a certain time. Some companies may offer financial incentives for truckers who arrive on time or early. Of course, traffic, weather, and unforeseen circumstances create delays. Truckers may try to make up for lost time by exceeding the posted speed limit or driving too fast for weather or road conditions.
Truckers also face the same temptations to speed that other drivers face. For example, they may be eager to end their workday. Regardless of their reason for speeding, speeding truckers create dangerous conditions for themselves and everyone on the road with them.And when you’ve been involved in a wreck, our Kentucky truck crash attorney can help you collect the compensation you deserve.
The Dangers of Speeding Truck Drivers
A severe truck wreck may occur at any speed. However, speeding truckers may be more likely to:
- Have cargo shift which may make the truck unstable
- Lose control
- Have difficulty negotiating curves safely
- Have a more challenging time detecting vehicles in their blind spots
- Have trouble stopping in time to prevent a crash
For these reasons, the following types of truck accidents are more likely when a trucker exceeds a safe rate of speed:
- Jackknife accidents
- Rollover crashes
- Underride accidents
Additionally, the impact of a speeding truck is greater than the impact of a truck traveling at lower speeds. Accordingly, an accident with a speeding truck may cause more significant injuries or a fatality.
How to Prevent Speeding Truck Crashes
Technology exists to limit the speed of large trucks. Speed limiters, also known as speed governors, use computer and electronic sensors placed in the truck’s engine to limit speed. When a truck travels at the preprogrammed maximum allowable speed, the sensors prevent the truck from going faster by controlling the airflow, fuel intake, and sparks required to increase speed.
Over the last decade, bills related to speed limiters on trucks have been considered. So far, no new regulations have been enacted. However, in May 2021, the Cullum Owings Large Truck Safe Operating Speed Act of 2021 was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. If this bill becomes law, it would require the Secretary of Transportation to create standards and regulations that require:
- All new commercial motor vehicles to have technology that limits their maximum operating speed
- Existing speed-limiting technologies installed in commercial motor vehicles manufactured since 1992 to be used while in the vehicles are in operation
- A maximum safe operating speed for commercial motor vehicles not to exceed 65 mph unless certain safety technologies are in place that allow the vehicles to operate up to 70 mph
Speed limiters effectively prevent truckers from speeding, and the technology has been available for decades. However, speed limiters are not the only way to prevent a speeding truck accident. Truckers have a legal responsibility not to exceed the speed limit, and trucking companies have a legal duty not to create undue pressure or incentives that encourage truckers to speed regardless of a vehicle’s technology.
Kentucky Truck Crash Attorney Protecting Your Rights to Compensation
Truckers and trucking companies may be liable for your truck accident injuries whether or not speed limiters were on the truck involved in the crash.
If you have been hurt or your loved one was killed in a crash with a speeding truck, you can trust our experienced Kentucky truck crash attorney to thoroughly investigate the accident, make sure that all evidence is preserved, and fight hard for your full and fair recovery of damages.
Please contact us any time—24/7/365—to find out more about your rights. We would be pleased to schedule a free consultation so that you can learn about your rights, our No-Fee Policy, and your potential financial recovery.
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