Skilled Oklahoma City Truck Accident Lawyers Holding Speeding Drivers Accountable

Trusted truck crash injury lawyers serving the injured in Oklahoma

Speeding, or driving too fast for the road conditions, faster than the posted speed limit is reckless behavior that puts not only the life of the truck driver, but the lives of other drivers in imminent danger. Speed is one of the major factors that contributes to motor vehicle accidents. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that about one in three fatal traffic crashes involves speed as a contributing factor. The NHTSA has determined that most traffic crashes are because of driver error. Speeding is the leading cause of accidents resulting from driver error according to the National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey (NMVCSS).

At Cunningham & Mears, our Oklahoma City truck accident attorneys understand the devastation that can result from a truck accident that was a result of speeding. We are here to protect our clients’ rights to recover compensation for their injuries. If you have lost a loved one in a truck crash, we can help you file a wrongful death claim.

What impact does speed have in a truck accident?

Many drivers speed because they feel that they have good driving skills, and that they have more control over the vehicle than they actually do. When you are talking about an 80,000 lb. 18-wheeler racing down the highway among smaller, passenger vehicles, the potential for catastrophe is tremendous.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reports that speed has a major impact on the risk of motor vehicle crashes, and the severity of the resulting injuries from a crash in the following ways:

• Speeding increases the distance a vehicle travels from the time a driver detects an emergency to the time the driver reacts.
• Speed increases the distance needed to stop the vehicle once the driver begins to apply the brake.
• Speed increases the crash forces exponentially. For example, when impact speed increases from 40 mph to 60 mph, the energy that needs to be managed increase by 125 percent.

The higher the speed the vehicle is traveling, the greater the likelihood that the vehicle’s restraint and protection systems will fail to protect the occupants. IIHS reports that the government runs crash tests at 30-35 mile per hour, which is a speed considered to cause severe impact.

It takes about the length of a football field for a passenger vehicle to come to a stop, and almost two football fields for a truck. When truck drivers are speeding along the highway, they may not be correctly calculating the braking and stopping distance required if they must come to an unexpected stop.

Commercial truck drivers do not set out to cause an accident that can cause injury to themselves or other drivers. Truck drivers, just like any other driver, drive too fast because they are not considering the consequences, they are under pressure and in a hurry to meet tight deadlines, and they believe that they can speed without getting caught.

How your truck accident attorney can help determine the cause of the collision

After a serious truck accident caused by speeding, if you have sustained injuries and are seeking compensation for your injuries, you will require the services of a skilled Oklahoma City truck accident lawyer. You will have to be able to prove that the truck driver was negligent in causing the crash which caused your injuries. Large, commercial trucks are equipped with “black boxes,” which record data about the truck’s performance, and they record what happens leading up to, including and after an accident. Your attorney will request the truck’s black box data immediately because it is a prime piece of evidence about what happened in the truck as the accident was occurring. If the data show that the driver was speeding, he or she can be held liable for their negligent conduct in causing the crash.

If you are successful in proving the negligence of the other party, you may be able to recover compensation to cover the expenses and losses you have incurred because of the accident including:

• Your medical bills related to the accident injury now and going forward
• Lost wages from missing work because of your injury
• Diminished earning capacity because of residual effects of the injury
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Funeral costs in a wrongful death claim

If the truck driver is found to be liable for causing the crash, your truck accident attorney may be able to find other parties that share some degree of fault in the crash. What if the truck had defective brakes? What if the truck driver had previous speeding violations yet this current employer hired him or her anyway. The truck may not have been adequately maintained or some other contributing factor could be at play. Your Oklahoma City truck accident lawyer from Cunningham & Mears will explore every available option for recovering compensation for you.

Schedule a free consultation with a trusted Oklahoma City truck accident attorney today

Truck accidents that result from speeding truck drivers often end in a tragic disaster which often includes serious injuries and fatalities. At Cunningham & Mears, we are here to make sure that you recover fair compensation after a truck accident injury in Oklahoma. To learn more about our services, or to speak with a skilled injury lawyer, please contact us or call 405-232-1212 now for a free initial consultation.