Chris Hudson Law Group > Truck Accidents > Blind Spot

Blind Spot Truck Accidents

Trucking companies have powerful insurers or employ teams of lawyers to protect them and their business interests after a crash. Who is going to protect you? If a truck driver failed to see you in their blind spot and you were hurt in an accident, call Chris Hudson Law Group in Augusta, GA for help right away at (706) 863-6600.

You deserve aggressive representation and a lawyer who will pursue the maximum amount of compensation for your injuries. You deserve the experience and skill that the lawyers who specialize in truck accident cases at our law firm can provide. For more information on how we may be able to help you after a serious blind spot truck accident, call us to schedule your free consultation.

Fully loaded trucks can weigh up to 80,000 pounds. That’s 40 tons of steel barreling down on a passenger car that typically weighs only 4,000 pounds. When the two collide, the consequences can be catastrophic, even life-ending. Data from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration finds that one of the most common causes of large truck accidents happens when a vehicle, person, or even an animal enters a truck driver’s blind spot. 74 percent of trucks involved in fatal accidents had a vehicle or other object encroach on it just before the collision.  When truck drivers fail to adequately check their blind spots for other vehicles, they aren’t just risking their payload. They are risking the safety, even the lives, of other drivers.

Contact Chris Hudson Law Group today and let us help you get the full and fair compensation you deserve.

What is a No-Zone?

A no-zone accident is also commonly referred to as a blind spot accident. The term “no-zone” refers to all the areas of a large truck where the driver is unable to see their surroundings. A truck driver may sit higher up and have a bird’s eye view of the road ahead, but that doesn’t mean that they can see everything. Due to their immense size and shape, trucks have several rather large no-zones where the drivers are unable to see their direct surroundings. An entire passenger car can disappear into a no-zone and a truck driver can be completely unaware that the car exists.

A no-zone accident occurs when a car is located in one of these zones, and a truck driver collides with it because they failed to adequately check their blind spots before maneuvering their vehicle. Mirrors can be a help, but there are spots that even mirrors cannot reach. That is why truck drivers are trained to constantly be checking their blind spots and exercise caution when making a wide turn or changing lanes. When they fail to exercise this caution or are negligent while operating their vehicle, the consequences can be devastating, even life-ending. 

Where Are a Truck’s No-Zones?

Large trucks have several blind spots or no-zones. If you are unable to see the driver of a large truck, in all likelihood, the driver cannot see you, and your car may be located in a no-zone. There are four large no-zone areas, which include:

  • Front no-zone: The front no-zone on a truck is located directly in front of the vehicle. A truck driver is typically unable to see anything 20 to 25 feet directly in front of the truck itself. When a car is in this front zone and must quickly apply the brakes, the result can be a serious rear-end accident.
  • Rear no-zone: Truck drivers are unable to see directly behind them. Large trucks are not equipped with rear-view mirrors like passenger cars because the size and shape of the trailers that they pull would obstruct the mirror. The rear no-zone of a truck extends for about 200 feet behind the vehicle.
  • Side no-zones: Commercial trucks are exceptionally large and bulky. This bulk can obstruct a driver’s view of the sides of the vehicle. Since the driver sits on the left side of the vehicle, the no-zone to the left of the truck is smaller than the no-zone to the right of the truck. Passenger vehicles are always advised to pass large trucks on the left side because they are more visible. The no-zone to the left is about 1 car length wide, while the no-zone to the right is about 2 car lengths wide.
  • Wide turns: Large trucks require a much larger turning radius than smaller passenger cars. As a result, they typically need to swing wider to make a turn. This is especially true of right-hand turns. When the truck driver makes a wide turn, the space alongside the truck becomes part of the no-zone. A car caught too close to the right side of the truck can become hidden in this no-zone and get hit as the truck initiates the turn.

Injuries from Blind Spot Truck Accidents

When a truck driver is unable to see another vehicle, the resulting crash can be catastrophic. Without warning, the truck driver may not adjust their speed or apply their brakes and may cause a cataclysmic collision that another vehicle is simply unprepared for. No-zone or blind spot accidents can result in rollovers, side-swipe accidents, and undercarriage collisions, all of which can cause serious and life-altering injuries. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration calculates that 72 percent (3,450 people) of those killed in crashes involving large trucks were the occupants of a passenger vehicle.

Some of the most common injuries from blind spot accidents tend to include:

Compensation Available for Blind Spot Truck Accidents

In the state of Georgia, those injured by an at-fault driver are able to pursue compensation to cover the cost of damages. Georgia follows a “modified comparative negligence” model, which means that a victim is allowed to recover damages against any party that is more at fault for causing an accident than they were. If it is determined by the courts or an insurance adjuster that the victim’s actions played any part in causing the accident, the victim’s total amount of compensation will be decreased by the percentage of their liability.

In practice, that means that if a truck driver caused a blind spot accident, but the victim was speeding when they entered the blind spot, the victim can be assigned a percentage of blame for the accident. If, for example, the victim is 20 percent responsible for the accident, they are able to recover the total amount of compensation, minus 20 percent. If that total amounts to $100,000, they can recover $80,000.

Under Georgia’s modified comparative negligence model, any party who is found to be more than 50 percent at fault for causing an accident will be barred from recovering any monetary damages whatsoever.

Understanding Georgia’s model for distributing compensation following an accident is extremely important. This system binds not only the courts but insurance adjusters as well. When a truck driver is involved in a serious accident, it can mean serious financial culpability for the trucking company and its insurer. The trucking company’s team of insurance adjusters and lawyers want to mitigate the financial damage. They can manage this by attempting to take advantage of victims and the modified comparative negligence rule.

To accomplish this, the trucking company’s insurer attempts to place as much blame as possible on the other driver. The more blame they can assign to the victim, the less they will ultimately end up having to pay. Victims without aggressive legal representation can be manipulated into giving statements that seemingly help the trucking company’s case. Without proper representation, crucial evidence, such as dash camera footage and black box information, that would support a victim’s claim that the truck driver was at fault can be lost or simply destroyed.

Having an attorney on your side after a crash with a large truck is absolutely vital. The trucking company has a team of lawyers and insurance adjusters on standby, waiting to protect them after an accident happens. Who is going to protect you? The legal team at Chris Hudson Law Group can protect your legal rights and aggressively represent you. We want to make sure that you can recover the maximum amount of compensation possible and that the negligent truck driver is held responsible for their actions.

How a Truck Accident Lawyer from Chris Hudson Law Group Can Help

Unfortunately, after a serious truck accident, justice doesn’t always come easily. Trucking companies will do whatever it takes to make sure that the money they earn stays in their pockets. If you or a loved one suffered serious injuries related to a blind spot accident involving a truck, you may be entitled to significant compensation.

Before you talk to anyone, talk to an experienced truck accident lawyer from the Chris Hudson Law Group in Augusta, GA. We can review your case and discuss all your legal options for recovering the compensation you are entitled to. We are dedicated to helping victims in Augusta get the money they deserve while holding reckless drivers responsible for their negligent actions. Don’t wait.

Call us today at (706) 863-6600 or fill in our contact request form and someone from our office will contact you right away. We even offer a free consultation. You deserve to be heard; let us amplify your voice.

Written by Christopher Hudson

Last Updated : October 26, 2022