18 Wheeler Accidents in Oklahoma

The law sets up the rules and regulations aimed at creating standard requirements for large over-the-road vehicles. Administered by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (www.fmcsa.dot.gov), its ultimate goal is to provide uniform production standards to manufacturers so that they may create what are considered to be safe trucks.

This law covers almost everything imaginable regarding trucks, beginning with lighting systems and ending with steering wheel systems. In between is a vast array of federal rules regulating things like fuel systems, windshield wipers, horns, and tires. Many of the rules are quite specific, such as the rules requiring exact spacing of lights on trucks and trailers. Other rules, such as those requiring that no bolts be missing from any parts of the vehicle, are much more common sense. There are even federal regulations regarding the size of the sleeping bunks in the cabs of trucks.

This law was put into place due to an extreme amount of 18 wheeler truck accidents and fatalities that were occurring as a result of insufficient safety features on 18 wheeler trucks and tractor trailers. Congress, recognizing the high number of truck crashes in Oklahoma, and the country, involving 18 wheelers, enacted this law in an effort to promote highway safety. But it is not the only thing that a person can do to prevent 18 wheeler truck accidents.

Things that you can do to personally minimize the probability of getting in an accident with an 18 wheeler are common sense things such as keeping a safe distance between you and the 18 wheeler, ensuring that the driver can see you in his mirrors if you cannot seem the mirrors they cannot see you. Also refrain from passing a truck inappropriately and drafting behind a truck leads to accidents and does not offer a significant gas savings for the risk involved.

If you or a loved one has been involved in an accident involving an 18 wheeler truck or to setup an initial consultation with an attorney or for general questions regarding your truck accident claim, call The Hershewe Law Firm toll-free at 877-382-9734 or email us at any time.