You can find wet roads, construction zones and gravel roadways throughout Kentucky. Although accidents can happen to anyone under these circumstances, when it involves large trucks driving too fast for the given conditions, it is reckless.
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 25 percent of speed-related large-truck fatalities occur when the road conditions during bad weather are poor. It is recommended that your speed be reduced by a third on wet roads and by half when the roadways are snow-covered. Driving too fast for the weather conditions hinders even semi-trucks from stopping predictably.
However, it is not only weather conditions that can hinder the ability of a big rig to stop in time to prevent an accident if the truck operator is driving recklessly. Curve warning signs and reduced speed limits are for passenger vehicles. Due to their higher center of gravity, tractor-trailers should reduce their speed even more as they are prone to rolling over. If the driver tries to stop in the middle of a curve, the brakes may lock up, causing the truck to skid. This loss of control means the driver cannot avoid hitting you, even if he or she tries.
Loaded trailers also make it difficult to stop quickly. Tractor-trailers need up to 40 percent more distance to stop than you do in a car or lightweight truck. Skids and rollovers are 10 times more likely when they have a full load instead of an empty trailer.
Adjusting your speed due to traffic, visibility, road and weather conditions, regardless of the posted speed limit is the best way to prevent an accident. Big trucks driving at inappropriate speeds with adverse road conditions of any kind is considered reckless driving.
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