Truck accidents are devastating even in dry conditions, but when bad weather comes into play, it raises the stakes to a new level.
Truck driving in bad weather poses unique challenges to commercial motorists. The long stopping distance caused by a semi-truck’s substantial size and weight — up to 80 thousand pounds fully loaded — becomes longer in wet or snowy conditions. Hydroplaning, reduced visibility, and ice on the road can prove deadly, causing trucks to jackknife, roll over, or hit other vehicles at dangerous speeds.
In this blog post, we explore the frequency and danger of weather-related accidents in Texas, the steps drivers should take when truck driving in bad weather to avoid a catastrophic crash, and how these actions can impact your entitlement to compensation.
Find out your options for filing a personal injury claim after an accident caused by bad weather. During your free case review, we can determine if you have a claim, who might be liable, and how much compensation you could recover.
Understanding the Causes of Truck Accidents
Like all auto accidents, the cause of a truck accident usually falls into one of three categories:
- Driver error
- Mechanical failure
- Environment-led.
Most contributory factors are driver-led: a driver taking their eyes off the road to read a text, a motorist getting behind the wheel when they’re over the limit, or an aggressive driver intentionally cutting up another vehicle.
Auto defects are less common but contribute to a fair share of accidents. Mechanical failure can affect brakes, tires, steering, airbags, engines, and other vehicle components. An auto defect can happen suddenly and without warning — possibly without a motorist knowing about the issue.
Enrivonment-led factors include physical hazards like fallen trees, obscured signs, and poorly designed roads, such as narrow roads, inadequate drainage, sharp corners, and limited shoulder space. However, this category also covers weather-related factors, including fog, ice, rain, snow, wind, and sunlight.
Weather-related accidents rarely garner the same attention as crashes falling into the other two categories. Conditions may occasionally be out of the ordinary, but these accidents are seldom as newsworthy as a mechanical fault like the ongoing Takata airbag scandal or a multi-vehicle crash caused by a driver’s egregious behavior.
We can speculate the reasons for this. If a driver causes a crash while drunk driving, we might try to fathom why they got behind the wheel or why someone else didn’t intervene. If a brake failure causes a crash, we might wonder how many other vehicles are affected, if we’re driving ticking time bombs, or consider how the manufacturer could have overlooked the fault — or worse, why a company knowingly developed and released a defective product.
But we cannot control the weather, nor can we so easily understand it without getting into an even deeper conversation about climate change. Sometimes, freak weather events happen.
Then, there is the issue of accountability. Who do you hold responsible when a violent gust of wind tips a vehicle on its side, injuring those inside? We certainly cannot sue the skies. From this perspective, there is little payoff — no sense of justice from holding someone responsible.
And yet, extreme weather conditions make our roads incredibly dangerous.
What Are Weather-Related Truck Accidents?
Truck driving in bad weather becomes all the more dangerous for everyone on the road. Driving a commercial truck is demanding, requiring precise control and awareness to stay alert to other motorists and hazards and to navigate tricky maneuvers. Add in bad weather conditions, and this task becomes treacherous, significantly escalating the risk of an accident.
Slippery Roads
Rain, snow, and ice can create hazardous truck driving conditions, reducing traction and friction between the tires and the road surface and increasing brake distance. These conditions can make it difficult for truck drivers to maintain control. Even a slight loss of traction can cause a truck to slide, turning the driver into a passenger and sending a vehicle into the path of other motorists or obstacles on the road.
Reduced Visibility
Fog, heavy rain, or blinding snowstorms can severely limit a truck driver’s ability to see other vehicles, road signs, and potential obstacles. Reduced visibility increases the chances of collisions and makes it harder to react in time to avoid accidents.
Poor Vehicle Stability
High winds are another common cause of weather-related accidents. In hurricane or tornado-like conditions, trucks can swerve, tip over, or veer off the road entirely, equally impacting light trucks and those carrying heavy loads that create an imbalance.
Semi-trucks are especially vulnerable to gusts, which can cause the trailer to swing unpredictably. Jackknifing accidents can take out other motorists or cause the cab to tip over, potentially injuring the driver.
Heavy Downpours
Heavy rain is a common truck driving hazard, impairing visibility and creating slippery road conditions. It takes almost the length of two football fields for a fully loaded truck to come to a complete stop in dry weather. In wet conditions, brake distance is even longer, which can catch truck drivers and other motorists off guard.
Heavy downpours can also exacerbate existing hazards. Poor road drainage systems can lead to standing water, causing the risk of hydroplaning. Inadequate shoulder space also reduces the distance between the road surface and gutters, meaning water won’t drain efficiently.
Glare from Sunlight
Intense sunlight glare, especially when the sun is low on the horizon, can blind drivers. A truck driver may not see other motorists, causing them to change lanes unsafely and cause a crash, or another motorist might not see a truck approaching. Many motorists underrate the impact of glare and may be less cautious than driving at night or during a storm.
This perspective can be particularly hazardous, as sudden vision loss can lead to accidents.
Each of these factors significantly increases the likelihood of a weather-related truck accident, but what steps should motorists take to mitigate the risk, and what are your options if you’re injured by a truck driving in bad weather?
Your Options for Recovering Compensation for a Weather-Related Truck Crash
Truck accident claims are complex. Weather may be a force of nature beyond human control, but when you’re hurt in a truck accident where inclement conditions are a primary factor, you may still be able to recover compensation. Unlike many car accidents, truck accidents usually involve many parties, each potentially sharing some liability.
The Official Word on Truck Driver Responsibilities
Given the unique challenges accompanying operating a commercial vehicle, truck drivers are held to strict standards. For example, the legal blood alcohol content (BAC) limit for truckers is .04, compared to .08 for all other motorists.
Similarly, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) mandates that truck drivers use “extreme caution” in hazardous conditions.
Crucially, failing to take measures to drive safely can constitute negligence, making them legally responsible for any injuries that result from an accident.
Truck drivers can exercise caution in many ways when driving in bad weather, depending on the conditions.
Reducing Speed
In adverse weather, one of the most critical steps is slowing down. Reduced speeds give truck drivers more control over their vehicles, allowing them to respond more effectively to unexpected obstacles and reduce the severity of accidents in the event of a collision.
Maintaining Safe Following Distances
Trucks require significantly more stopping distance than smaller vehicles. Truckers must maintain a safe following distance in adverse weather to account for extended braking distances. Following too closely in poor conditions can lead to rear-end collisions, especially if a vehicle ahead suddenly stops.
Using Headlights
Headlights improve visibility in conditions like rain or fog, even during the day. Properly lit trucks are more visible to other drivers, reducing the risk of a crash caused by poor visibility.
Be Prepared to Pull Over
If rain, snow, wind, or fog is so severe that it is unsafe, trucks driving in bad weather should pull over until conditions improve and it is safe to continue.
The viability of a claim largely rests on answering the question, “Would a more cautious approach have likely prevented the collision?”
For example, if the roads are slippery because of standing water and heavy downpours and a trucker crashes into you while traveling at 55 in a 60 zone, you could claim their speed reduction is not significant enough to improve safety. However, if the truck driver showed they significantly reduced their speed and maintained a six-second gap from surrounding traffic, you would likely struggle to argue negligence.
Can Truckers Refuse to Drive in Poor Weather Conditions?
While no law states truckers can’t drive in bad weather, there is a legal expectation for them to make safe decisions. A truck driver can decide the risk of a weather-related accident is not worth it and refuse to drive.
The Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA) prevents employers from discriminating against employees for refusing to work in unsafe conditions. Therefore, a truck company cannot fire or discipline a commercial truck driver if they refuse to drive in dangerous weather.
Of course, refusing to drive can impact a trucking company whose reputation rests on reliable service, resulting in delays and financial loss, and truck drivers may feel pressured to drive in unsafe conditions despite the risk to themselves and others.
Truck drivers owe a duty of care to other motorists on the road and should take all reasonable measures to drive safely in poor conditions to avoid a weather-related truck accident.
But this does not mean other motorists can act as they please, driving recklessly and expecting truckers to yield to them as they speed down the highway.
All motorists owe a duty to one another to follow traffic laws and exercise caution, which extends to maintaining a safe distance, reducing speed, and pulling over when necessary in dangerous conditions.
Holding Parties Liable in Weather-Related Truck Accidents
Who might be liable for a weather-related truck accident? Multiple parties can be negligent despite or because of poor weather conditions, and you could recover compensation. Potentially liable parties include:
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- Truck drivers who fail to adapt to bad weather: When truck drivers fail to adjust their driving behavior to accommodate adverse weather conditions, they may be liable for accidents. For example, they might fail to reduce their speed on a slippery road or drive in fog or heavy rain without headlights.
- Employers pressuring drivers: If a trucking company pressures a driver to meet a tight delivery deadline without allowing for caution in bad weather or implies — explicitly or implicitly — that their job may be at risk if they refuse to drive in poor conditions, truck accident victims can sue the employer under the respondeat superior doctrine, which holds employers accountable for employee conduct.
- Cargo companies: Cargo companies must ensure loads are properly secured and capable of withstanding extreme weather conditions. If improperly secured cargo leads to an accident due to weather, the cargo company may be liable.
- Manufacturers: Truck part manufacturers must design and manufacture safe components that can withstand all conditions. Examples of auto defects include a manufacturing fault that causes a truck hitch to rust and deteriorate when exposed to snow or poorly designed tires that lack grip in rain.
Taking legal action against these parties involves building a case showing their duty of care, breach of duty through negligence, and that the accident caused your injuries or damages. An experienced truck accident lawyer in San Antonio and McAllen can help you build your claim and secure the compensation you deserve.
Seeking Compensation after a Weather-Related Truck Accident
Injury victims of weather-related truck accidents can recover compensation for their physical injuries, emotional anguish, and financial hardship. To pursue compensation, it is crucial to understand the legal process and how a skilled attorney can help.
Truck accident victims can recover compensation for multiple damages, including medical bills, property damage, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other associated costs. Our Texas personal injury lawyer can help you evaluate the full extent of their damages and present a comprehensive case.
Patino Law Firm specializes in truck accident claims, having recovered six and seven-figure settlements for clients wrongfully injured due to someone else’s negligence.
Contact our truck accident attorney today to explore your options and see if you have a valid claim. We serve the Rio Grande Valley and San Antonio Metropolitan Area, including McAllen, Brownsville, Edinburg, San Antonio, Uvalde, and Converse. We offer a free, no-obligation case review, and you will never pay fees until we win.
