With the growth of the oil industry in Roswell and throughout New Mexico, there are more oil tankers and other heavy equipment on our roads and at oil field sites. While all truck accidents are dangerous, ones involving oil field trucks and the heavy equipment used in the oil industry can cause victims to suffer catastrophic injuries or death. The skilled legal team at The Injury & Disability Law Center understands the unique challenges in these cases and is here to fight for the compensation you deserve if you were injured in an oil field trucking accident.
Five Major Causes of Oilfield Trucking Accidents
Because oilfield trucks are often carrying flammable gas and oil, truckers must exercise even more care when driving the truck. When they fail to do so, the result can be a deadly accident that can involve multiple vehicles and close the highway or road for hours or longer. Some of the top way that oilfield truckers cause these accidents include:
- Inexperience. Driving any truck takes training and experience, and this is especially true for a trucker driving an oilfield truck that may be carrying liquid cargo. Truckers driving an oilfield truck can lack the experience needed to safely drive it due to the high demand for these workers and the trucking company’s failure to hire qualified drivers or to train them properly.
- Fatigue. Truckers who drive oilfield trucks can drive longer hours than other truck drivers because they are exempted from some of the federal hours of service regulations governing how long they can drive. This increases the dangers that they will cause a head-on collision or other type of accident when fighting to stay awake or if they fall asleep at the wheel.
- Speeding. It takes trucks longer to slow down and stop when they are traveling at a faster speed. When they are exceeding the speed limit, they may not have the time to avoid a crash no matter what they do.
- Distracted driving. Eating and drinking, texting, talking on a cell phone, and reading a GPS are just some of the ways that truckers are distracted and cause preventable crashes.
- Unsecured or uneven loads. Oilfield trucks that are not fully filled with oil or gas are more unstable and can tip over or sway into nearby lanes if a trucker is not skilled enough in driving the truck. If he is transporting other materials or loads that are not properly secured, the load could fall off the truck into oncoming traffic, or the trucker could be unable to control the truck—with disastrous consequences for nearby victims.
Contact Us for the Skill and Aggressive Representation You Need
If you were injured in an oilfield truck accident, your claim could be more complicated due to the higher value of your claim and numerous parties who could be responsible for compensating you. Our experienced truck accident attorneys in Roswell are here to thoroughly investigate the cause of your crash, identify all the liable parties, and negotiate your settlement so that you receive all the compensation you deserve. Start a live chat to schedule your free consultation today.
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