The terrible imbalance of power on our highways

truck accidents | February 8, 2017

Nothing gives a driver the chills like the shadow of a large commercial vehicle blocking out the sun. You know your chances of surviving a truck-altercation are slim.

Here are the statistics

Nearly five percent of all highway vehicles are commercial in nature. While you in your car are carefully transporting people, these are other vehicles are transporting goods, in a rush to meet delivery schedules.

You are using the highways for very different purposes, and you, the car driver, are at a distinct disadvantage. Fully loaded big rigs weigh in at 40 tons; your car is two tons at most. You are just a speck on a big truck’s windshield.

It is no secret that people in passenger cars are much less likely to survive a truck crash than the drivers of the trucks. Auto passengers account for 97 percent of all deaths in car-truck collisions.

In the year 2010 (the most recent year we have statistics from), California was the state with the second highest level of fatalities. Of 2,715 fatal traffic accidents that year, 235 involved a commercial vehicle. Fully nine percent of highway deaths in our state were from car-truck crashes.

What we do

At Rosenthal Law, we represent injured persons and surviving family members in catastrophic and fatal truck collisions. Our goals are two: to obtain compensation for the terrible losses you have suffered, and to deliver a message to truck fleets that sloppy driving, distracted driving, drunk driving, and poorly maintained vehicles will not be tolerated.

It may be that, over the next decade, driverless vehicles will put a dent in these awful statistics. We welcome this change. In the meantime, we are still at war with the notion that truck crashes are just a part of life that we all must put up with.

Profit vs life

For the truck companies, accidents are an expenditure, the cost of doing business. For you and your family, it’s the only life you have.

We grieve for your losses. If we can help you speak out against this injustice, and effect a measure of closure, we will be honored.