Caution and attentiveness are important parts of driving on highways and roads for cars and smaller vehicles. Commercial vehicles such as semi-trucks and tractor trailers have the same responsibility to share the road as any other vehicle and drivers must have a Commercial Driver's License issued in accordance with A.R.S. § 28-3224. Those sorts of vehicles, however, are much larger creating more blind spots for their drivers and can do significantly more damage in the event of a wreck.

On December 1, 2014 the Arizona Department of Public Safety issued a press release stating that a van was exiting the I-10 at the 67th Avenue off ramp when it collided with the rear end of a semi, ultimately resulting in the death of the Phoenix driver. Distracted driving is believed to be a factor. Our Phoenix personal injury law firm sees these types of collisions all too often. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation Crash Statistics, in 2009 alone there were over two thousand semi-truck collisions involving injuries in Arizona, 67 of those crashes resulted in fatalities.

Inattentive or distracted drivers can be just as dangerous as an aggressive driver on the road. Focus on the road. Not paying attention to brake lights or slowed traffic, cutting people off, or ignoring turn signals can easily cause an accident to occur. Multi-tasking, such as eating or using a cell phone, can be a huge contributor to not noticing a brake light.

Did you know? If you cannot see the driver of a semi, they cannot see you. The front, rear, and sides of a semi are common blind spots for the driver. Avoid driving in these areas. The semi driver can easily miss-judge and turn into you.

Give trucks plenty of room to maneuver. Trucks turning right often need to swing wide to the left in order to negotiate the turn. If you follow a truck too closely or get in between a semi and the curb, especially on city streets, you are exposing yourself to a very hazardous collision.

Always take care and be attentive while driving. You could be saving a life, maybe your own.