If you are the driver of a heavy goods vehicle or a truck, it is vital that you are very careful when you are driving through the streets. This is why you have to take a separate driving test to ensure that you know how to handle such a large vehicle safely on the road.
In the winter particularly, it can be very dangerous to be driving on the road in a normal car, let alone a huge hunk of metal. The rate of accidents on the roads spikes at this time of the year due to traffic increases as well as icy conditions. If you do happen to lose control of your heavy goods vehicle and crash, you will need to know what to do.
Stop the Truck
The first thing you need to do without hesitation when your truck is involved in an accident is to stop driving. Of course, if you have spun onto your side then you will have already come to a stop- but if not you must not drive away from the scene. If you do drive away from the scene you may be charged with a hit and run, and this is much more severe than if you stay and wait for assistance. It isn’t worth taking that risk and being locked up for something which wasn’t even your fault. If you have crashed into a car, you need to get out of your truck immediately and check on the driver and any passengers. They could be seriously hurt, and if they are you will need to treat them. Make sure you turn off their car engine to prevent a fire, and if it is safe to do so, get them out of the vehicle and onto the roadside until help arrives.
Call for Help
If you have been involved in an accident with a carm the chances are they will be injured. Once you have checked on them to see how severe the injuries are, you will need to call three people: an ambulance, the police, and the highway patrol- in that order.
Move Away from Traffic
Once you have called for help, you need to make sure that everyone involved in the accident is out of the way of oncoming traffic. If you have to move someone who is injured, make sure that you support their head and neck, and get them onto the side of the road. Stick your hazard lights on so that oncoming traffic knows what is going on.
Get Information
If you are ever involved in an accident on the road, it can be a huge shock to the system- however you must not forget to take the information of everyone involved. Make sure you get the name, address, number, driving license info and insurance information of everyone involved in the accident. If there are any witnesses you will want their contact information too so that the police can ask them for a statement.
Call A Lawyer
Once everything else is done and everyone is being treated, you will need to find trucking accident lawyers to help you put a case forward. If the accident wasn’t your fault, you will want compensation for any damages or injuries you sustain.
