Maine Truck Accident Attorneys

Maine Truck Accident Attorneys

Did you know that the Maine Motor Transport Association has been actively seeking trucking industry drivers and employees throughout the state? With more trucks, semi-trucks, and eighteen-wheelers expected throughout Maine in the coming years, understanding your legal rights if you are involved in a truck accident is essential.

Uniform Trucking Regulations in Maine

Maine is one of five states forming the New England Transportation Consortium, and it subscribes to a common set of safety standards and procedures that regulate its interstate trucking industry. Maine requires all trucks, including certain pickup trucks, to register as commercial vehicles based on the weight and load of the truck and semitrailer drawn. Accordingly, if you have been injured in a trucking accident, you may have additional remedies against the truck driver, trucking company, and/or associated corporation if they failed to adhere to certain Maine commercial vehicle regulations.

How Do Truck Accidents Differ from Motor Vehicle Collisions?

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, many trucking accidents are caused when a truck rolls over, and nearly half of these “rollovers” are caused by the following conditions:

• A truck driver’s failure to adjust his or her speed to curves in the road;
• The weight and nature of the load being carried;
• The condition of the brakes;
• The road’s surface, and
• The condition and makeup of intersections.

Unlike traditional motor vehicle accidents, the weight differentials, design, and general wear of large trucks, semi-trucks, and eighteen-wheelers create the potential for accidents you may not otherwise anticipate.

Causes of Trucking Accidents and How to Respond after a Truck Accident

Studies indicate that the majority of large truck crashes are caused as a result of excessive speed, distraction/inattention, and impairment due to fatigue, alcohol, or illness. Recognizing the impact chronic fatigue can have on high-risk truck crashes, federal regulatory agencies have reduced the legal weekly work limit for truck drivers from 85 to 70 hours per week in an attempt to reduce truck-related fatalities. However, if you are involved in a truck accident, it is important to take the following steps:

• Assess the situation and remain in your vehicle if there may be further risk of injury;
• Do not leave the scene of the accident but move your vehicle to a safe location, if possible;
• Assess yourself for injuries, then call 911 immediately to report the accident, and
• Follow further police instructions, but DO NOT admit fault.

Why Contact an Experienced Truck Accident Attorney

Due to extensive federal safety and insurance regulations, accidents involving commercial vehicles should not be categorized as general motor vehicle accidents. For example, a trucking company may be liable if the accident occurred after a driver worked 75 hours that week, but this would not be a basis for liability in general motor vehicle accident. If you have been involved in a truck accident, but sure to contact a Maine attorney with experience litigating truck accident cases.