Jackknife Truck Accident: All You Need To Know

Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers | Truck Accident Lawyer Near Clearwater Florida

Jackknife Truck Accident: All You Need To Know

At some point, you have probably seen a huge truck folded at a weird angle, blocking traffic on the highway. This is called a jackknife accident, and it’s a scary and dangerous type of crash. Here is how these accidents happen and what you should do in the event of one.

What Is a Jackknife Truck Accident?

Big rigs have two main parts — the cab is where the driver sits, and the trailer is the long part that carries the cargo. The point where these parts connect acts like a hinge — a design that helps trucks make turns. However, this hinged design can also cause problems like a jackknife accident that happens when a truck’s trailer swings out to the side.

In such situations, the truck and trailer form an angle that looks like a folding pocket knife, which is where the name comes from. If the trailer slides while the cab doesn’t, or the other way around, it will fold at the pivot point. The trailer can sweep across several lanes of traffic in seconds, and anything in its path gets hit with huge force.

Reasons Why Trucks Jackknife

Most jackknife accidents start with one of these common problems.

Slippery Roads

A trailer’s wheels need to grip the road to stay stable. When roads are wet, icy, or snowy, trailers lose grip more easily. On slippery roads, the trailer’s wheels can slide instead of roll. When you take away the tires’ grip, the trailer becomes like a giant pendulum ready to swing.

Braking Problems

The most common way to jackknife a truck is through bad braking. When a truck driver brakes too hard, the wheels can lock up, and locked front wheels mean no steering control.

Locked rear wheels can lose traction, and this risk gets bigger when:

  • The trailer is empty since less weight means less grip
  • The truck is going fast
  • The driver has to stop suddenly
  • The brakes aren’t working right

Truck drivers train to avoid this, but emergencies still happen.

Equipment Failures

Trucks are complicated machines that need regular maintenance, and when something breaks, jackknifing becomes much more likely. 

Common problems include:

  • Brake imbalances
  • Tire blowouts
  • Steering problems
  • Problems with the connection between the cab and trailer
  • Poorly distributed cargo

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requires regular checks of commercial vehicles, but problems still happen, especially when trucks aren’t properly maintained.

Driver Mistakes

Some mistakes that contribute to the number of driver mistakes that occur include:

  • Driving while tired
  • Distractions like looking at phones or adjusting controls
  • Not enough experience with big vehicles
  • Poor choices in dangerous conditions
  • Driving too fast

Driving a truck is hard work and requires special training for good reason.

What to Do After a Jackknife Accident

Jackknife accidents often cause multiple vehicle crashes, major traffic jams, serious injuries, extensive vehicle damage, and sometimes dangerous cargo spills. 

If you’re involved in a truck accident, here are some important steps to take:

  1. Call 911 right away
  2. Get medical attention even if you feel okay
  3. Take photos of the scene if you can do so safely
  4. Get contact information from witnesses
  5. Report the accident to your insurance company
  6. Don’t make statements admitting fault
  7. Consider talking to a personal injury attorney with truck accident experience

Documentation like medical records, police reports, and witness statements will matter later.

Who Is Responsible?

Figuring out who’s legally responsible for a jackknife accident can be complicated. Potentially responsible parties include the truck driver, the trucking company, maintenance providers, other drivers who may have caused the emergency, and government entities responsible for road conditions.

According to the FMCSA, there were 107,000 injuries and nearly 5,000 deaths caused by jackknife truck accidents in 2020. Florida uses a comparative negligence system, which means responsibility can be shared among multiple parties. This makes these cases particularly complex.

Common Injuries From Jackknife Accidents

Because of the massive size of semi-trucks, injuries from a jackknife crash can be severe, and victims may suffer:

Injuries are often worse for drivers and passengers in smaller vehicles trapped under or behind the swinging trailer.

The Long-Term Impact of Jackknife Crashes

The effects of a catastrophic injury from a jackknife accident often last long after the crash is cleared, and victims frequently deal with:

Compensation in these cases usually covers both economic damages like medical bills and lost wages and non-economic damages like pain and suffering. In Florida, you generally have two years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury claim.

Safety Technology Improvements

The trucking industry is getting better at preventing jackknife accidents with new technologies like:

  • Anti-lock braking
  • Electronic stability control
  • Automatic emergency braking
  • Trailer sway mitigation
  • Advanced driver assistance
  • Improved brake designs
  • Roll stability control

In the meantime, understanding the causes and consequences of jackknife accidents helps everyone make safer decisions on the road.

How To Avoid Jackknife Accidents

You can reduce your risk of being involved in a jackknife accident by:

  • Staying out of a truck’s blind spots
  • Never cutting off a large truck
  • Giving trucks extra space in bad weather
  • Watching for signs that a trailer is starting to sway
  • Being extra careful on highway ramps and curves

The best strategy is to give trucks plenty of space.

Preventing Jackknife Truck Accidents 

The good news is that most semi-truck jackknife accidents can be prevented. Through proper training, vehicle maintenance, and careful driving, their frequency can be reduced. And as truck safety technology continues to improve, these accidents will likely be less common in the future.

Contact the Pinellas County Truck Accident Law Firm Of Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers for Help

For more information, please contact the Clearwater and St. Petersburg truck accident law firm of Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers at the nearest location to schedule a free consultation today.

We serve Pinellas County and its surrounding areas:

Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers – Clearwater
1875 N Belcher Rd. STE 201,
Clearwater, FL 33765
(727) 796-8282

Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers – St. Petersburg
2560 1st Ave S,
St. Petersburg, FL 33712
(727) 349-1728