A truck u-turn is a highly dangerous maneuver and creates some of the worst accidents.
It takes at least 30 seconds (and often longer if the truck gets hung up) for an 18-wheeler to make a u-turn and during this time the highway is blocked. This represents a serious danger to car traffic which is often approaching at 60 mph or more. Even when the u-turn is complete the truck is going in the opposite direction very slowly and remains a serious danger until it gets up to speed. A u-turn at night or in the rain is even more dangerous. This is why the most safety conscious trucking companies have polices prohibiting u-turns. But, there are too many drivers and companies that don’t appreciate how dangerous u-turns can be.
I see the aftermath of these terrible wrecks, having handled more than a dozen of them across the country. They almost always result in death or very serious injuries to the car occupants. The sad thing is that every one of these u-turn accidents is preventable. One of my goals is to bring awareness to this serious safety problem and get trucking companies to institute appropriate policies so these u-turn wrecks can be avoided in the future.
I've battled some of the most powerful trucking companies to obtain justice for victims of catastrophic injuries or wrongful death. As a former police officer, I rely on my investigative and forensic skills in combination with cutting-edge work in psychodrama and communication theories to find the truth behind every case. I'm a board member of the Association of Plaintiff Interstate Trucking Lawyers of America, and I was the first lawyer in Georgia certified by APITL America as a specialist in handling truck accident cases. I'm also an officer in the Interstate Trucking Litigation Group (ITLG) and founding member of the Truck Accident Attorneys Roundtable.
Content by Joe Fried mylawyerjoe@gmail.com