Pick-up trucks today are bigger than they’ve ever been. They’ve increased massively in size over the last 50 years, especially in the last decade. Additionally, some drivers will put lift kits on their trucks, making them even taller than they would be with a stock suspension system.
This is creating a lot of problems on the road. For one thing, larger and heavier vehicles are more likely to injure others in accidents. Someone in a small car is vastly more likely to pass away in a crash with a pick-up truck than the person in the truck itself. People often view these large vehicles as being “safer,” but that’s just because they are only thinking of it from their own perspective. They are actually making the roads far less safe for everyone else.
The risk for pedestrians
One area where this is most clearly seen is in pedestrian accidents. Some trucks are so large that pedestrians are essentially invisible if they are walking near the vehicle. There is a massive blind spot behind the truck, and the driver can’t see anything in that area without a camera. Modern trucks also have a big blind spot in the front, where the driver can’t even see the road over their own hood.
This has led to a lot of accidents with pedestrians or cyclists where the pick-up truck drivers claim they didn’t know anyone was there and that they never saw them. This may very well be true. But the reason that they couldn’t see the person or the cyclist was because the vehicle was so massive that it blocked their view. In this sense, these trucks are creating additional accidents almost on their own.
Unless this trend changes, trucks will continue to increase the risk that everyone else faces on the road. Those who have suffered injuries due to the negligence of other drivers must be aware of their options to seek compensation for medical bills, lost wages and more.