Delivery Trucks Pose An Under-Rated Danger In Traffic

Online shopping has become one of the dominant forms of retail commerce. The trend was building well before COVID-19 hit in early 2020, but the shutdowns that accompanied the arrival of the virus dramatically increased the use of online shopping. As a consequence, the prevalence of delivery trucks and vans delivering all those online orders to homes throughout the nation grew like never before. Because of this, unprecedented numbers of these trucks and vans were on the roads, both on major roadways and on neighborhood streets.

While most collisions between passenger cars and large trucks previously occurred almost exclusively on major highways, with tractor-trailer rigs the primary truck involved, the home delivery explosion brought that kind of collision much closer to home. The delivery vehicles are not as large as tractor-trailers but are much larger than passenger cars, delivering a new element of danger to local streets.

No Matter What You Drive, Delivery Vans Are Bigger

No matter the make or model, delivery trucks and vans all are larger than whatever passenger vehicle you are driving. A delivery van used extensively by Amazon as well as other delivery services such as UPS, Federal Express, and Purolator, among others, is the Mercedes Sprinter, which starts at about 11,000 pounds and can weigh more.

In contrast, pickup trucks tend to top the scales for passenger vehicles, but even including pickups, passenger vehicles weigh an average of 4,000 pounds and can weigh as little as 2,400 pounds. Virtually all delivery vehicles are in the category of trucks and vans that weigh more than 10,000 pounds but less than 26,000 pounds. That makes pretty much all delivery vehicles larger and heavier than all passenger vehicles, with some of them much larger and heavier. In a collision, size wins, and it almost always is the smaller vehicle that incurs the most damage.

Federal statistics show an increase in fatal crashes involving large trucks or buses of 31% from 2010 to 2020, even though such fatalities dropped by 3% from 2019 to 2020. Such crashes causing injuries rose from 60,000 in 2009 to 108,000 in 2020. Statistics since 2020 are not yet available. In that year, though, nearly 5,000 people died in collisions involving large trucks, with 71% of those deaths occurring among people in vehicles other than the truck involved. The statistics make it difficult to determine whether the large trucks were delivery-vehicle size or the larger 18-wheeler rigs. Still, an industry group estimates the accident rate for delivery vehicles at 20%, which would amount to about 1,000 deaths and thousands of injuries.

If You Were Injured In An Accident With A Delivery Vehicle, Contact The Attorneys of Maire & Deedon

If you or a loved one have been injured or killed in an accident involving a delivery truck or van, you should talk to the California personal injury attorneys of Maire & Deedon. It is possible that the accident was a result of negligence on the part of the delivery vehicle driver. We can help you figure out if you have a claim and what your options are if you do. Our attorneys are here to help you obtain the compensation you are entitled to.