Picture this: You are driving down the road when, suddenly, a large semi-truck begins making a U-turn in front of you. The truck slows to a crawl and then stops, leaving its trailer stretched across the roadway and directly in your path. You are forced to slam on your brakes to avoid a truck accident.
It is a scenario many Florida drivers have encountered. Our roads are heavily traveled by semi-trucks and 18-wheelers making local deliveries, traveling between distribution centers, and beginning or ending routes. What many drivers may not realize, however, is that commercial truck drivers receive specific training concerning the hazards associated with turns, intersections, entering traffic, and operating a tractor-trailer in areas where other vehicles may cross the truck’s path.
Commercial Truck Drivers Are Trained to Plan Their Turns
First and foremost, being a professional truck driver requires training. These semi-truck and 18-wheeler drivers know that driving a commercial truck requires considerably more planning than operating an ordinary passenger vehicle.
The J.J. Keller Tractor-Trailer Driver Training Manual, Second Edition discusses fundamental turning principles that commercial drivers are expected to learn, including knowing the vehicle, planning turns in advance, and recognizing the additional hazards created by intersections and complicated turning maneuvers.
These principles are also reflected in commercial driver training materials developed in support of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The Commercial Driver’s License Manual, Model Copy (which reflects many of the same principles found in several state-specific CDL manuals) addresses the unique difficulties commercial drivers face when turning large vehicles, crossing intersections, judging gaps in traffic, and accounting for the path traveled by the rear of the vehicle.
The reason for this additional training is straightforward: A bad decision by a semi-truck driver to make a U-turn when doing so is unsafe can create a deadly roadway condition.
Why U-Turns Are Particularly Dangerous for Semi-Trucks
The J.J. Keller Tractor-Trailer Driver Training Manual specifically addresses the amount of time a large commercial vehicle may need when entering or crossing traffic. Depending on the circumstances, a tractor-trailer can require 7 to 15 seconds to cross an intersection. During that time, the tractor and trailer may occupy or obstruct multiple lanes of travel.
Commercial drivers are also trained not to simply expect another motorist to stop and make room for the truck. A professional driver must evaluate whether there is sufficient time and space to complete the maneuver safely rather than entering the roadway and forcing approaching motorists to brake or take evasive action.
These principles become particularly important when a truck driver attempts a U-turn. The maneuver can require the tractor to cross several lanes while the trailer temporarily blocks approaching traffic and to stop with its trailer completely blocking traffic for multiple seconds.
What is Off-Tracking?
Commercial drivers are also trained about a term the industry calls “off-tracking.”
When a tractor-trailer makes a turn, the rear wheels do not necessarily follow the same path as the tractor (driver-occupied part of the semi). The trailer can track inside the tractor’s path during a turn, creating a risk of striking or encroaching upon vehicles, pedestrians, bicyclists, curbs, or other objects that the tractor didn’t need to avoid.
Both the J.J. Keller Tractor-Trailer Driver Training Manual and other commercial driver training materials address the importance of accounting for the path of the entire vehicle during turns.
This becomes especially important during a 180-degree turn. A U-turn may require a truck driver to occupy multiple lanes, cross opposing traffic, dramatically reduce speed, and position a lengthy trailer across active travel lanes.
A Wrong Turn Does Not Justify a U-Turn
Professional truck drivers are expected to plan ahead.
If a truck driver misses a turn, becomes lost, or realizes that the truck is traveling in the wrong direction, the safest solution may require continuing down the road until the driver reaches an appropriate location to turn around. It may require several additional turns. It may even require traveling several miles out of the way, taking multiple right turns, or using another route to avoid a U-turn.
It is understood in the trucking industry that U-turns are an unnecessary danger simply to save time.
In fact, many trucking companies maintain their own policies restricting or prohibiting U-turns. Depending on the company, making an unauthorized U-turn can constitute a serious safety-policy violation regardless of whether a particular intersection contains a posted “No U-Turn” sign.
For that reason, when investigating a serious truck crash involving a U-turn, an experienced trucking attorney should examine more than the traffic citation or crash report. The investigation should also address what the driver was taught, what the company’s safety policies required, whether the route was properly planned, and why the driver chose to attempt the maneuver.
Evidence Plays a Key Role in a Semi-Truck U-Turn Accident Case
Videos of tractor-trailers attempting dangerous U-turns demonstrate how quickly these situations can become catastrophic. An approaching motorist may have only seconds to react after realizing that a trailer is blocking the roadway.
When a serious collision occurs, determining why the truck driver attempted the maneuver can become an important part of the investigation.
Relevant evidence may include:
- Dash-camera and surveillance footage;
- Electronic logging and GPS data;
- The truck’s planned route and dispatch instructions;
- Driver training and qualification records;
- The trucking company’s U-turn and route-planning policies;
- Electronic communications between the driver and dispatcher;
- Relevant prior safety or disciplinary records; and
- Evidence establishing whether the U-turn violated Florida traffic laws, posted traffic-control signs, or any industry standards.
This evidence can be particularly important because a trucking company and its insurance carrier may begin investigating a serious collision almost immediately. This may give them an advantage over a driver who may be hospitalized or unable to obtain the information without a legal representative.
Contact Dalton Injury Law If You Were Injured in a Semi-Truck or 18-Wheeler U-Turn Accident in Florida
If you or a loved one has been seriously injured because a semi-truck driver attempted an illegal or dangerous U-turn, preserving evidence early can be critical. Dalton Injury Law is a Florida truck crash law firm focused specifically on semi-truck, 18-wheeler, and tractor-trailer accident cases.
We understand the importance of investigating not only how a crash occurred, but also the commercial driver training, company safety policies, electronic evidence, route planning, and other information that may explain why the truck driver placed the tractor-trailer in that position in the first place.
If you’ve been hurt in Delray Beach, Florida, please call Dalton Injury Law today to schedule a free case evaluation with a truck accident lawyer, or contact us online.
Dalton Injury Law
909 SE 5th Ave C, Delray Beach, FL 33483
(561) 600-1766
Monday to Friday 9AM-5PM
Sources
J.J. Keller Tractor-Trailer Driver Training Manual, Second Edition, J.J. Keller & Associates, Inc., December 2012, ISBN 978-1-60287-276-9.
Commercial Driver’s License Manual, Model Copy, July 2010, developed in support of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
