Dump trucks can’t swim. Back-up accident sends NY truck into a dive.

Lake Jackson truck wreck lawyers point out that dump trucks have several notable features that make them dangerous when a negligent or inexperienced driver gets behind the wheel.

• Dump truck drivers’ view when backing is severely limited by the bulk of the truck, especially when the vehicle carries a load. The truck’s blind spots are huge. Mirrors and back up alarms help. But many dump truck drivers rely when they can on the guidance of “spotters” standing outside of the vehicle to guide them during backing operations.

• Dump trucks might tip over if the ground is not level enough when they load or unload. Dump trucks have an awkwardly high center of gravity in relation to the width of their wheelbase. They need to be on level ground when they raise their beds to unload their cargo or the shift in weight and balance can pull the dump truck into a slide or even tip it over.

• Dump trucks are massive and heavy. Their weight and momentum alone makes them extremely dangerous to the occupants of smaller vehicles in a collision.

• Dump trucks have to have high ground clearance to safely carry their loads over roads and the terrain at construction sites. The high ground clearance means that passenger vehicles colliding with the trucks might drive partially or fully underneath the truck into dangerous and often deadly underride accidents.

A driver for Hyde Fuel Company in New York received a bitter reminder of the back-up hazards of dump trucks this past Wednesday. While he was backing, he accidentally backed onto thin ice at Oseetah Lake. The truck’s back tires broke through the ice, and the driver found that his dump truck was no duck truck. Our Lake Jackson truck wreck lawyers lament that the truck had no knowledge of how to swim. Another engine, a network of chains and ropes, and some large wooden beams had to work diligently to haul that massive vehicle out of the cold lake waters. The owner of the Hyde Fuel Company had no comment for Adirondack reporters inquiring about the incident.

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