Midland, Texas – a part of the Permian Basin, is one of the largest producers of oil in the United States. With this booming West Texas industry, there’s a serious need for trucking – to transport goods to and from the area. It ensures businesses operate smoothly and that the people of Midland-Odessa continue to get vital supplies needed for everyday life. But with the need for commercial trucking comes an increased risk of trucking crashes or dangerous incidents. Our Midland-Odessa legal team wants to make sure victims of these crashes and incidents are aware of their rights. If you were injured by a commercial truck in West Texas, our Texas truck accident attorney helps you to learn more about what you can do to hold the trucking company accountable.
Trucking is a necessary part of day-to-day operations in Midland/Odessa – not only to transport oil but also to transport other important natural resources like sand and water, which are necessities in drilling for oil. Additionally, there are other necessary supplies like pipes, machinery, and equipment constantly being transported throughout the region.
Yet, people continue to get hurt from preventable trucking wrecks.
How This Affects People in Midland/Odessa
For people who live in this area, trucks are seen everywhere, especially on highways like Interstate 20, Highway 385, and Highway 18. Unfortunately, the risk of getting seriously hurt from a trucking accident gets higher with more trucks on the road.
Common truck wrecks that happen are:
- Jackknife crashes
- Rollovers
Rear-end collisions - T-bone collisions
- Blind spot collisions
- Tire blowouts
These are some of the more common wrecks seen with 18-wheelers and other large commercial-sized vehicles. These serious wrecks cause severe injuries like traumatic brain injuries, amputated limbs, spinal injuries, or even death. The people of Midland/Odessa deserve to be protected against injuries caused by reckless commercial truck drivers.
What Rules are Truck Drivers Supposed to Follow?
There are rules and regulations in place to prevent trucks and their drivers from causing dangerous wrecks. For example, commercial trucks and their trailers that are fully loaded often weigh 80,000 pounds. This is far heavier than the average midsized SUV that weighs approximately 5,000 pounds. This means the damage from these kinds of trucking crashes can be more devastating and catastrophic than a typical car wreck involving two compact or mid-sized vehicles.
This proves to be especially dangerous when the drilling and oil companies, who are pushing for faster operations, are rushing the drivers to drive faster and less safely on highways shared with innocent people, affecting the safety of the residents of Midland/Odessa.
It’s important that victims of these types of wrecks can get the tools they need to properly recover, move forward from the devastation they faced, and hold these large companies accountable for their promotion of reckless driving.
What the Button Law Firm Can Do to Help
We want to help residents of the Permian Basin have a much safer driving environment and get dangerous truckers off the road. Our Midland legal team works hard to hold careless trucking and transportation companies responsible for their encouragement of reckless driving habits that lead to serious injuries.