Tank trucks carry gas and liquid cargo and thus often transport hazardous materials—making accidents with them especially dangerous.
Tanker Truck Accidents
You've likely seen a tank truck before, although you may not have known it. Tank trucks are a type of semi-trailer truck like a flatbed truck; however, the difference is in the load.
Information About Tank Trucks
Tank trucks have a cylindrical container instead of a box, flat, or rectangle-shaped one due to the liquefied materials that these trucks carry. A common type of tank truck is one that transports fuel to gas stations. There are also septic tank trucks that transport the waste to collection sites. In some cases, tank trucks may also be used to transport water, chemicals, or concrete. Depending on the exact material they carry, these cylinder-shaped loads are often insulated or pressurized.
What Are the Common Dangers of Tanker Trucks?
Tank trucks, like any other semi-trailer truck, are potentially hazardous. They have air brakes, manual or semi-automatic transmission, and loads attached to a hitch. However, these types of trucks also pose a particular kind of threat that many other trucks do not as tank trucks are more likely to be carrying hazardous materials than other trucks.
In the event of an accident, these hazardous chemicals can spill and sometimes catch fire or cause explosions. In the event that a tank truck is involved in an accident, the hazardous material team will often show up to contain any hazardous chemicals that the truck was carrying. If the load was pressurized, this may also pose additional threats.
Trucks Carrying Hazardous Materials
Certain materials qualify as “hazardous” and require a specific type of insurance to be carried by big rigs. Examples include more than 55 pounds of explosives, class 7 radioactive materials, and more.
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Tank trucks have the ability to be involved in many different types of truck accidents, just like any other type of truck. The difference, however, is in the danger these accidents pose. Tank trucks are prone to blind spots, rollovers, and jackknife accidents, but when these accidents occur, special precautions must be taken to contain any spilled material.
When a tank truck is involved in an accident, a HazMat team will likely show up at the scene to contain any spillage and the fire department may also accompany them because of the possibility of fire. At Arnold & Itkin, we know the dangers that tank trucks pose to drivers of passenger vehicles on the road, and we are prepared to fight for you if you were injured.
Attorneys from our firm are available to talk to you if you have a question about your truck accident.