The average commercial semi-truck weighs over 10,000 lb. Their drivers travel at 55 mph or over. A large truck is harder to steer than other vehicles. It is also harder to judge things like the distances of cars on the road. A truck needs more time to stop which makes it harder to avoid a crash when another driver pulls out in front of it.

If a truck is improperly loaded, it can cause an accident as well. If a truck is carrying hazardous cargo, and the barrels of the cargo are not secured properly, the chemicals can spill causing a very dangerous situation.

About 11% of truck accidents are fatal. People in passenger vehicles are more likely to die than truck drivers. A total of 4,965 people lost their lives in large-truck crashes in the year 2020, according to the National Safety Council.

Although they may cause many deaths each year, trucking companies and the insurance companies they use are often unwilling to pay grieving families and injured people the money that they deserve. 

The average settlement amount for a trucking accident is much higher than it would be for a regular passenger car accident. This is because the injuries are so much more severe. When a trucking accident results in a fatality, the trucking company is often sued for wrongful death. Wrongful death cases against large trucking companies will often result in very high settlements. Juries want to send a message to the trucking company to be safer.

Old Dominion Freight Line is a major trucking company. It has been involved in quite a few major trucking accidents.