The number of carrying cargo trucks on the roads increases rapidly. For example, in Toronto, on Highway 401 between Weston Road and Highway 400, the annual average daily traffic reaches up to 500,000 vehicles and about 20% of them are commercial trucks. Highway 401 is the transportation backbone of the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor, along which over half of Canada’s population resides. In 2007, approximately 42 million vehicles including almost 8 million trucks used Ontario’s international border crossing. The Ministry of Transportation statistics indicates that in 2007 there were 170 collisions involving large trucks (it was almost 15% of all motor vehicles accidents) and 56 people were killed.
According to the annual report of the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (2006), 149 people died and 2,807 people suffered significant injuries in motor vehicle collisions involving large commercial trucks. Obviously, when a huge truck collides with a smaller passenger car, the smaller vehicle is likely to be damaged much more than a truck.
There may be lots of reasons for a truck accident:
- Truck drivers not driving properly
- Speeding
- Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol
- Driver fatigue
- Improper loading
- Improper maintenance
- Failure to comply with all applicable Ministry of Transportation regulations and more.
The possibilities of financial compensation may include the trucking company, the truck driver, the owner of the tractor or trailer, the maintenance shop and others. However, the process of obtaining the accident benefits can be complicated.
Source: Ontario Ministry of Transportation
