Wide Turns

Wide turn accidents are also known as squeeze play accidents. These crashes occur because it is extremely difficult for a semi truck or 18-wheeler to maneuver a turn. These vehicles take up much more space and are much heavier than passenger cars, and drivers need to be particularly careful to execute a wide turn. When a tight right turn is necessary, a semi truck needs to start the turn by swinging very wide to the left before moving to the right. Unfortunately, this potentially endangers cars and motorcycles to the left of the vehicle, to the right of the vehicle, and sometimes in the general area after a turn is completed.

An initial swing to the left may also leave a semi’s cab in a different lane of traffic, which may result in a side impact crash. Drivers on both sides of the truck may not be aware of the driver’s intention, and they may misunderstand the move to the left as a lane change. They may put their vehicle between the truck and the curb, resulting in the car being squeezed between the trailer and the curb. Often, serious injuries are sustained in this manner because cars and motorcycles are so much smaller than commercial vehicles and 18-wheelers.

A truck driver who fails to take care when making a wide turn may be found negligent. Negligence may be established by showing that the truck driver failed to drive safely, and this failure was the cause of the plaintiff’s injuries. If the truck driver was in the course and scope of employment at the time of making a wide turn inappropriately, their employer may be held indirectly liable under a theory of vicarious liability. Trucking companies may also be held directly liable if they fail to ensure that a driver knows how to make a wide turn, under a negligent training or negligent supervision cause of action. These are theories of direct liability in which the cause of a plaintiff’s injuries was the failure to train or the failure to supervise.