A tractor trailer laid on it’s side and several other vehicles were strewn about the highway in the aftermath of a multi-vehicle crash on AA Highway in Bracken County. The Kentucky State Police attribute the accident to heavy fog.
A state trooper at the scene said it appeared that the tractor trailer was making a left turn onto Kentucky Road 9 from AA Highway when the truck was struck by a vehicle traveling south on the highway. Then two other vehicles traveling north struck the trailer causing it to roll over. It was uncertain how the other two vehicles were involved.
The driver of the tractor trailer and the driver of another vehicle were taken to a local hospital with significant but non-life-threatening injuries.
Heavy Fog Accidents
Heavy fog can reduce visibility to just a few feet making driving dangerous, and each year, around 500 people die because of accidents in heavy fog. According to a study published in Research Gate, heavy fog crashes produce significantly more injuries and damage than do similar accidents in clear weather. These crashes are more prevalent on high-speed, undivided roads and two-lane rural roads. These deaths come from over 30,000 accidents, and over 12,000 injured.
Why is Fog so Dangerous?
The most obvious reason is lack of visibility, but there are other reasons so many deaths and serious injured happen in fog. Fog happens mostly at night or in the morning. When it happens at night, there is already lower visibility because of the lack of sunlight. This adds to the reduction in visibility for drivers. In the mornings, rush hour puts a much greater number of cars on the roads making any accident more likely to involve multiple vehicles and serious injuries.
Another reason is that it’s difficult to driver defensively in the fog. If a driver slows down to a speed where there is enough reaction time to avoid an accident, then the driver is vulnerable to being rear-ended. If the driver speeds up to avoid a rear-end collision, then it’s more difficult to avoid hitting a car or object in the vehicle’s path.
Injuries in Fog Collision
The problem with fog is that it gives the driver less time to react once danger is recognized. This leads to crashes where the driver isn’t able to engage in effective defensive maneuvers, and then creates more significant impacts.
Also, once a collision occurs, then there is a good chance of chain-reaction crashes from others coming up on the scene. This leads to some common injuries due to rear-end and front-end collisions:
- Blunt Force Trauma
- Head Injuries
- Traumatic Brain Injuries
- Broken Bones
- Chest Compressions
- Organ Damage
- Internal Injuries/Bleeding
- Air bag injuries
Contact an Accident Injury Attorney
Accident victims often wonder if they need an attorney, and the answer is almost always yes. The insurance company agents have years of experience and are good at their job which is to pay you as little as possible or nothing at all. You need someone just as experienced to help you level the field. Talk to someone you can trust to be on your side and get you what is yours under the law.
The attorneys at Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC, have that knowledge and a combined 100 years’ experience in helping clients get the results they deserve. To discuss your case, call Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC today, at (800) 937-8443 or click here to contact them online.
