Common Trucks on Florida Roadways

Despite never-ending and ever-changing federal and state regulations, the trucking industry in Florida is alive and well. 

As an Orlando-based law firm with a particular focus on traffic and commercial transportation accidents, we understand the complex regulations surrounding commercial motor vehicles and the risks they often present on the road. 

If you or a loved one has already been involved in an accident with one of these vehicles, speak with a skilled truck accident attorney to discuss your options.

Commercial Truck Requirements in Florida

Obtaining a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) in Florida is a multistep process that involves several tests and potential special permits:

• Knowledge test: The first step towards obtaining a CDL in Florida is passing the knowledge test. This written exam assesses your understanding of the rules and regulations related to commercial vehicle operation.
• Skills test: Once drivers have passed the knowledge test, they receive a Commercial Learner’s Permit (CLP), which allows them to practice on public roads with a qualified CDL holder in the vehicle.
• Road test: The road test assesses a driver’s ability to handle a commercial vehicle under typical driving conditions. They will be asked to perform a variety of maneuvers and to show that they can safely and legally manage the vehicle on the road.

Commercial Truck License Classes

In Florida, CDLs are divided into three classes based on the size of the vehicle:

• Class A CDL: Required for any combination of vehicles with a Gross Combination Weight Rating (GCWR) of 26,001 pounds or more, provided the GVWR of the vehicle(s) being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Class B CDL: Required for any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 pounds or more or any such vehicle towing a vehicle not in excess of 10,000 pounds GVWR.
• Class C CDL: Required for any single vehicle, or combination of vehicles, that does not meet the definition of Class A or Class B but is either designed to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver, or is transporting hazardous materials that require the vehicle to be placarded.

A Truck for Every Purpose

Recent data from the Florida Department Of Highway Safety reports 533,643 residents who hold a commercial driver’s license. That’s a lot of trucks on our roadways. If you spend enough time traveling on the interstates, you are bound to find yourself sharing the road with many different kinds of trucks.

E-commerce has given rise to an increasing number of home delivery services, and today we find an overabundance of trucks navigating residential neighborhoods.

Possibly, one of the most dangerous things a motorist can do is to lose focus when sharing the road with any size truck. As a rule of thumb, the bigger and heavier the truck, the more severe the accident.

Types of CDL Trucks Commonly Found on Residential Streets 

Mail Trucks

Collectively, USPS trucks visit every house in rural America every day. In 2018, the fleet of the United States Postal Service trucks traveled 1.4 billion miles to deliver mail. This is equivalent to 56,220 trips around the Earth.

Moving Trucks

Currently, Florida is listed as one of the top ten states in the nation that people are relocating to, and the moving industry is a major player in Florida’s economic growth, contributing millions of dollars to the economy. 

Some Floridians may find themselves concerned about the potential safety concerns when these oversized vehicles park on sidewalks, restrict visibility, and block access for emergency response vehicles.

Delivery Trucks

United Parcel Service trucks seem to be everywhere. The large brown behemoths delivered 5.2 billion packages in 2018. UPS constantly monitors and tracks its drivers.

Jack Levis, UPS’s director of process management, told National Public Radio (NPR) that “one minute per driver per day over the course of a year adds up to $14.5 million.” Furthermore, “one minute of idle per driver per day is worth $500,000 of fuel at the end of the year.” 

Although the UPS driver always seems to be in a hurry, you rarely find them making a left-hand turn. The company claims right-hand turns are not only safer; they also save money.

Refrigerator Trucks  

Refrigerated trucks, commonly known as “reefers,” are used in the transportation industry to carry perishable goods that need to be kept at specific temperatures. These can include foods, pharmaceuticals, and other temperature-sensitive items. Driving a refrigerated truck comes with its own set of responsibilities and requirements that go beyond the basic CDL requirements.

Operators of these vehicles often require additional training due to the unique operational requirements of these trucks. The size and weight of the truck, combined with the refrigeration unit’s operation, can pose additional challenges to the driver.

Types of Commercial Trucks Commonly Found on Highways

Flatbeds

Massive commercial-grade trucks are difficult to maneuver, they require a longer visible distance to pass in heavy traffic, and they also take a longer time and distance to come to a complete stop.

Flatbeds, unlike tractor-trailers, are mounted right on the chassis of the truck. With no sides or tops, loading and unloading is easier than with a tractor-trailer or semi. This type of vehicle is used mainly to transport large and bulky goods.

Whether the rig has a single deck or partial double, flatbed trucks are commonly used to transport:

• Heavy construction equipment
• Large machinery
• Pipes
• Steel products
• Logs
• Lumber and building materials
• Other vehicles
• Odd-shaped goods

Height and Weight Make a Difference in Truck Safety

A flatbed trailer can have a maximum freight weight of 48,000 pounds. The sheer size of the truck’s load, combined with the fact that the cargo may not be properly balanced, make this type of highway truck highly susceptible to accidents.

Because of the open design of a flatbed, when there is an accident, it is more than likely the cargo will spill onto the road, causing a chain reaction or pile-up as the surrounding motor vehicles run into the debris. Flatbed trucks, because of their size, cause serious visual obstructions for cars driving around them. An accident involving a flatbed can result in extensive property damage, catastrophic physical injuries, and possibly death.

The Florida Department Of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles documented 166,628 injury-causing accidents in 2018. To reduce the number of highway incidents, the National Transportation Safety Board recommends better safety equipment – such as automatic braking systems and forward-collision warning systems.

Tanker Trucks

In addition to carrying grain, sand, and milk, tankers are built to carry many toxic and dangerous materials. These large commercial vehicles may be pressurized and can be manufactured insulated. Some larger models are actually capable of hauling two separate materials at the same time.

The materials transported in a tanker truck include:

• Milk
• Syrups
• Gasoline
• Benzene
• Oil
• Industrial chemicals
• Insecticides

The damage can be severe when a tanker truck rolls over. When a driver turns or changes lanes too quickly, the liquid cargo shifts out of balance, causing the vehicle to roll over. This is sometimes called sloshing. When the tanker is not completely full, the weight of the materials moving around can cause the tank to tip over.

This type of accident can shut a highway down for hours.

• In March 2019, WFTV channel 9 reported a tanker turned over on I-95, closing all southbound lanes beginning at 10:15 a.m. when 7,200 gallons of fuel spilled on the highway. The lanes were not reopened until 3 p.m.
• In May 2019, the Sun-Sentinel reported a fuel tanker rollover that happened on I-95 near Deerfield Beach on a Sunday afternoon, left roads closed until the following morning due to 4,000 gallons of fuel that needed to be cleaned up

When the tank itself is damaged in an accident, any one of the following scenarios is possible:

• Fire –When flammable materials are transported, fire is a very real concern
• Explosions—Explosions are also a possibility when dealing with flammable materials
• Chemical spills—Chemicals inside the tanker may spill out, causing widespread damage and injury.
• Chemical burns—Chemical burns are extremely serious and can result in permanent disfigurement.

Size of Tanker Trucks

Tanker trucks vary in size. Most heavy-duty tanker trucks can haul 5,500 gallons to almost 12,000 gallons and have a gross weight of over 26,000 pounds.

One of the most important issues involving cargo trucks is the proper handling of hazardous materials and adherence to regulatory agency mandates and regulations.

Cement Trucks

Drivers sharing the roadways with cement trucks would do well to pass them carefully and move on down the road. These monsters are extremely prone to accidents due to:

• A high center of gravity
• Poor maneuverability
• Equipment failure

Some of the most common types of equipment failure are:

• Tire failure – Tires are extremely overworked on a truck, and tire blowouts are a common cause of accidents.
• Brake failure – A large percentage of truck accidents are due to worn-out brakes.
• Engine failure – Engine failure is common if the cooling system does not work properly.
• Light failure – Headlight failures or electrical wiring failures can result in accidents, especially at night.

Cement trucks are more prone to accidents because of their weight. Even traveling at a slow speed, it is easy for a fully loaded truck to turn over.

The Types of Cement Trucks

There are three types of cement trucks:

• Rear-discharge concrete transport truck – The most common type of cement truck
• Terex Advance front discharge truck – This truck allows for easier unloading at the worksite
• Volumetric concrete mixer – This mixer reduces waste and only mixes the required amount of product.

If the cement truck driver is not properly trained or disobeys any safety protocols that were learned in training, there is a greater chance for the cement truck operator to be involved in an accident.

When Sharing the Road With a Cement Truck

Car drivers need to be aware that:

• Cement trucks are difficult to maneuver; expect them to be slow-moving
• Cement trucks have large blind spots – stay out of them
• Cement trucks have a high center of gravity

18 Wheelers/Tractor Trailers

Tractor-trailer accidents are among the most dangerous and destructive collisions on highways.

The most recent data extrapolated from The U.S. Department Of Transportation’s “large truck and bus facts” show from 2016-2017:

• The number of large trucks involved in fatal crashes increased by 10 percent, from 4,251 to 4,657
• The number of large trucks involved in injury crashes increased by 5 percent, from 102,000 to107,000
• The number of large trucks involved in property damage-only crashes increased by 3 percent, from 351,000 to 363,000

When an 18-wheeler truck is overweight or not properly loaded, not only is the balance off but the momentum of the vehicle changes. Overloaded trucks:

• Need more time to stop
• Puts more pressure on the tires, causing a blowout
• Is more likely to have an axel snap
• Is more likely to have engine problems

A tractor-trailer needs approximately 525 feet to come to a complete stop. This is well over the length of a football field. The faster a vehicle is traveling, the longer it takes to stop. Because of the size and weight of a big truck, fatalities, and truck accident injuries are common. A large truck that is not loaded correctly is likely to cause:

• Loss of control while steering
• Tire damage
• Rollover accidents
• Brake failure
• A decrease in stopping time
• Increased velocity traveling downhill
• Difficulty climbing inclines

Two million tractor-trailers keep America running. Logging billions of miles, they keep food on our tables, fuel in our automobiles, our contractors supplied with building materials, and our factories operating at full steam. Call them what you will, a big rig, a semi, or an 18-wheeler, the tricked-out ones are equipped with things like:

• Sleeper berths
• Clothing storage areas
• Thermoelectric coolers or travel refrigerators
• Electricity
• A bathroom
• Tables
• Flat-screen televisions

A semi-trailer may:

• Be 53 feet long
• Weigh 80,000 pounds
• Have an engine six times the size of a passenger car engine
• Be double or triple-wide (also known as a double or triple trailer)

Dump Trucks

Dump trucks are an integral part of the construction and excavation industries, used for transporting loose materials like sand, gravel, or demolition waste. Operating a dump truck requires a specific skill set due to the unique features and challenges of these vehicles.

Dump trucks come in various sizes, from small, single-axle trucks to large, multi-axle heavy haulers. The weight of a dump truck can vary significantly, ranging from less than 10,000 pounds to over 100,000 pounds when fully loaded.

The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR), a key specification, is the maximum allowable weight of the truck when fully loaded, including the truck’s weight, passengers, fuel, and cargo. The manufacturer sets the GVWR, which should never be exceeded, as it can affect the vehicle’s performance and safety.

Overloading a dump truck beyond its GVWR poses significant risks. An overloaded truck becomes harder to control, increasing the braking distance and making it more susceptible to rollovers, especially when making turns or navigating slopes.

Weigh Stations

Federal regulations mandate truckers to check in at weigh stations positioned at regular intervals along our highway system. Many cases of overloaded vehicles are deliberate attempts by the driver or the truck company to move more products and boost their bottom line.

These weigh stations can usually be found at state lines and are set up to weigh and inspect large commercial trucks to ensure compliance with federal regulations. Passenger car drivers should be aware, when noticing warning signs of upcoming weigh stations, that most of the trucks on the highway will exit. This would be the time to stay out of harm’s way. Move over and allow the trucks to exit off the road safely.

Contact a Truck Accident Attorney About Your Legal Matter

If your family experienced an accident involving a truck, contacting an experienced truck accident lawyer can help you find answers to your questions and start you on the path toward seeking financial recovery.