Cargo

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Drivers are generally held liable for accidents resulting from unsecured cargo, even if they assert that someone else loaded it onto their truck. For example, if a driver purchases an item and a store employee places it in the vehicle, the driver is still responsible for making sure the cargo is properly secured before driving. Organizations like the DOT, AAA, and NHST stress the significance of correctly loading and securing cargo to avoid such accidents. 

 AAA debris-related crashes 

According to a AAA report, from shredded tires to a sofa sitting in traffic lanes, roadway debris caused more than 200,000 crashes with 500 deaths over four years across the USA. More than one-third of the deaths resulted from a driver swerving to avoid hitting debris. In other cases, cars struck the debris, sometimes setting off a chain-reaction of collisions. 

• Between 2011-2014, road debris was a factor in a total of more than 200,000 police-reported crashes. Resulting in a total of approximately 39,000 injuries and 500 deaths
• Compared to crashes that did not involve debris, debris-related crashes were approximately 4 times as likely to occur on Interstate highways
• Nearly 37 percent of all deaths in road debris crashes resulted from the driver swerving to avoid hitting an object
• About two-thirds of debris-related crashes are the result of items falling from a vehicle due to improper maintenance and unsecured loads 
• More than one in three crashes involving debris occur between 10:00 a.m. and 3:59 p.m. A time when many people are on the road hauling or moving heavy items like furniture or construction equipment