Oil and gas transportation risky for Texas drivers
Whether you travel on rural roads or on major highways, there's a good chance that you occasionally cross paths with oil or gas transportation trucks. These massive vehicles, sometimes referred to as tankers, allow for the quick and controlled transportation of either crude or refined petroleum products without the risks and set-up costs inherent in pipelines and other forms of transportation.
Given that there is a substantial number of oil wells around the state and many companies involved with extracting and refining petroleum, seeing gas and oil transportation vehicles isn't surprising. You may have become so accustomed to them that you don't even recognize them as the danger that they actually are.
Oil and gas tankers are risky for their own drivers and other vehicles
Commercial vehicles are big, heavy and difficult to maneuver. As with any kind of commercial truck, oil and gas tankers require commercial driver's licenses because of how hard they are to operate.
Unlike many other kinds of goods in merchandise that a driver might transport, oil and gas are dangerous on their own. A standard accident could quickly become a massive conflagration if the crash results in a fire. The risks involved in transportation are a leading concern for the industry.
According to federal data analysis by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, about
four out of every 10 worker deaths in the oil and gas industry happen on highways during transportation accidents.
Those hurt in oil and gas transportation accidents have rights
All too often, when a commercial vehicle collides with a passenger vehicle, it is the people in a smaller vehicle who suffer. Severe injuries and fatalities are often the result of a collision between a smaller passenger vehicle and a massive oil or gas tanker.
There may be multiple options for compensation available to those who get hurt in oil and gas
commercial crashes. Workers may have multiple options, including state benefits and even a lawsuit against a third party, like the driver of the other vehicle. For those in smaller vehicles, there may be a commercial insurance policy that will cover their losses, as well as the potential to take civil action against the driver or even the company in certain situations.