Box Truck Accidents in Cedar Rapids | Box Truck Injury Lawyer

A box truck is a truck with a cube shaped cargo area and cab on a single chassis. A box truck is also known by other names such as straight truck, cube truck, cube van, bob truck, or box van. Box trucks range from about 13 to 23 feet in length and are used mainly by moving companies or rental companies like Cedar Rapids U-Haul and Cedar Rapids Ryder truck rentals. Box trucks are generally used to haul large items such as furniture, appliances, and large boxes.

Cedar Rapids Box Truck Accidents

It is not uncommon to see accidents involving box trucks in Cedar Rapids, IA. Cedar Rapids’s freeway system, which is made up of 739.3 miles of freeways and expressways in a ten-county metropolitan area, uses a hub-and-spoke freeway structure which is serviced by multiple loops.

Cedar Rapids’s freeway system is not managed by a single entity; rather it is managed by a partnership of four separate government agencies, instead. The partnership that monitors Cedar Rapids’s freeway system is called Cedar Rapids TranStar, which is responsible for providing emergency management services and transportation to the area. Cedar Rapids TranStar was first opened in April, 1996 and was the first organization in the U.S. to combine transportation and emergency management functions under the same purview. Cedar Rapids TranStar was also the first to leverage the resources of four separate agencies by bringing them together into one consortium:

• Iowa Department of Transportation
• Linn County
• The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Linn County
• The City of Cedar Rapids

Cedar Rapids TranStar incorporates state-of-the-art technologies to reduce congestion on major roadways and is able to make the claim that they lead the nation in freeway incident management. At the TranStar center they are able to access over 730 regional Closed Circuit Television Cameras (CCTVs) to monitor traffic incidents. They are also equipped to dispatch vehicles to remove debris or hazardous materials or be able to send tow trucks to remove stalled vehicles. The center is also has the capability to communicate directly with emergency vehicles and provide the most direct routes to an accident scene. Cedar Rapids TranStar also deploys Dynamic Message Signs (DMS), from their center. The DMS informs travelers about expected travel times and other traffic issues which may lie ahead. Cedar Rapids TranStar also uses an assortment of technologies help keep the region’s traffic moving such as synchronized traffic signals, speed sensors, Highway Advisory Radio, ramp meters and other devices.

Cedar Rapids Box Truck Accident Lawyers Need to Assess Cause

In many cases, Cedar Rapids truck accident attorneys must retain the services of scientific and medical experts to prove both the cause of the accident and the cause of your injuries. Additionally, a qualified 18-wheeler accident lawyer will obtain all kinds of evidence concerning the scene of the crash, truck logs, and other important information to be used against the trucker, trucking company, or the company’s insurer. Arranging expert witness testimony and preparing important physical and documentary evidence is just one of many ways a Cedar Rapids tractor trailer injury lawyer can help you after you’ve suffered a truck accident injury for a major commercial vehicle wreck.

If you or a loved one have been involved in a serious box truck wreck, semi crash or big rig accident, hiring a lawyer is the farthest thing from your mind when tragedy such as this strikes you, a family member, or a friend. However, this is when you need a Cedar Rapids truck accident lawyer most. Do yourself a favor by calling one of the qualified Cedar Rapids truck accident lawyers listed on this page. Hire a qualified Cedar Rapids tractor trailer accident lawyer to help protect your rights.

Box Truck Cargo Area Susceptible to Overloading and Load Shifting

Although the cargo area and cab of a box truck both sit on the same chassis, the cargo area is usually completely enclosed and separate from the cab. However, some box trucks have a cargo area that is joined to the cab and in some of these models; the cargo area can be accessed from within the cab.

The cargo area in a box truck is just as susceptible to overloading and load shifting which could lead to an accident on a Cedar Rapids highway, for example, Interstate 45 runs north and south and Interstate 10 runs east and west crossing each other right thorough the center of downtown Cedar Rapids. Then there are two roads that ring the city, the Sam Cedar Rapids Tollway on the outer ring and the North Loop West Freeway, North Loop East Freeway, East Loop Freeway, South Loop Freeway and Interstate 610 forming the west loop of the inner ring.

Cedar Rapids Truck Rental Companies Offer Box Trucks

There are many U-Haul and Ryder Truck Rental locations in and around Cedar Rapids, IA and many of them offer box trucks. Following is a partial list of Cedar Rapids U-Haul and Cedar Rapids Ryder Truck Rental locations:

Box Trucks Large and Small

A “box van” would be a smaller type of box truck because it would use a van cab similar to a family passenger van. A box van would also be built on a van chassis similar to a common 1/2-ton to 3/4 ton commercial vans.

Larger box trucks would have a bigger cab and use a heavier truck chassis built for heavier load capacities such as a 5-ton or 6-ton box truck.

Vehicle makers such as Ford, Chevrolet and International are manufacturers of box trucks.

Overhead Cargo Area

Some box trucks have an overhead compartment that extends the cargo area over the roof of the cab. The overhead cargo feature is commonly found on box trucks available from U-Haul such as their 14’ truck, 17’ truck, 20’ truck, 24’ truck and 26’ truck. All of these models are configured with an overhead cargo area that they call “Mom’s Attic®”.

The overhead cargo area feature has some advantages over regular box truck designs. It provides extra storage space above the cab and it allows movers to isolate more fragile items from regular cargo.

Box Truck Accident Attorneys Serve Cedar Rapids and Surrounding Cities

Serving clients throughout Eastern Iowa, including Anamosa, Burlington, Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, Clinton, Davenport, De Witt, Dubuque, Fairfield, Iowa City, Manchester, Maquoketa, Marion, Marshalltown, Mason City, Newton, North Liberty, Oskaloosa, Ottumwa, Vinton, Washington, Waterloo, areas in the vicinity of Cedar Rapids Municipal Airport, and other communities in Linn County.

Cedar Rapids box truck accident attorneys are experienced in handling serious injury truck collision cases and can help you fight the trucking company or its insurer in order to get you the compensation you deserve. Contact a Cedar Rapids box truck accident lawyer today for a FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION.