Every tractor-trailer has large areas around it that the driver cannot see directly or in the mirrors. Safety campaigns call them the "No-Zones." The largest runs along the right side of the cab and trailer. Others sit directly in front of the cab, directly behind the trailer, and just behind the driver's door. A car can sit in one of these areas for several seconds unless the driver looks for it.
Blind-spot crashes usually happen during a lane change or merge. The truck moves right to exit, moves left to pass, or merges from an on-ramp, and it strikes a car that was already there. The car may be sideswiped, spun into another lane, pushed into a barrier, or forced under the trailer. In Florida we see these crashes on dense multi-lane highways like I-95, I-595, I-4, and the Turnpike.
Trucking insurers sometimes respond with a simple argument: the car was in the blind spot, so the truck driver could not have seen it. That argument misses the point. Florida law places the duty on the driver changing lanes to make sure the lane is clear. Drivers are trained to manage blind spots with mirror checks, signaling, and patience.
1. Get medical care and document the damage pattern
Get checked even if you were able to drive away. Photograph the damage on your car closely. The location and direction of the scrapes, the height of the contact marks, and paint transfer from the truck show where your car was and which way the truck was moving. Photograph the truck's side and front corner, and the cab door showing the carrier name and USDOT number.
2. Write down the lane change while it is fresh
Note which lane you were in, how long you had been beside the truck, whether its turn signal came on and when, and whether the truck slowed or sped up before moving over. Note the exit or interchange. These details help us match your account to the truck's data and camera footage.
3. Send a preservation letter covering the truck's cameras and sensors
Many newer trucks carry side-view cameras, camera-based mirror systems, radar blind-spot detection, and lane-departure warnings, in addition to forward and driver-facing cameras. Those systems may log alerts that show the truck's equipment detected your car before the driver moved over. A preservation letter to the motor carrier should demand that it save:
- Every camera feed from the tractor and trailer.
- Blind-spot, lane-departure, and collision-warning alert logs.
- Engine control module and telematics data showing speed and turn-signal events, where recorded.
- Electronic logging device (ELD) records and supporting documents (49 CFR 395.8; 49 CFR 395.11).
- Driver vehicle inspection reports, which must cover the rear-vision mirrors (49 CFR 396.11(a)(1)), and maintenance records for the mirrors and camera systems (49 CFR 396.3(b)).
- The driver's qualification file and training records (49 CFR 391.51).
4. Check the mirror rules and the driver's use of them
Federal rules require trucks and truck tractors to have two rear-vision mirrors, one on each side, "firmly attached to the outside of the motor vehicle," and placed so the driver can see the highway behind the vehicle along both sides (49 CFR 393.80(a)). A driver may not operate a truck unless satisfied that the mirrors are in good working order, and may not "fail to use or make use of such parts and accessories when and as needed" (49 CFR 392.7(a)). Driver-facing video can show whether the driver looked at the right mirror before moving over. A mirror knocked out of position at a dock, cracked, or missing is evidence too.
“firmly attached to the outside of the motor vehicle,”
49 CFR 393.80(a)
5. Apply Florida's lane-change rule
Florida law requires that a vehicle be driven "as nearly as practicable entirely within a single lane" and that it "shall not be moved from such lane until the driver has first ascertained that such movement can be made with safety" (§ 316.089(1), Fla. Stat.). Federal rules require commercial vehicles to obey the traffic laws of the place where they operate (49 CFR 392.2). A truck driver who moves over without confirming the lane is clear has not met that duty, whether or not the car was in a blind spot.
“as nearly as practicable entirely within a single lane”
§ 316.089(1)
6. Look for the reasons the driver did not check
Lane-change crashes often trace back to distraction, fatigue, or pressure to make an exit. Federal rules bar texting and hand-held phone use while driving a commercial vehicle (49 CFR 392.80(a); 49 CFR 392.82(a)(1)) and bar driving while the driver's alertness is impaired by fatigue or illness (49 CFR 392.3). Hours of service records, phone records, and dispatch messages can show what was happening in the cab.
Florida rules that matter
Fault. The trucking company will likely claim you were speeding, lingering in the blind spot, or trying to pass on the right. Florida reduces your damages by any share of fault assigned to you and bars recovery if you are found more than 50 percent at fault for your own harm (§ 768.81(2), (6), Fla. Stat.). Each defendant pays according to its own percentage (§ 768.81(3)).
Deadline. For negligence claims arising after March 24, 2023, the general deadline to file suit is two years (§ 95.11(5)(a), Fla. Stat.).
PIP and the threshold. Your own PIP coverage pays part of your medical bills if you get initial care "within 14 days after the motor vehicle accident" (§ 627.736(1)(a), Fla. Stat.). Pain and suffering damages generally require a qualifying injury, such as a significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function or a permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability (§ 627.737(2)).
Insurance. Interstate for-hire carriers of nonhazardous property in vehicles of 10,001 pounds or more must carry at least $750,000 in public liability coverage (49 CFR 387.9). Trucks that operate only within Florida must carry $50,000 to $300,000 per occurrence depending on weight (§ 627.7415, Fla. Stat.).
“within 14 days after the motor vehicle accident”
§ 627.736(1)(a)
Your checklist
- Get medical care within 14 days and keep all records.
- Photograph the contact marks on your car and the truck.
- Write down your lane, the truck's signal, and the exit or interchange.
- Have a preservation letter sent for the truck's cameras, sensors, and logs.
- Get the crash report number and the carrier's USDOT number.
- Do not give a recorded statement to the trucking insurer.
- Talk with a trial lawyer well before the two-year deadline.
How we handle these cases
We prove blind-spot cases with physical evidence and the truck's own systems: the contact marks, the camera footage, the sensor alerts, and the driver's mirror checks or lack of them. We test the "I never saw the car" defense against the rules that required the driver to look. We represent injured drivers throughout Florida, including Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville. Meetings are by appointment only. Call 305-748-3789 to discuss your case.
This article is general information, not legal advice for your situation. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.