Where Are a Truck’s Blind Spots?
Every semi-truck has four zones where a driver’s visibility drops sharply, commonly referred to in the trucking industry as no-zones. These areas are significantly larger than the blind spots on a standard car or pickup truck, and federal trucking safety guidance requires drivers to account for them, though many drivers still rely too heavily on habit rather than actively checking these zones before maneuvering. The four areas include:
- The stretch immediately ahead of the cab, where the hood and mirrors block anything closely trailing the front bumper
- The space directly behind the trailer, a long stretch where no mirror on the truck offers any view at all
- The passenger side of the trailer, the widest gap in a driver’s field of view and the zone most linked to serious crashes
- The driver’s side of the trailer, narrower than the passenger side but still wide enough to swallow a full sized car
A blind-spot truck accident in Idaho Falls tends to happen in a handful of predictable moments: a driver signaling into an occupied lane, a truck merging without a clear read on nearby traffic, or a wide turn that sweeps through a stretch of road a smaller vehicle happened to occupy.
Who Is Considered at Fault in a Blind-Spot Truck Accident?
Although it is a truck driver’s duty to carefully monitor their no-zones and drive cautiously, fault in these cases is not always straightforward. A truck driver who fails to check mirrors, use turn signals with enough lead time, or account for known blind spots before changing lanes can bear significant responsibility. At the same time, insurance companies representing trucking companies frequently argue that the other driver lingered in a no-zone longer than necessary or made an unsafe pass, shifting blame onto the smaller vehicle rather than the commercial driver.
Because these disputes over who caused the accident come up so often in blind-spot cases specifically, Idaho’s fault rules end up playing a direct role in what a case is worth. Under Idaho Code § 6-801, a person can still recover damages even if they hold some fault, provided that their share is less than 50 percent. Exceeding that 50 percent mark eliminates any right to compensation under Idaho law. Trucking companies and their insurers know this rule well, which is why it is so important to quickly build a record of exactly where each vehicle was positioned, often through dashcam footage, event data recorders, or witness accounts.
