Wide Turn Squeeze Play Truck Accident Lawyer

A tractor-trailer cannot turn a tight corner the way a car does. The trailer wheels track inside the path of the tractor wheels, so a driver making a right turn will often swing left first to give the rear of the combination room. To a motorist behind and to the right, that manoeuvre reads as an opening. When the driver then turns right, the gap closes and the vehicle occupying it is caught between the trailer and the kerb. That sequence is what the industry calls a squeeze play.

These collisions look like a dispute about who was where, and they are usually resolved by what the driver could see and what the driver signalled. Federal equipment rules in 49 C.F.R. Part 393 govern the parts and accessories a commercial motor vehicle must have to be operated safely, including its rear-vision mirrors and its lamps and reflective material. Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. handles commercial-vehicle injury and wrongful-death claims in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and New York. To discuss a wide turn collision and the records that should be preserved, call (888) 437-7747.

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What the Squeeze Play Is

Off-tracking is a geometric fact of an articulated vehicle. The longer the trailer and the tighter the corner, the further inside the tractor path the trailer wheels will travel. A driver who does not compensate will run the trailer over the kerb, across the sidewalk, or into whatever stands at the corner. Swinging wide first is the trained answer to that problem.

The difficulty is that a wide swing to the left creates an apparent gap on the right of the combination at exactly the moment the driver intends to move into it. A motorist, a cyclist or a rider who enters that gap is in the area the trailer is about to occupy and is frequently invisible from the cab. The collision that follows is not a glancing contact. The trailer moves laterally across the space and the vehicle in it has nowhere to go.

Mirrors and Visibility Under Part 393

49 C.F.R. Part 393 requires rear-vision mirrors at § 393.80 and sets requirements for the lamps and retroreflective material a commercial vehicle carries. Those provisions matter here because the whole question in a squeeze play is what field of view the driver had and whether the combination was properly marked while it occupied more than one lane.

The equipment case is therefore about whether the required mirrors were fitted, whether they were intact and adjusted, whether convex or additional mirrors that the carrier itself specified were in place, and whether the trailer was visible to traffic approaching from behind. Missing or broken mirror glass, a mirror knocked out of adjustment and never reset, and damaged reflective sheeting along the trailer side are all recorded in inspection and repair documents. Confirm the current text of Part 393 and its application to the unit involved with counsel.

The Part of the Case That Is Not an Equipment Question

How the turn was set up, whether the driver signalled the intended direction, how long the signal ran, whether the combination was positioned so as to invite a pass on the right, and whether the driver looked before committing are questions of driving conduct rather than of equipment. Part 393 is the parts and accessories rule and does not answer them. Other bodies of federal and state law and the ordinary duty of care do, and the claim is framed accordingly.

In practical terms that means the case is proved from the driving record rather than from a single regulation: the training the carrier gave on right-turn technique, its own written procedures, the driver’s history of similar events, and the physical evidence of where each vehicle was when the turn began. Where a carrier has published its own standards for making a wide right turn, those standards can be measured against what the driver actually did.

Proving What the Driver Could See

Preservation should be requested in writing at once and should identify the tractor and the trailer by unit and vehicle identification number. Beyond the units themselves, the categories that decide these cases are the forward-facing and side-facing camera footage many carriers now record, the telematics record showing position, speed and signal use, the driver qualification and training file, and the inspection and repair records covering the mirrors.

Camera and telematics data are often retained on a short cycle and are lost through ordinary business practice rather than through any deliberate act, which is why the demand goes out before counsel is formally engaged by the other side. Independent sources are equally perishable: nearby business and municipal cameras, and the marks left on the kerb, the sidewalk furniture and the vehicle itself, which together fix the trailer path far more reliably than recollection.

Filing Deadlines Across the Five States

A squeeze play collision produces a personal-injury claim, and the time allowed for filing depends on the state whose law governs it.

Virginia: 2 years from the date of the accident for a personal-injury action, under Va. Code § 8.01-243(A). A separate notice of claim, due within 6 months, can apply to a claim against a locality under Va. Code § 15.2-209.
Maryland: 3 years from the date of the accident, under the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article § 5-101. Local Government Tort Claims Act notice can apply, and a claim against the State carries its own notice to the Treasurer within 1 year.
District of Columbia: 3 years from the date of the accident, under D.C. Code § 12-301(8). A notice of claim due within 6 months can apply where the District or the regional transit authority is a defendant.
New Jersey: 2 years from the date of the accident, under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2. A claim against a public entity carries a Tort Claims Act notice due within 90 days, and the limited right to sue threshold elected on an automobile policy can affect what may be recovered.
New York: 3 years from the date of the accident, under N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 214(5).

Tolling provisions, discovery rules and statutory exceptions can move any of these dates, and where a government body is involved the notice period rather than the limitations period is often the practical deadline. Confirm the date that governs a particular claim with counsel before relying on it.

How Fault Rules Change the Outcome

The defence in a wide turn case is almost always that the motorist should not have been alongside the trailer at all. In a jurisdiction that bars a claimant who contributed to the collision, that argument carries far more weight than it does in a comparative state.

Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia apply a contributory-negligence rule under which a claimant found to have contributed to the collision can be barred from recovering at all, subject to recognised exceptions. New Jersey and New York apply comparative regimes that reduce rather than bar recovery, on materially different terms from one another. These doctrines continue to develop and are applied differently by different courts, so their effect on a particular claim should be confirmed with counsel.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a squeeze play collision?

It is a collision in which a tractor-trailer swings left to set up a right turn, a smaller vehicle moves into the gap that appears on the right, and the trailer then closes that space as the turn is completed. The vehicle caught in the gap is pinned between the trailer and the kerb or a fixed object. The manoeuvre itself is a normal part of operating an articulated vehicle, which is why the case turns on how it was executed.

Is the motorist at fault for passing on the right?

Not automatically. A driver who swings left with the intention of turning right creates the impression of an opening, and whether a following motorist acted reasonably in relying on it depends on the signal, the position of the combination and the layout of the junction. The answer differs sharply between states because of how each treats a claimant who contributed to a collision, which is one reason the forum matters.

What does Part 393 have to do with a turning collision?

49 C.F.R. Part 393 sets the parts and accessories a commercial motor vehicle must have to be operated safely, including rear-vision mirrors at § 393.80 and the lamps and reflective material that make a trailer visible. In a squeeze play the field of view from the cab and the visibility of the trailer to following traffic are central, so the condition of that equipment is directly in issue.

Does Part 393 govern how the turn was made?

No. Part 393 is an equipment rule. How a turn was set up, whether the signal was given and for how long, and whether the driver checked the right side before committing are matters of driving conduct governed by other rules and by the ordinary duty of care. Those aspects of the claim are proved from training records, carrier procedures, telematics and physical evidence rather than from the parts and accessories regulation.

What evidence decides these cases?

Camera footage from the tractor, telematics showing speed, position and signal use, the driver qualification and training file, the carrier procedures for right-turn technique, and the mirror inspection and repair record. Physical marks on the kerb, on street furniture and on the vehicles fix the path the trailer actually took. Most of that material is held by the carrier and much of it is overwritten quickly, so a written preservation demand should go out immediately.

How long do I have to bring a claim?

The period is 2 years in Virginia under Va. Code § 8.01-243(A), 3 years in Maryland under the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article § 5-101, 3 years in the District of Columbia under D.C. Code § 12-301(8), 2 years in New Jersey under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2, and 3 years in New York under N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 214(5). Much shorter notice deadlines apply where a public body is a defendant. Confirm the applicable date with counsel.

What if I was on a bicycle or a motorcycle?

The analysis is the same, and the visibility questions are usually sharper, because a rider occupying the space alongside a trailer is harder to see from the cab and has less protection when the trailer moves across. Some jurisdictions treat vulnerable road users differently when assessing a claimant’s own conduct. How that applies to a particular claim should be confirmed with counsel.

Working With Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C.

A wide turn case is won or lost on what the cab could see and what the carrier recorded, and both are held by the other side until they are demanded.

Mr. Sris, Owner and Founder of Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C., is a former prosecutor and is admitted in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and New York. The firm has been practicing since 1997. Mr. Sris and the firm’s Of Counsel attorneys handle matters across those jurisdictions, which matters here because neighbouring states apply materially different rules to the same accident, and where a claim is brought can decide whether it proceeds at all. Mr. Sris brings a background in accounting and information systems from George Mason University, applied to complex financial and technology-related cases.

The firm serves Northern Virginia from 1655 Fort Myer Dr, Suite 700, Room 719, Arlington, VA 22209 and central Virginia from 7400 Beaufont Springs Drive, Suite 300, Room 395, Richmond, VA 23225. By appointment. Call (888) 437-7747 to schedule. Request a consultation. Reach our location at (888) 437-7747.

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This page provides general information about wide turn and squeeze play truck accident claims and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Case results depend on a variety of factors unique to each case. Results may vary.

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