If you spend any amount of time driving on the interstate, you’ll come to find your vehicle in close proximity to commercial trucks. There is no way around this, so you need to become familiar with the best way to share the road.
Car-truck accidents happen for many reasons. There are things you can do to improve your safety, however, you don’t have control over what truck drivers are doing when they are behind the wheel.
Here are some of the most common causes of commercial truck accidents:
- Drowsy driving: Truckers need to take regular breaks to ensure that they are fresh when behind the wheel. Even with federal laws in place, some drivers push the limit in the hope of reaching their destination as quickly as possible.
- Distracted driving: There are many forms of distracted driving, such as drinking, eating, texting, talking on the phone and searching for an item that is lost in the cabin.
- Driving under the influence: Alcohol and drugs impair a person’s ability to make good decisions when behind the wheel. This increases the risk of causing an accident.
- Inadequate training: Trucking companies need to train drivers on technique, defensive driving and safety concerns. If they don’t do so for any reason, the trucker may not have the knowledge they need to remain safe.
- Unrealistic schedules: When a trucking company places an unrealistic schedule on a driver, the person may drive too fast and/or not take as many breaks as necessary.
- Reckless driving: Any form of reckless driving is dangerous. From speeding to racing passenger vehicles, a trucker who drives recklessly is one who is more likely to cause an accident.
Even if you’re always watching for negligent truckers, you could still be part of a car-truck accident.
If this happens, your first priority is your health and well-being. The best thing you can do is call 911, as this will bring an ambulance to the scene as quickly as possible.
Once you receive treatment and understand your prognosis, you can learn more about the cause of the accident. This will give you a better idea of what you can do next to protect your legal rights.