If you get in a car accident, that’s often traumatic. However, think about how much worse the trauma might feel if instead of a family sedan, a commercial truck plowed into you on the highway. You may feel lucky to even walk away from such an accident.
Finding legal representation after a commercial truck accident becomes crucial. You’ll need to get yourself a lawyer who knows about these cases. Ideally, they’ve had clients in this same situation, and the attorney was able to get them cash for their injuries.
We’ll take a moment now to talk about what causes commercial truck accidents the most. If you’re lucky, you can avoid these situations. Every time you encounter a big 18-wheeler out on the highway, though, there’s an inherent danger element. It’s simply because of the massive size and weight of these gargantuan vehicles.
Driver Fatigue
If you look at what causes the most commercial trucks accidents, then you will start to see patterns fairly quickly. For instance, if there’s a crash involving a commercial truck, often, driver fatigue plays a part in that.
To become a commercial truck driver, you need a CDL, or a commercial driver’s license. You must study the rules of the road, and then you must also show that you can drive one of these massive machines without making any serious mistakes.
Even if you have the aptitude, though, if you’re not getting enough sleep, that can cause an accident that might seriously injure or even kill another driver. The federal government mandates that a commercial truck driver must stop for rest after a certain designated period of hours. That does not necessarily mean that every truck driver follows those protocols, though.
If you have a commercial truck driver who feels that the rules don’t apply when they’re behind the wheel, then they might not stop for rest as often as they should. If they nod off behind the wheel, and they accidentally nudge a car driving alongside them, that can prove disastrous.
Drivers Ingesting Alcohol or Using Other Drugs
You might also see some incidents where a commercial truck driver drank alcohol before getting behind the wheel. If they’re particularly brazen, maybe they’re even drinking while driving.
You do not see it much, but if you have a driver who is struggling emotionally or psychologically, maybe they don’t care about obeying the prohibition against driving while intoxicated. It’s also possible that they might operate their truck after ingesting some other kind of drug.
Whether they’re using a legal or illegal one, if it’s altering their perception, they can easily cause an accident while operating an enormous vehicle capable of causing massive damage if it collides with another car.
Road Rage Incidents
If you look at accidents involving commercial trucks, you may also see road rage incidents occurring sometimes. Road rage means a driver loses control emotionally while on the road. The term encompasses aggressive driving, and also various other unsafe behaviors.
If a car cuts off a commercial truck in traffic, and the driver of that truck doesn’t like it much because they’re having a bad day, that can cause an accident. The truck driver might try to intentionally hit the car that cut them off.
You would hope that you never see or experience anything like that as a driver. However, these situations can occur, so make sure to operate your vehicle with care around commercial trucks. If you see them on the highway, it’s best that you give them a wide berth.
Distracted Driving
Distracted driving may cause an accident with a commercial truck. Many times, if you see a commercial truck drifting out of its lane or doing something similar, it means something distracted the driver.
It’s the same with commercial truck drivers and anyone operating a much smaller car. If you take your eyes off the road for some reason, you can easily cause an accident.
Smartphones cause many distractions on the road in the modern era. Just about everyone carries one with them. Drivers should know, though, that they shouldn’t send or read a text while driving. They must also avoid checking websites or doing anything else that could cause a collision.
Most commercial truck drivers turn off their smartphones and put them away before they start the engine. If you have a driver who once again doesn’t respect the law, though, then they might have their cell phone on and within reach while driving.
Something else might distract a commercial truck driver as well. Maybe they see a funny billboard or some roadside attraction that catches their eye.
No matter what’s causing the distraction, if a trucker doesn’t pay attention to their business, they can drift out of their lane or do something equally deadly.
Mechanical Issues
You might also hear about a commercial truck accident sometimes due to a mechanical issue. Maybe something happens with the truck because the company that owns it didn’t maintain it like they should.
Mechanical issues with commercial trucks can injure the driver or other motorists in vehicles close by. That’s why trucking companies must have regular maintenance in place for each vehicle in the fleet. They can never afford to miss a routine maintenance check, or one of their vehicles might cause an injury or death.
If that happens, the trucking company might very well face a personal injury or even a wrongful death lawsuit. If there’s plenty of evidence that the company’s negligence caused someone’s injury or death, then that can bankrupt them if they must settle or if there’s a jury’s verdict against them.
Any of these driver behaviors can cause commercial truck accidents. That’s why the operators of these vehicles need to conduct themselves appropriately.
By doing so, they make an accident far less likely. The drivers of other vehicles can also do their part by trying to keep a safe distance from an 18-wheeler whenever they encounter one on the highway.
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.