Statistics show that some of the most tragic accidents are caused by large commercial trucks. Today commercial trucks are said to be directly or indirectly responsible for over five hundred accidents on the roads, with many of them ending up in fatalities. Due to these accidents and fatalities, authorities have tried to put restrictions and measures to help mitigate truck accidents.
Although these measures have marginally reduced accidents, the numbers are still high, and fatality cases remain. With the accident rate so high, you may find yourself involved and needing a Houston truck accident attorney to handle your case. Here are a few leading causes of truck accidents to help you identify and reduce the risk of causing an accident yourself.
Fatigue
One of the leading causes of truck accidents is fatigue by truck drivers. With very little rest, commercial truck drivers usually drive long hours, covering long distances. This poses a huge safety hazard on the roads because truck company owners run unrealistic schedules for their drivers, affecting their rest.
With little to no sleep at times, truck drivers are under pressure to deliver goods within a given deadline, running the risk of accumulating fatigue. When a driver operates fatigued, they quickly lose their concentration, control and sleep behind the wheel with the truck in motion. Truck business owners can help reduce this by using innovative tools to manage their schedules and driver duties more efficiently.
Alcohol and Drug Use
Truck drivers are under a lot of pressure and need all the concentration to operate safely on the road. Some truck drivers, however, are caught consuming alcohol somewhere along their delivery journey across the country. Whether they drink their alcohol during their strop locations or in the truck while driving, it causes impairment, and severe accidents result. Other substances that cause driver impairment and accidents are prescription drugs that drivers use for personal use.
Inadequate Driver Training and Truck Maintenance
Truck drivers must undergo thorough training and tests before being permitted to drive a large commercial truck on a public road. Not all truck drivers adhere to these regulations, and as a result, you find many incompetent truck drivers on the roads. The same goes for truck owners; their fleet must go for regular maintenance and service before hitting the road. Many truck owners cheat the system to spend more time on the roads making deliveries. An incompetent driver behind a wheel of an improperly maintained truck is a recipe for a terrible accident.
Over Speeding and Overtaking
Truck owners are strict about on-time deliveries towards their drivers, which causes drivers to take unnecessary risks. Due to bad weather conditions and traffic on the roads, it is often impossible to meet the indicated deadlines. Forced by the pressure of meeting deadlines and the threat of losing their jobs, truck drivers take the risk of driving over the speed limit and overtaking in tight spaces causing smaller vehicles to veer off the road unsafely.
Distracted Drivers
It’s known that drivers spend an enormous number of hours on the road, and when boredom creeps in, they look for something to preoccupy themselves. They often something else to keep them busy, other than driving, like spending time on their phones, replying to message, and browsing. One of the leading accidents is caused by a split second of merely changing the radio station. This is a clear indication that drivers should spend more time focusing on the road and fighting any distractions.
