Common Causes of Trucking Accidents

Many lives are lost as a result of truck and semi-truck accidents annually. On most occasions, the victims are individuals in the passenger vehicles, and who are not adequately equipped to withstand a collision due to the impact of the crash. According to truck accidents statistical analysis, approximately five thousand people in passenger vehicles die each year as a result of automobile crashes involving trucks. Moreover, close to seven hundred people in vehicles lose their lives every year in these accidents. Approximately, sixty-four percent of severe semi-truck accidents involves a truck which was pulling one trailer. Out of this figure, thirty-two percent of these accidents involve single-unit trucks. Also, four percent of crashes involve multi-trailer trucks.

These are the most common causes of truck accidents, know them to avoid and prevent them.

Did you know that truck drivers usually drive thousands of miles in a span of a few days? Perhaps this is why the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has cautioned the public regarding the seriousness of driver fatigue, particularly truck drivers. This factor is motivated by the fact that most truck drivers are paid based on the miles covered, and this implies that there is an increasing incentive for drivers to meet long distances in shorter periods, in a bid to maximize on the wages.

There is a host of federal laws which require that all trucks should be kept in good condition when operating on the roads. Improper vehicle maintenance is a common cause of truck accidents. Most vehicle parts and other components that are not properly serviced can result in severe accidents. The braking system, unsafe trailers, malfunctioning engines and to warn tires often leads to truck crashes. Truck firms which are compliant with the federal regulations usually receive regular maintenance, such as break checks and engine examination before every trip.

Distracted truck driving is a grave concern for every individual on the roadway. In simple terms, distracted drivers are those who operates a truck, but their concentration, vision or even hands are off the vehicle and the driving task. Even though the cell usage is ranked as the number one cause of distracted driving, some responses to any stimuli can also cause this particular problem. Drinking, typing in a GPS system, talking to other passengers and eating and taking part in activities which can cause driver distractions, are all forms of a distracted truck driving.

The other common cause of semi-truck crashes is inexperience driving due to inadequate training. Most often, trucking firms pay for a new truck driver to undergo trucking courses, only to put them behind the wheel after a short while, to drive enormous and dangerous vehicles. It is likely that these drivers might be very unfamiliar with kind of the vehicle which they may have been assigned to. Inexperienced truck drivers are preferred by most trucking companies perhaps because they usually charge less per mile, as opposed to qualified once. But, you should know that the underlying costs associated with employing inexperienced drivers are the increased probability that he/she will inadvertently cause an accident through this poor experience.

In some cases, the ultimate cause of the accident is due to an improperly loaded cargo, which happens to the truck. People might quickly load a truck so as to get the driver onto the next destination much quicker. Packers who are inexperienced might also fail to understand how to distribute the weight in a proper manner. Such mistakes can often lead to the semi-truck jack-knifing or can result in maneuvering difficulties.

Adverse weather conditions.

Adverse weather conditions have a great impact on the safety of semi-trucks. As a result of the heavy truck weight coupled with the loads, breaking distance is usually hampered. This simple fact is that huge trucks cannot be stopped as quickly as the smaller vehicles. The failure to adjust to local weather and road conditions causes such as wet and icy conditions numerous truck accidents on a yearly basis.

Bearing in mind that truck drivers usually log lots of distances every week, this lengthy stretches of periods on the roads can lead to monotony, making individual drivers less serious with how they operate their vehicles. Unsafe driving practices may include:

• Road rage.

• Failure to use turn signals.

• Following the first vehicle too closely.

• Regular lane changes.

• Inability to examine blind spots.