Every year, there are anywhere from 400,000 to 500,000 accidents involving heavy trucks all across the country. Many of these accidents are a direct result of fatigue. Truck drivers spend long hours hauling loads and get tired when they do. If they push themselves too hard, fatigue can cause them to make bad decisions and end up getting into accidents. And fatigue is just one of the many causes of heavy truck accidents in this day and age. Here are some of the other common causes of these accidents.
Speeding
Truck drivers aren’t allowed to take their sweet time when they’re driving a load from point A to point B. They have to make sure that a load arrives at its final destination by a specific date and time. As a result of this, some get into the habit of speeding to ensure that they’re not late for a drop-off. And when they speed, they put both themselves and others at risk. Speeding can increase a driver’s chances of being involved in an accident.
Distracted driving
Distracted driving is something that affects most people in this day and age. Those who are behind the wheel are often tempted to check a text message or fiddle around with the radio. Truck drivers aren’t any different. While driving, they’ll often aim to keep themselves entertained by playing around on their phones or seeing what they can find on the radio. Some will also take their eyes off the road for a little bit too long and get involved in accidents, which makes distracted driving something that truckers have to avoid at all costs.
Alcohol and drug usage
Using alcohol and drugs while driving a heavy truck is a big no-no. But that doesn’t stop some of the truckers out there from doing it anyway. Even though it could put their careers in jeopardy, there are truckers who will drink and then get behind the wheel of their truck or take an unprescribed medication while making their way from one city to the next. Driving while under the influence of alcohol and drugs is dangerous, not to mention illegal. It causes thousands of trucking accidents each year, thus making it one of the most common causes of these accidents.
Platinum Drivers strives to help keep truck drivers safe out on the road by providing them with necessary resources. We also aim to hook trucking companies up with the safest possible drivers through our CDL driver placement services. Call us at 844-800-1421 to learn more about the services we can extend to truck drivers and the companies looking to hire them.