“The Common Causes Of Truck Wrecks “
3 min readSome of the worst accidents on the roads are caused by trucks and there are more of these accidents than you might imagine. With these accidents being prevalent, it is important to know what the common causes of truck wrecks are. When you know what the common causes are, you can take the right steps to avoid them and the deadly accidents they create.
Driver Fatigue
The most common cause of truck wrecks is driver fatigue. This is over caused by overworking and a lot of drivers will cross long distances with very little rest. The root cause of this fatigue is often the owners of the truck companies who demand the delivery of goods in a short period of time.
There are a lot of truck drivers who find themselves under pressure to deliver in unrealistic timeframes. Not only will this lead to a lack of sleep, but the sleep these drivers get will also be poor. The combination of lack of sleep and poor sleep will make it harder for the drivers to focus and will reduce their coordination. There are also times when the driver will fall asleep at the wheel and cause an accident.
Alcohol And Drug Use
Each year, there are truck drivers who are found guilty of using non-prescription drugs and drinking alcohol while on the job. The use of these substances is one of the common causes of truck wrecks because of the impairment they cause. There are drivers who will take these substances while stopped in town while others will carry them in their cabs.
Regardless of when they are used, these substances will driver impairment. Drivers who are drunk or high, will not have the same coordination as those who are sober. Judgment is also impaired with these substances which leads to drivers not calculating distance correctly and causing an accident.
Poor Truck Maintenance And Driver Training
Before truck drivers are allowed on public roads, they need to complete a number of training hours and meet certain requirements. The problem is that not all truck drivers will follow these guidelines. When this happens, you have truck drivers who are not properly prepared for the open road and who will cause accidents at some point.
While inadequate training is a cause of accidents, poor truck maintenance also causes a similar number of accidents. The law states that all owners need to ensure that their trucks are in top condition before they are used on public roads. The problem is that the cost and time required to maintain trucks is something that owners do not want to part with. if you have a poorly maintained truck being driven by an inexperienced driver, you are going to have accidents.
There are many common causes of truck wrecks that can easily be avoided. Driver fatigue is the primary cause and this is often caused by unrealistic delivery deadlines imposed by truck owners. The use of alcohol and drugs is another common cause. Poor driver training and truck maintenance also causes a lot of accidents each year.
