subject: Understanding The Most Frequent Causes Of Semi Truck Accidents [print this page] Every year, thousands of people are involved in large truck driving accidents, often resulting in fatalities. Because large truck driving accidents has increased, more regulations have been placed on trucking companies and their drivers in an effort to curb this trend.
Federal law states that truck drivers are required to stop and rest after ten hours of driving. Drivers are also required to keep accurate driving logs and to maintain all trucking equipment in good working order. There are federal regulations on overloading trucks and on the tests that drivers must take and pass before getting behind the wheel of a big rig.
Unfortunately, federal laws cannot prevent all large truck driving accidents; there are other common causes of truck driving accidents that contribute to a significant amount of serious injuries and fatalities each year. Some of the most common causes of truck driving accidents include trucker fatigue, speeding, and defective machinery.
Truckers often have to travel long distances to deliver loads. This means being on the road for several hours at a time. It is inevitable that a trucker will become tired after driving for days at a time in 10 hour increments. Unfortunately, the pressure to make it to a destination as quickly as possible is often directly related to compensation, so many truckers are willing to take risks for the money.
Speeding is another factor that causes many large truck accidents. Often trucks will be loaded with perishable goods and have a window of time to make the delivery. This and the enticement of more pay, often results in a rushed delivery in which a trucker will travel at dangerously high speeds in order to make the delivery in time.
When truckers fail to invest in appropriate maintenance on their trucks, it can result in malfunctions and cause accidents. Good brakes are essential to truckers, and many truck owners fail to inspect brakes on a regular basis, resulting in malfunction and an increased number of accidents.
