TUCSON TRUCK ACCIDENT ATTORNEYS

There most common causes of commercial truck accidents include:

• Driver Distraction – Driver distraction has become a problem in all types of vehicles, but it is especially dangerous with commercial trucks, because of the destruction they cause when they hit smaller vehicles. Common types of distractions include texting while driving, using a GPS, talking on a mobile phone, eating, and talking to a passenger.
• Fatigue – While many outsiders think of fatigue as an acceptable part of being a commercial truck driver, the truth is that truckers who don’t take their mandatory rest breaks are far more likely to experience fatigue while driving. And fatigue can cause a loss of concentration, a slower reaction time, and a greater likelihood of a driver falling asleep at the wheel.
• Unsafe Lane Changes – Commercial trucks have a bigger blind spot than small vehicles. A blind spot refers to the area which a side mirror can’t see when a driver is attempting to change lanes. Because of this blind spot, commercial truck drivers who don’t perform shoulder checks to ensure that there are no cars in the adjacent lane will cause an accident.
• Speeding – Across the board, there is no ‘safe’ way to speed whether a driver is in a car or a commercial truck. But the danger with commercial trucks is that it takes much longer to bring these vehicles to a stop, so when a driver applies the brakes to a speeding truck, it may be too late to avoid a devastating rear-end accident.
• Inexperience – Over the past decade, there has been a serious shortfall in the number of qualified commercial truck drivers, as the demands of the job have driven many experienced drivers out of the industry. As a result, truck carriers have been forced to hire inexperienced drivers who are more likely to make mistakes that cause accidents.
• Pay Per Mile – Most commercial truck drivers are paid per mile driven and not a flat rate or per hour. That means that some drivers are more likely to skip their mandatory rest periods and in doing so, they risk the kind of fatigue that can easily lead to an accident. In an effort to lower truck accident rates, some carriers have shifted to a per-hour or flat rate model. Unfortunately, without an industry-wide move from the per-mile model to a model that lowers the desperation drivers feel to meet a delivery schedule, more drivers will take risks to avoid delays.