Accidents Happen Daily that Motorists Can Help Prevent

I see accidents on the road every day while I am working some are minor, while others leave devastation behind. I am a truck driver that travels coast to coast, and no matter what state I am in I see the same little fender benders that a morning rush hour tends to leave behind. Luckily most of the time there are no serious injuries involved. The ones that perturb me the most are from people that either don't use good common sense or they really just don't have any. These accidents normally involve major injuries that end in fatalities and someone spending the rest of their life in prison.

Motorists normally have no knowledge of trucks and the dangers that they possess. If there is an accident involving a big truck they automatically blame the driver of the truck. Well it is time that the truth be known "it is not always the truck drivers fault"! No I am not going to defend every truck driver in the world just because I am one myself. I just want to point out what you the motorist should know that will help to prevent some of these accidents from occurring.

You hear of truck drivers that fall asleep behind the wheel from driving with not enough sleep, or maybe they have a sleeping disorder. Some of you have heard that truck drivers take drugs (legal and illegal) to stay awake so they can try to make more money. Even that there was some outlaw trucking companies that would hand you a bag with drugs in it when you got your paper work, these companies do not exist anymore. Well I will not deny some accidents are from drivers like this. That is the drivers that I do not and will not defend.

The Department of Transportation is doing everything they can to prevent these drivers from being on the road. Truck drivers are subject to random drug tests that can be administered on the side of the road at any time. We are required to go through an extensive physical every two years to make sure we have no medical problem that would make it to where we could not operate the equipment safely. There are also rules to how many hours we can work and how many we have to sleep (or be off duty) before we can drive again. We are only allowed to work a certain number of hours a week and then we are required to take thirty-four consecutive hours off. Since these guidelines have been set forth the roads have become safer than what they once were.

I have heard a driver of a car say that eighteen wheelers can stop faster than a car because it has more wheels and more brakes. I am sorry but this statement just is not true. Yes we have more wheels and more brakes, but we also have about seventy-eight thousand more pounds of vehicle to stop. A good estimate would be (a truck on a dry road that is running 55 mph.) that it takes the length of a football field to come to a complete stop. So don't pull in front of a truck and realize that you are going to pass your exit and hit the brakes. If you miss the exit go to the next one and turn around "not in the median either". There are certain spots on the roads that can be dangerous when you are traveling around trucks. A truck even though it has mirrors on it can't see what is in certain spots on the vehicles right side. So please if you need to pass a truck do it on the left not on the right. A truck has no rear view mirror so we certainly can't see what is directly behind us. Remember if you can't see my side mirrors, I can't see you.

I really like the stories that people think truck drivers are rich and that they are going to sue and get a big check. I blame this thought on those attorneys that advertise, "Been hurt in an accident by a big truck. Call me I will get you the money that you deserve." Well unfortunately most of the time the law looks at an accident as being a big trucks fault regardless of the circumstances, and that is what this attorney focuses on. The problem is you have those people that are looking to get rich quick the idea that they can go out and cause a truck to hit them and they will be set for life because of that insurance claim. What they are not thinking about is the fact that more then not the person in the car ends up not making it through the accident. It normally looks like the car has been rolled over with a steam roller.

I hope this sheds some light on truck safety for the average person. All truck drivers are not bad people or bad drivers, we just seem to be misunderstood. For anyone who has ever lost a loved one due to a big truck accident, I am sorry and give you my condolences. You can believe the truck driver that was involved lives with the torture of it every day from the memories alone. I will speak for all truck driver here, that is a burden that none of us want to carry with us. I hope this article helps you the motorist save a life or two, and helps to make the roads safer for you when you take a trip or go on vacation.