Washington DC Truck Accident Attorney

Common Causes of Truck Accidents

Some of the most common causes of truck accidents include:

• Distraction – Distraction is an umbrella term that covers any activity that takes a driver’s attention away from the road. It includes texting, speaking on a mobile phone even if a hands-free device is used, chatting with passengers, eating, applying makeup and using a GPS device.
• Equipment Failure – Commercial truck carriers are required to properly maintain their vehicles. But when carriers allow inspections and routine maintenance work to lapse, it can cause equipment failure that can quickly lead to an accident.
• Fatigue – Truck drivers spend as many as nine and 10 hours driving on the road without a break, and that can take a heavy toll. Fatigue is one of the major contributors in truck accidents because it affects reaction time, focus, concentration and alertness.
• Improperly Secured Cargo – If a truck driver fails to secure his or her cargo securely, that cargo can cause tire failure because of disproportionate weight, or it can also cause the truck to jackknife dangerously across several lanes, leading to a serious accident.
• Inexperience – The commercial truck industry is having a difficult time hiring qualified drivers who stay on the job for more than a few years. This is largely due to problems such as fatigue and inadequate pay that are forcing experienced drivers to seek other jobs. As a result, carriers are hiring young, inexperienced drivers who are more likely to make the wrong decisions on the road.
• Not Checking Blind Spots – Because commercial trucks are so large, they have much bigger blind spots, which are areas where side mirrors cannot show a vehicle in the adjacent lane. If a truck driver doesn’t perform a shoulder check to ensure that the lane is clear before making a lane change, he or she will hit the car in the blind spot.
• Speed – Speed is always a factor in accidents. But traveling faster than the speed limit is especially dangerous for truck drivers because it takes much longer to bring commercial trucks to a complete stop as compared to passenger vehicles. And trucks that speed will hit another vehicle with far greater impact than if they were traveling at or below the speed limit.