People in Virginia might be surprised to learn that over the past three years, the number of large-truck-occupant fatalities has been increasing steadily according to the Chief Safety Officer of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety. He also points out that there has been a steady rise in both the percentage of fatal work zone crashes involving one large truck at the least and the rate of all fatal crashes involving one large truck over the same period.
Fortunately, truckers can do a lot to reduce the number of accidents that take place and make matters safer. For starters, truckers should always wear their seatbelts, which should come as no surprise seeing as 38 percent of all truck occupant fatalities involved someone not wearing their seatbelt. That being said, truckers have been using their seatbelts more and more over the past decade, with the rate of usage rising from 65 percent to 86 percent in under ten years.
Another thing truck drivers should always do in order to reduce the amount of work zone crashes is to communicate with those around them. This means that when they plan to merge into an open lane, they should use their turn signal. And, when traffic in front of them is congested for some reason, truckers should use their flasher.
Over and above, truckers should avoid distractions at all costs. So, they should neither fiddle with the mirror while on the road nor adjust the seat to get more comfortable while on the way. More importantly, truckers need to make sure that they don’t let their cellphones or tablets draw their eyes away from the road, something they can do by stashing away these little gizmos the instant the truck’s engine starts roaring up.
The sad fact is that no matter how many precautions truckers take, accidents will probably still happen; the best that can be hoped for is to drastically reduce the rate at which it happens. With that said, if someone has been through an accident involving a truck, they might benefit from reaching out to an experienced attorney who can inform them of their legal options.