Truck driving is one of the most dangerous jobs in the United States and thousands of truck drivers and other motorists lose their lives or are involved in serious accidents every year. To combat the dangerous aspect of driving a truck, governments require truck companies to put different regulations and rules into effect for the drivers. The rules and regulations that can be broken or ignored by trucking companies are drivers that haven’t had a physical exam, drivers that are exceeding speed, drivers that have a truck that weighs too much and drivers that have been on the road for far too long without any rest period. All of these things can add up to a devastating trucking accident that could lead to personal injury for the driver and other motorists.
States require that drivers have a physical exam every year or every few years to ensure they are physically able to perform the rigors of driving a truck. When a company does not set up the physical or allow the driver the time off for the physical, a driver may neglect to get one. If the company simply overlooks this fact, the driver may not be able to drive correctly and may cause an accident.
Trucking companies often have deadlines that truck drivers need to meet. They must drop off or pick up a load at a specific time, whether there is traffic or not. If a driver is running late already and hits traffic, they will not get where they need to be on time. Drivers will compensate for this, in fear of losing their job or being penalized by the company, by exceeding normal speeds and putting others at risk for a dangerous trucking accident.
Trucks must weigh a certain amount to be legal to drive on the road safely. Some trucking companies ignore the safe loading weights and will double up a truck or pack too much into the trailer of the truck, creating a hazard for the truck driver and other people that are on the road. Oftentimes truckers are not aware that their truck weighs too much and will not know how to correct the problem when they lose control while driving.
Getting enough rest is an important part of any type of job that is being performed, but is imperative for truck drivers. States have certain laws that require drivers not be on the road more than a specific amount of time. Trucking companies are supposed to assist the drivers in obtaining a place to sleep when they have been on the road for too long, but many do not in order to cut costs. This puts truckers at risk for accidents and personal injury.