Distracted Driving
Distracted truck drivers highlight the urgent need for tech and training solutions to enhance road safety.
The prevalence of distractions among truck drivers, such as texting, fatigued driving, and in-cab activities, underscores the crucial requirement for technology and training solutions. These measures are essential in addressing the hazards posed by distracted truck drivers to all road users.
Accidents Caused by Distracted Truck Drivers are Preventable
In the modern age, where multitasking feels like second nature, the grave consequences of distracted driving remain alarmingly ignored. What may seem like just a fleeting glance at a phone or taking a sip of coffee – is a decision that can change lives forever.
This is especially true for the professionals of the road: truck drivers. Because they spend countless hours on the road, it’s easiest for them to be lulled into a false sense of security that can drive distracted because they haven’t caused a truck accident –yet.
In 2021 alone, distracted driving took 3,522 lives, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The weight of this statistic becomes even more profound when considering that all these fatal crashes were preventable.
Looking at large trucks alone, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reports a staggering 71% of truck accidents stem from distractions, making it the leading cause of truck crashes.
If you or a loved one has been the victim of a crash caused by a distracted trucker, you may be entitled to compensation. Read on to learn more about accidents caused by distracted truck drivers, and the safety initiatives in place to combat one of the biggest hazards on the road.
In the modern age, where multitasking feels like second nature, the grave consequences of distracted driving remain alarmingly ignored. What may seem like just a fleeting glance at a phone or taking a sip of coffee – is a decision that can change lives forever.
This is especially true for the professionals of the road: truck drivers. Because they spend countless hours on the road, it’s easiest for them to be lulled into a false sense of security that can drive distracted because they haven’t caused a truck accident –yet.
Do I have a Distracted Driving Truck Crash Claim?
In 2021 alone, distracted driving took 3,522 lives, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The weight of this statistic becomes even more profound when considering that all these fatal crashes were preventable.
Looking at large trucks alone, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reports a staggering 71% of truck accidents stem from distractions, making it the leading cause of truck crashes.
If you or a loved one has been the victim of a crash caused by a distracted trucker, you may be entitled to compensation. Read on to learn more about accidents caused by distracted truck drivers, and the safety initiatives in place to combat one of the biggest hazards on the road.
Referrals & Co-Counsel
Involved in a Crash?
No other law firm knows trucks quite like us. Our trucking law expertise and trial experience allow us to win multi-million-dollar results year after year.
Our team of truck accident attorneys works tirelessly to help your family find justice in the wake of a catastrophic truck crash.
Referrals & Co-Counsel
No other law firm knows trucks quite like us. Our trucking law expertise and trial experience allow us to win multi-million-dollar results year after year.
Involved in a Crash?
Our team of truck accident attorneys works tirelessly to help your family find justice in the wake of a catastrophic truck crash.
What Is Distracted Driving?
According to the FMCSA, driver distraction is anything that diverts a driver’s attention away from the activities critical for safe driving. In other words, if it takes your hands off the wheel, eyes off the road, or mind off the task at hand, it’s a distraction.
Distractions come in all shapes and sizes, and some may surprise you:
- Talking on the phone/texting (Yes, even using speaker phone and voice to text can be a mental or auditory distraction)
- Playing music too loudly
- Looking at something inside or outside the cab
- Eating
- Changing the radio channel while traveling
- Mental or emotional distractions that interfere with driving.
- Personal grooming
- Engaging with another person in the vehicle
- Talking on the phone/texting (Yes, even using speaker phone and voice to text can be a mental or auditory distraction)
- Playing music too loudly
- Looking at something inside or outside the cab
- Eating
- Mental or emotional distractions that interfere with driving.
- Personal grooming
- Engaging with another person in the vehicle
- Changing the radio channel while traveling
Crash. Not Accident.
The word “accident” is often used to describe devastating truck crashes. Many people in need of legal help will search for a “truck accident lawyer near me” or the “best truck accident attorney”. We even use "accident" in our site name.
However, most truck “accidents” are not accidents at all.
Truck crashes are often caused by distracted, fatigued, poorly trained, or downright dangerous truck drivers and/or the unsafe business practices of the trucking companies and brokers that hired them. Every semi-truck accident lawyer at The Law Firm for Truck Safety is committed to helping those who have been irreparably harmed in commercial vehicle crashes and providing education to the public that crashes are not accidents.
How Do Truckers Get Distracted While Driving?
Truck drivers are under a lot of pressure from trucking and logistics companies to meet large and sometimes unrealistic quotas. That leads to very long hours behind the wheel and limited time for other personal activities like grooming, eating, shopping, and sleeping.
Long days spent sitting in the cab can also easily lead to boredom. To overcome that boredom, drivers might engage in seemingly harmless behaviors like listening to music, podcasts, or videos or calling friends and loved ones. But the seconds it takes to switch radio stations or read that text can have catastrophic consequences–especially when traveling at high speeds behind a commercial vehicle that can weigh up to 80,000 pounds.
Over time, truck drivers can be lulled into this false sense of safety, where they feel they can handle more and more driving distractions without posing a risk to others on the road. This is, of course, flawed thinking. The tragic reality is that many families have been shattered because a truck driver believed they could multitask safely.
We have represented families who have lost loved ones because a distracted truck driver was:
- Playing a video game.
- Watching pornographic films.
- Reading texts while on an on-ramp/off-ramp.
- Eating/picking up dropped food off the cab floor.
We have represented families who have lost loved ones because a distracted truck driver was:
- Playing a video game.
- Watching pornographic films.
- Reading texts while on an on-ramp/off-ramp.
- Eating/picking up dropped food off the cab floor.
If you or a loved one has been impacted by a truck driver’s choice to put their personal priorities over the safety of those on the road, you deserve more than just legal representation; you deserve a team that genuinely understands the unique challenges and nuances of the trucking world.
At The Law Firm for Truck Safety, we fight fiercely and relentlessly to ensure that distracted truck drivers and the corporations that encourage these dangerous behaviors are fully held accountable and you receive the compensation and justice you deserve.
Distracted Driving Due to Cellphone Use
When a driver is talking on his phone, he or she is spending 37% less of his or her brain energy on driving. Research commissioned by the FMCSA shows that the odds of being involved in a crash or near-crash are six times greater for truck drivers who talk on the phone while driving.
The statistics get worse for truckers who text and drive. When a truck driver is texting and driving, they are 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash or near-crash.
The same study found that drivers who text take their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds. If the driver was going 55 miles per hour, he or she would have traveled the length of a football field during that time — which is a long way to travel without looking at the road.
When a driver is talking on his phone, he or she is spending 37% less of his or her brain energy on driving. Research commissioned by the FMCSA shows that the odds of being involved in a crash or near-crash are six times greater for truck drivers who talk on the phone while driving.
The statistics get worse for truckers who text and drive. When a truck driver is texting and driving, they are 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash or near-crash.
The same study found that drivers who text take their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds. If the driver was going 55 miles per hour, he or she would have traveled the length of a football field during that time — which is a long way to travel without looking at the road.
When a driver is talking on his phone, he or she is spending 37% less of his or her brain energy on driving. Research commissioned by the FMCSA shows that the odds of being involved in a crash or near-crash are six times greater for truck drivers who talk on the phone while driving.
The statistics get worse for truckers who text and drive. When a truck driver is texting and driving, they are 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash or near-crash.
The same study found that drivers who text take their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds. If the driver was going 55 miles per hour, he or she would have traveled the length of a football field during that time — which is a long way to travel without looking at the road.
What are the Common Types of Truck Driver Distractions?
Though there are a wide range of activities that fall under the umbrella of distracted driving, there are a few driver distractions commonly seen in distracted driving truck accident cases.
These include:
- Cellphone usage of any kind: texting, making calls, watching videos, social media, surfing the web, etc.
- Using a GPS or reading a map
- Eating or drinking while driving
- Performing personal hygiene and other grooming activities
- Communicating on a dispatching device or updating the driver log
- Fatigued driving or zoning out
- Reaching across the seat for something
- Being distracted by another passenger (or animal) in the cab.
These include:
- Cellphone usage of any kind: texting, making calls, watching videos, social media, surfing the web, etc.
- Using a GPS or reading a map
- Eating or drinking while driving
- Performing personal hygiene and other grooming activities
- Communicating on a dispatching device or updating the driver log
- Fatigued driving or zoning out
- Reaching across the seat for something
- Being distracted by another passenger (or animal) in the cab.
Distracted Driving Regulations
Many of the causes of distracted driving are difficult to regulate, but there are a few laws that prevent distracted driving for all drivers, including commercial truck drivers. The use of handheld cell phones while driving a large truck, for instance, is banned at the federal level.
The FMCSA also created a strict set of guidelines for commercial truck drivers. These guidelines extend the federal ban on handheld cellphones and claim that a driver cannot hold a mobile device to make a call or make a call by pressing more than one button. Truck drivers can only use a mobile phone while driving if the hands-free phone is located in close proximity.
Drivers who violate the FMCSA rules could lose their commercial license and face civil penalties to the tune of $2,750
Distracted Driving and Technology
While crash-avoidance technology and automated driving advancements hold promise in mitigating the risks of distracted driving, they are far from being foolproof solutions.
Modern-day driving technologies, even those that can block the use of a cell phone when behind the wheel of a semi, are meant to act as a supplement to the driver’s capabilities. They are not designed to replace the vigilant care and focus every tractor-trailer driver must maintain behind the wheel.
Over-reliance on these aids might falsely embolden truck drivers to engage in additional distractions, mistakenly believing technology will always intervene and keep them safe. This misplaced confidence has the potential to reinforce more hazardous driving behaviors.
This is why education remains one of the best tools safety advocates have to build safer roads and safer trucking industry policies.
While crash-avoidance technology and automated driving advancements hold promise in mitigating the risks of distracted driving, they are far from being foolproof solutions.
Modern-day driving technologies, even those that can block the use of a cell phone when behind the wheel of a semi, are meant to act as a supplement to the driver’s capabilities. They are not designed to replace the vigilant care and focus every tractor-trailer driver must maintain behind the wheel.
Over-reliance on these aids might falsely embolden truck drivers to engage in additional distractions, mistakenly believing technology will always intervene and keep them safe. This misplaced confidence has the potential to reinforce more hazardous driving behaviors.
This is why education remains one of the best tools safety advocates have to build safer roads and safer trucking industry policies.
Raising Awareness on Distracted Driving
Raising awareness about distracted driving, particularly among truck drivers, is vital to ensure the safety of all road users. Many organizations organize events, workshops, and campaigns throughout the year to keep the issue in the public eye, stressing the importance of undivided attention behind the wheel.
These collective efforts not only inform drivers but also foster a community committed to creating safer roads for everyone. Some of the more prominent organizations are:
Events
Operation Safe Driver Week (CVSA, mid-July)
Distracted Driving Awareness Month (National Safety Council, April)
I Have Been Injured by a Distracted Truck Driver. What Do I Do?
After a crash, the physical safety of those involved is the top priority. If you or someone in your crash has been severely injured, seek emergency medical attention immediately.
If you are not in need of emergency medical assistance, call the police, take photos, record the names of any witnesses, and call an attorney who has extensive experience in handling crashes caused by distracted truckers.
An experienced distracted driving truck accident attorney can help you explore your options for compensation and build a clear and strategic path to justice.
We believe in the healing power of litigation.
Explore how The Law Firm for Truck Safety has helped truck crash victims champion their stories for justice -- inside and outside of the courtroom.
Explore how our firm helps truck crash victims find justice inside and outside of the courtroom.
Explore how The Law Firm for Truck Safety has helped truck crash victims champion their stories for justice -- inside and outside of the courtroom.
How Our Distracted Driving Truck Accident Lawyers Can Help You
Proving that a driver was distracted and their distraction was one of the root causes of your crash can be a challenge for a personal injury law firm that is not proficient in handling truck accident lawsuits. A law firm that only represents victims of truck crashes, however, has the experience and knowledge needed to drill down into the driving records, various logs, cell phone data, computer “black box” and telematics data to determine if the truck driver responsible for your crash was engaging in distracted driving behavior.
At The Law Firm for Truck Safety, our attorneys can help you hold the negligent truck driver accountable, as well as help you file a claim against the trucking company and other parties responsible for placing that truck driver on the road. Trucking and logistics companies have a responsibility to hire and train competent drivers. If they fail to do so, a judge or jury may find them liable for your crash. Similarly, if evidence shows that they’re putting unreasonable demands on their drivers or if they don’t have distracted driving policies in place, they may owe you compensation for your injuries.
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Connect with an Experienced Truck Accident Lawyer Near You
Coping with the aftermath of an accident involving a distracted truck driver can be overwhelming.
If you or someone you know was the victim of an accident caused by a distracted truck driver, contact one of The Law Firm for Truck Safety’s experienced truck accident attorneys and we'll diligently work to ensure you receive the justice and rightful compensation you deserve.
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