Baton Rouge Truck Accident Lawyer

Truck Accident Liability

Truck accident claims are typically more complicated than car accident claims because often, more than one entity shares the fault—and investigative work is necessary. Nevertheless, truck drivers themselves often shoulder some part of the fault—even if they aren’t fully responsible. As such, it’s important to carefully consider the truck driver’s role in any truck accident.

Responsibilities :

When truck drivers get behind the wheels of their rigs, they take on the immense responsibility of driving the massive vehicle safely over our highways and byways. In this capacity, truck drivers are held to far higher standards than are non-commercial drivers. Truck drivers must carefully attend to the rules of the road, to the stringent regulations related to hours behind the wheel, to driving distraction-free, and much more. Further, truck drivers are responsible for their own end of their rig’s maintenance schedules (which helps ensure that the truck remains roadworthy) and for operating the truck safely and in accordance with all rules and regulations. When it comes to truck accidents, truck drivers are often found directly responsible (at least partially) for the damages rendered.

Exhausted truck drivers:

The trucking industry is extremely stressful, schedule-driven, and fast-paced. All these elements are factored into the truck driver’s job. As such, truck drivers are tasked with carefully balancing these factors within restrictive driving regulations and the financial necessity of making a living by logging necessary miles. Sometimes, truck drivers focus more intently on logging miles than they do on carefully adhering to those restrictions that limit driving. Tired truck drivers are dangerous truck drivers, and this is the very reason that federal regulations are so strictly comprehensive when it comes to hours behind the wheel.

Distracted truck drivers:

Distraction has become a furiously increasing driving hazard that it's important to consider it more carefully. Distracted drivers are dangerous drivers, and this is even truer when the driver is operating a massive semi-truck that’s fully loaded for business. While there are many, many distractions out there to choose from, smartphone usage wins hands down when it comes to dangerous distractions. Smartphones have become so integral to our lives, that some of us—including some truck drivers—have a difficult time putting them away. Because distracted driving is reaching epidemic proportions, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) focuses closely on the topic. NHTSA defines distracted driving as any driving in which the driver’s focus isn’t fully trained on the primary task of driving safely. While distractions are grouped into three classes-including cognitive, visual, and manual distractions—smartphone usage takes the cake by incorporating all three classifications into one extremely dangerous activity. The average driver/text interaction lasts about 5 seconds, which is the amount of time it takes to travel the length of a football field when moving at 55 miles per hour. That’s a scary visual. When it comes to distractions, there are plenty to go around, and because truck driving is a complicated, stressful, and tightly-scheduled endeavor, truck drivers face a variety of work-related distractions that most of us don’t:

• Attending to the trucking logbook
• Fielding calls related to work
• Reading a map or interacting with the GPS
• Interacting with a dispatch mechanism
• Calculating trip distances and schedules

A truck driver’s job does not consist solely of driving. Additionally, truck drivers must attend to recordkeeping and communications that include extensive details. As a result, truck drivers often face work-related distractions when they’re attending to their primary task of logging miles safely.

Truck drivers face long miles on the road, often grueling schedules, and extensive documentation efforts, but their primary responsibility is to maneuver their trucks safely across our roadways. Distractions have no place in this equation.