Passenger vehicle drivers in North Carolina and around the country should drive more carefully around large commercial vehicles according to a poll of the nation’s truck drivers. The fleet management services company Teletrac Navman invited commercial vehicle drivers to share their thoughts about improving road safety during a month-long contest, and impatient passenger vehicle motorists cutting them off or squeezing into small gaps in traffic was their most commonly cited concern.
Speeding, distraction and drowsy driving were also issues that worried many truck drivers. Almost one in five of the contest participants said that excessive speed was one of their primary concerns, and many voiced fears about distracted motorists or other truck drivers who remain behind the wheel despite being dangerously fatigued.
Another study of commercial vehicle data conducted by the fleet services and logistics firm Verizon Connect reveals that truck drivers tend to exceed posted speed limits more often on desolate roads and are involved in fewer fatal accidents in New England. After studying data gathered between October 2015 and September 2017, the researchers discovered that speeding was most common in North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana. When researchers analyzed the number of fatalities for each mile traveled by commercial vehicles, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut emerged as the safest states.
When people have been injured in truck accidents, attorneys could pursue civil remedies on their behalf by initiating litigation against the driver of the commercial vehicle involved or its owner. Attorneys may file lawsuits against trucking companies when safety regulations have been violated, maintenance was neglected or dangerous conditions were left unimpaired, and commercial vehicle drivers could be sued when police reports reveal that they were impaired by drugs or alcohol when they crashed.