Do Tractor-Trailer Drivers Need More Training?

This video features Brian Davis, a Personal Injury attorney based in North Carolina.

Attorney Brian Davis | 888-592-5071 | Free Consult

“If these guys aren’t following the… rules of the road for truck drivers, they put everybody at risk who’s on the road with them. That’s you, that’s me, that’s my family, your family—everybody.”

What kind of training do truck drivers receive before hitting the road? Why do drivers make negligent decisions while driving that go against their training? Do tractor-trailer drivers need more training?

Brian Davis is an injury attorney with Davis Law Group, P.A. in Asheville, North Carolina. In this interview, he explains how truck drivers may initially receive adequate training early in their careers, but a lack of oversight can lead to poor driving later on.

To learn more, contact the attorney directly by calling 888-592-5071 or by submitting a contact form on this page. There is no charge for the consultation, and you never owe any out-of-pocket attorney fees.

Key Takeaways From Brian Davis:

Lack of training and adequate supervision can result in dangerous situations for everyone on the road. It is the responsibility of a trucking company to ensure they are sending only well-trained drivers with records of safe driving out on the road, and it is the responsibility of the drivers to continuously follow safety regulations.

All truck drivers must undergo some kind of training.

Truck drivers often receive different kinds of training based on the trucking company they work for. The majority of truck drivers on the road today work for smaller trucking companies. These drivers are responsible for obtaining their own commercial driver’s license (CDL) by attending a truck driving school. The national trucking companies have their own internal training systems their drivers are required to attend; however, recent data shows that the majority of truck drivers currently work in the smaller owner-operator set-up.

Many truck drivers essentially live on the road.

Truck drivers are often on the road for six or seven days out of the week, for the majority of a 24-hour day. This is a difficult lifestyle and over time this kind of grueling schedule can lead to complacency in following safety standards. For example, large trucks are required to leave more following space between their own vehicle and others on the road, but over time this following distance tends to grow smaller as drivers become distracted or too eager to get to their destination.

Truck drivers are generally responsible for monitoring their own behavior.

This unfortunately means that for most of the owner-operator trucking companies, there are few means of supervising the majority of truck drivers on the road. Truckers who work for larger or national trucking companies might be monitored using cameras within the cab of the truck and even GPS embedded in the vehicle.

Unsafe truck drivers increase the risk of collisions.

Collisions involving 18-wheelers are notoriously dangerous due to the physics of these massive vehicles. When something as large as a semi collides with a standard passenger vehicle, the effects can be catastrophic and often result in severe injuries and even fatalities. This is why it is essential that truck drivers undergo proper training and are properly supervised to ensure they are following industry safety regulations.

Liability in large truck accidents is often shared between the driver and trucking company.

This is why it’s important to contact an attorney as soon as possible after an accident with one of these vehicles. Larger trucking companies have their own team of legal and insurance experts who will arrive almost immediately after the accident at the scene to begin cleaning up.

Contacting an experienced truck accident attorney as soon as possible can prevent important evidence from being hidden, destroyed, or naturally dispersing with time. Additionally, there are certain kinds of evidence that only an attorney can access, such as technology from within the truck itself, driving logs, and surveillance footage from local businesses which might have caught the accident on film.

If a loved one was injured in an accident and is unable to contact an attorney, a family member can do so on their behalf. Davis recommends vetting any attorney you are interested in hiring for a truck accident case to make sure they are familiar with trucking law and have a track record of success. It might also help to note that the majority of truck accident attorneys work on contingency, which means you won’t be expected to pay anything to your legal team unless and until your attorney wins your case.

To learn more, contact Brian Davis directly by calling 888-592-5071 or by submitting a contact form on this page. There is no charge for the consultation, and you never owe any out-of-pocket attorney fees.

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