Truck Drivers on Cell Phones Rising Cause of Truck Accidents

This video features Trent Shuping, an Employment and Labor Law attorney based in Georgia.

Attorney Trent Shuping | 888-981-5602 | Free Consult

“There’s a lot of pressure on truck drivers and trucking companies and sometimes that leads them to cut corners and look the other way in efforts to get one more load done.”

Are drivers of large tractor-trailer trucks driving while distracted by their cell phones and other devices? Are they under the influence of drugs while behind the wheel?

Trent Shuping is a personal injury attorney and partner at the Atlanta-based Warshauer Law Group. He says that while most truck drivers are professional, there are a few bad apples who fail to take their responsibilities seriously. He explains that truck drivers on cell phones can cause catastrophic accidents when they take their eyes off the road.

To learn more, contact the attorney directly by calling 888-981-5602 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 Trent Shuping:

Distracted drivers pose a risk in any vehicle, but the consequences involved when the driver of a big rig is distracted can be severe and life-altering. Professional truck drivers and the companies that employ them have a responsibility to exercise an extra level of caution in operating their vehicles.

The same distractions exist for truck drivers as drivers of normal passenger cars.

While the majority of professional truck drivers are highly skilled in their field and consistently exercise caution, the same distractions which affect other drivers on the road may affect a truck driver. From cell phone usage to fatigue to driving under the influence, truck drivers are subject to the same risk of distraction with the potential to cause irreversible damage.

Drug use is not the most common cause of accidents among truck drivers, but is not unheard of.

Drug usage by a truck driver can result in severe consequences for the driver as well as anyone sharing the road with them. It is the responsibility of both the driver and the trucking company to ensure that drivers under the influence of any substance are not allowed on the road, and that drivers with a history of substance abuse on the job are not hired in the first place. However, in efforts to increase profit by keeping trucks on the road for as much time as possible, trucking companies sometimes increase the risk that their driver might cause an accident due not only to potential drug use but also to more common risks such as driver fatigue.

Big rig accidents are particularly devastating due to the size and weight of the vehicle.

It’s not hard to see how an accident or collision with a big rig could have devastating results compared to that of an accident with a normal passenger car. Basic physics informs us that a vehicle carrying a 70,000+ pound load is more likely to cause increased and/or collateral damage than a 4,000+ pound passenger car. A big rig will take a greater distance to stop effectively, so it is essential for truck drivers to be constantly alert. Similarly, if a big rig needs to swerve to avoid debris or due to hazardous conditions, corrective actions on the part of the driver can result in serious damage to any vehicle in the vicinity.

Hiring a lawyer as soon as possible is essential in a high-stake situation like a big rig accident.

Hiring a lawyer is a good idea with any vehicle collision, but is especially necessary in the case of an accident with a big rig. Trucking companies have teams of experienced lawyers who know how to cover up evidence of fault and are practiced at doing so; it’s unlikely that a person filing a claim against a trucking company will receive fair compensation on their own without the help of an experienced attorney. Most personal injury attorneys work on contingency, which means you won’t be required to pay your attorney unless/until they win your case, and they will have access to evidence supporting your case that you might not be able to obtain on your own. With this in mind, the reasons to hire an attorney to protect your interests in a case against a trucking company increase significantly.

To learn more, contact Trent Shuping directly by calling 888-981-5602 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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