When you encounter a truck on the road, you may notice that the habits of the driver cause you to worry. Truckers can end up crashing into smaller vehicles when they are paying more attention to distractions than vehicles around them.
Learning more about what the most common distractions for truckers are and how they impact you can help you after a crash.
When drifting out of the lane
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, a trucker constantly looking around can lead to them drifting out of their lane, which may leave them at risk for a critical pre-crash event. This event can include them hitting an animal or a pedestrian, which then causes them to swerve into another lane and collide with you.
When speeding
Operating a large vehicle at high speeds makes it easy for one mistake to lead to a crash. This is even more dangerous when an object inside the car or billboard outside the car distracts a trucker.
Whether this trucker is looking at a person standing near the road or is merely daydreaming, this lack of attention to their truck can leave you at risk for a collision.
When around smaller vehicles
Those in trucks must watch out for smaller vehicles, like motorcycles and cars, when they are driving. Since a trucker’s mirrors can only pick up vehicles in certain spots around their truck, making sudden movements or adjusting the truck while distracted can lead to them pushing you off of the road or running into your car.
Distractions are more than an annoyance since they can be deadly when a trucker does not follow the rules of the road.