Common Causes Of Trucking Accidents

In Maryland, trucking accidents pose a significant risk to all drivers on the road. Trucks are large, powerful, and hard to control in poor conditions. Truck drivers have a responsibility to take key steps to minimize the risk of an accident.

COLLISION AVOIDANCE TIPS

Two causes of accidents are by far the most common and easiest to avoid: distracted driving and speeding. Distracted driving is driving while texting, reading, or being otherwise engaged with something other than the road, usually a phone. It is dangerous for all drivers, but especially truckers, who have less margin for error and a higher risk of a major accident.

Speeding is self-explanatory. Understanding the right speed to maintain in the current traffic combined with the load and the truck’s capabilities can take time, but it is a critical element of road safety. Keep in mind that even going the speed limit may be too fast for trucks that are driving in times where there is low visibility.

OTHER ROAD SAFETY TIPS

Some conditions are outside the trucker’s control but can still raise the risk of an accident, like bad weather. The driver can’t control whether there is snow or rain, but they can control how they react to it and how they prepare for it. A highway or road that the driver does not know also increases the risk of an truck accident, and the same goes for an unfamiliar truck or load. All of these factors should encourage the driver to be more cautious and drive more slowly until they feel more comfortable.

The driver has the ability to lower the risk of a trucking accident if they are aware of these risk factors and how they should respond to them in the moment.