Driving on Georgia roads means you have to share them with trucks. While you can use your wits to stay safer on the road with a huge truck, there are situations you can’t always control. Sadly, it can be deadly when a trucker is fatigued and an accident occurs.
What causes truck driver fatigue?
Truck drivers often work long hours to make pickups and deliveries. As a result, they may not always get adequate rest and may end up feeling tired while working. Considering how large and heavy trucks are, this can end up being extremely dangerous and pose serious risks to everyone sharing the road. When a motor vehicle accident involving a truck ensues, it can result in severe injuries and even death.
There are a few reasons for truck driver fatigue. They include the following:
• Working long shifts: Truckers often have to continue working well into the night and wee hours without rest. As a result, they often experience extreme fatigue while driving. They may sometimes be asked to work a different shift that isn’t common for them, which can also test their abilities.
• Medication: If a truck driver is taking certain medication, whether prescription or over-the-counter, it may cause drowsiness. This can pose a significant danger of falling asleep at the wheel.
• Illness: Truck drivers may fall sick while working just like people in other professions. Illnesses can make them feel fatigued, putting them and everyone else on the road in danger.
• Alcohol or drug use: Truckers who are inebriated behind the wheel can feel fatigued. This also greatly raises the risk of a truck accident occurring.
What can happen when a truck driver is fatigued while working?
Motor vehicle accidents can easily occur when a truck driver is fatigued while operating their truck. In a scary statistic, around one in 25 truckers admit to falling asleep behind the wheel. Falling asleep means not being able to control the truck and getting into a very serious crash that can result in disabling injuries and fatalities.
Fatigued driving can mirror driving under the influence. When a truck driver falls asleep behind the wheel or is about to fall asleep while driving, they have no control over the vehicle. The effect of fatigued driving is very similar to having a blood alcohol concentration of .10. That is well over the legal limit of .08 in Georgia.