Category: Truck Accidents
February 3, 2017 / Truck Accidents
Multiple Health Problems, Multiple Crashes?
A new study has determined that a commercial truck driver’s general health is connected to his likelihood of being in a crash. Researchers at the University of Utah School of Medicine discovered that drivers are two to four times more likely to crash if they have three or more medical conditions. The Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine published the results in 2017. Almost 50,000 commercial truck drivers were checked for 13 medical conditions that included some relatively common health concerns. Over one-third—34 percent—showed signs of at least one condition that has been statistically linked in the past to poor driver performance, such as: Diabetes that requires medication Lower back pain Heart disease. [...]
March 3, 2016 / Truck Accidents
The Risks of Deadheading and Bobtailing
Deadheading? No, we’re not talking about your flower garden, nor are we referring to a Grateful Dead concert. And bobtailing has nothing to do with animals. Both deadheading (also known as bouncing) and bobtailing are trucking industry terms. Deadheading means driving, usually a return trip, with an empty trailer, and bobtailing means driving the tractor portion only, with no trailer attached. The ability to stop is vastly different whether you are driving a loaded trailer, an empty trailer, or a tractor alone. Believe it or not, it is easier to stop a loaded trailer more securely. Both an empty trailer and a tractor alone are less balanced than a well-loaded truck. Deadheading Dangers One study, done in Western Australia, found that[...]
January 15, 2016 / Truck Accidents
Drivin’ My Life Away…
We have a truck driver shortage in the U.S., despite the fact that it is the most common job in nearly 30 states. In the U.S., truck drivers number 3.5 million, with about 1.8 million of them working specifically as long-haul or tractor-trailer drivers, according to 2014 figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Despite that number, according to the American Trucking Association, the industry lacks at least 48,000 drivers. Some peg the number of drivers currently needed at 100,000. And the need is growing. Why the Demand for So Many Drivers? One big reason is that trucking cannot be outsourced, and driving trucks can’t be automated—at least, not quite yet. Goods need to be moved from points A to B, and that takes human beings sitti[...]