Taking a vehicle onto the road comes with considerable responsibility. It applies whether riding a bicycle or driving an 18-wheeler.
The faster a vehicle goes and the more it weighs, the more damage it can do. That is why trucks are the most dangerous vehicles on the road. Yet often, the problem is not the vehicle itself. It is the person driving it.
MOST TRUCK DRIVER ERRORS ARE AVOIDABLE
Here are three of the errors truck drivers often make:
- They drive without enough rest: A truck driver might claim that they are overworked. Or that their newborn baby kept them up all night. Those are valid claims, yet they must recognize how a lack of sleep affects their driving ability. If they are too tired to drive, they should not go. It is that simple.
- They did not pay attention to the road: Modern truck cabs carry a lot of technology. Drivers must understand using electronic devices inhibits their ability to drive.
- They did not adjust to the conditions: Truckers know that high winds could blow them over. They know that black ice makes the road dangerous. Failing to check the weather is inexcusable. As someone in charge of such dangerous vehicles, they need to carry out a basic risk assessment every time they get behind the wheel. If poor conditions are forecast, they need to drive slower, take an alternative route, or wait until conditions improve.
Truckers may come up with a list of reasons why the truck crash was not their fault. Yet, they are the ones behind the wheel. They know driving an 18-wheeler is difficult. They need to accept the responsibility when they get it wrong.
