Tired Truck Drivers

Bowling Green Truck Accident Attorney – (270) 783-8311

Commercial truck drivers are often subjected to grueling hours that push them into exhaustion. The fatigue they experience makes it extremely likely that they will cause a truck accident due to tiredness and extended response time to hazards. If you or someone you love was harmed in a trucking accident, it is possible that a tired truck driver is to blame.

You can come to the Law Office of Pamela C. Bratcher for legal assistance when filing a personal injury claim against the trucker or trucking company that hurt you. With over 30 years of legal experience under her belt, Bowling Green Truck Accident Attorney Pamela Bratcher has the knowledgeability and know-how required to carefully construct your case and gear it towards a successful outcome. Start out with a free initial consultation today to learn more about what you can do to seek fair compensation for your damages.

Consequences of Trucker Exhaustion

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) permits trucking companies to regularly schedule its truck drivers for 14 hours a day with up to 11 of those hours behind the wheel. While this might already seem like an unreasonable amount of time to tell someone to drive in one day, there are also numerous loopholes and gray areas in the regulations that allow trucking companies to keep truckers on the road for even longer. When travel time to and from the truck depot is considered, there are many stories of truck drivers having to go an entire day or days without rest to complete a route or work week. Perhaps needless to say, this can cause truck driver exhaustion.

When a trucker is fatigued, the consequences and behaviors he or she may experience include:

• Poor reaction time: A commercial truck driver requires sharp reaction times to keep themselves and other motorists out of harm. Tiredness has been shown to worsen reaction times in drivers in a way similar to intoxication.
• Difficulty judging distance: Processing distances while tired can be a real challenge for truckers, who may already experience trouble with judging distances due to the massive size of their cabs compared to smaller vehicles. This consequence is quite hazardous when considering that big rigs need long stretches of open road to come to a complete stop while traveling at highway speeds.
• Speeding: A trucker that notices themselves slipping into exhaustion may attempt to speed to the next destination to ultimately get home quicker than usual. Violating speed limits for any reason is unacceptable and will likely result in a collision.
• Reckless driving and swerving: Maintaining lane control can be a serious challenge for the truck driver who is tired. Straying out of a lane or swerving suddenly can knock adjacent and smaller vehicles dangerously to the side or into guard rails.
• Falling asleep at the wheel: Of course, a trucker who is exhausted may fall asleep behind the wheel, which is practically a guarantee that a catastrophic truck accident is soon to follow.

Take On Big Truck Companies With Our Help – (270) 783-8311

Commercial trucking companies are aware of the risks they create by allowing their truckers to drive tired. As a financial precaution, many companies retain big law firms or entire teams of insurance defense attorneys to combat any truck accident claim filed against them. For most people, representing themselves when the opposition is so intimidating and powerful will severely jeopardize their chances of receiving any recovery.

You can eliminate the guesswork out of your truck accident claim by teaming up with a Bowling Green personal injury lawyer from our firm. With our guidance and representation, you can feel confident that taking on a big truck company is a challenge you can overcome, and that tomorrow will be better than today. Contact the Law Office of Pamela C. Bratcher now to get started on your case and discover how you can fight for maximized compensation after a tired truck driver causes you harm.