Why Do Drowsiness and Fatigue Lead to Truck Accidents?

When night falls in Pennsylvania, most people have the luxury of going to bed and getting some much-needed sleep. This is not so for the majority of truck drivers who often drive through the night to deliver their cargo on time. Night driving combined with lack of sleep and fatigue contributes greatly to the nation’s volume of truck accidents.

It seems as if it should not be a problem to drive at night, especially if it happens frequently. Shouldn’t the body adapt to these unconventional work hours? Unfortunately, it is difficult to reprogram one’s internal clock, even after years of nighttime driving. When tired or sleepy truckers are behind the wheel, the risk of truck accidents occurring rises.

According to KeepTruckin, there are four main reasons why truck accidents occur.

• Nonperformance: Truckers fell asleep or became disabled in some way
• Recognition failure: Truckers were distracted or simply inattentive
• Decision failure: Truckers made bad decisions while operating their trucks
• Poor performance: Truckers panicked, overcompensated or otherwise exercised poor control

While the truck accident causes above are separate from one another, they may have one common denominator and that is fatigue (which causes drowsiness).

• When a trucker is tired, he or she may fall asleep: nonperformance
• When a trucker is tired, he or she may not perceive dangerous situations: recognition failure
• When a trucker is tired, he or she may make poor choices: decision failure
• When a trucker is tired, he or she may have reduced vehicle control: poor performance

Now that you understand the role fatigue plays in truck accidents, it is time to think about finding a legal solution. If you suffer injuries from a collision involving a large truck, seeking compensation helps you recover physically and financially. Talk with an injury lawyer about your accident to determine the best way to move forward with your case.