The Large Truck Crash Causation Study ( LTCCS)—conducted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration—considered the critical reasons for the events that led to truck crashes resulting in death or injury. The category of critical reasons present in most of these large truck crashes was the driver.
A driver critical reason was present in 87% of the truck wrecks that resulted in injury or death. They further broke this down into performance issues (12%), recognition issues (28%), and decision issues (38%). Performance issues included things like the driver falling asleep, being impaired, suffering a seizure or heart attack, or other health issue. Performance problems also included if the driver, panicked, overcompensated, or exercised poor directional control of his vehicle.
Recognition issues included if the driver was inattentive, was distracted by something inside or outside the vehicle, or failed to adequately observe the situation for any other reason. Decision problems, for example, included if the driver was driving too fast for conditions, misjudged the speed of other vehicles, or followed other vehicles too closely. A skilled attorney who is familiar with driver mistakes and errors in Bloomington truck accidents could help an injured individual to establish fault and file a civil claim.
Driver-Related Factors and Violations in Fatal Truck Crashes
A report from the FMCSA Analysis Division lists 36 driver related factors and violations recorded in 2015-2017 for fatal truck crashes. At least one driver-related factor was recorded in about one third of the cases, and one moving violation was recorded in almost 10% of the cases.
The top five trucker-related errors and mistakes were:
- Speeding of any kind
- Distractions/inattention (cell phone, eating, daydreaming, etc.)
- Failure to yield right-of-way
- Impairment (fatigue, alcohol, drugs, illness, etc.)
- Careless driving
Other driver-related mistakes included failure to keep in proper lane, failure to obey traffic signs and controls, following improperly, and operating the vehicle in an erratic, reckless, careless or negligent manner.
Truck Driver Negligence Causes Injuries and Death
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, many fatal highway crashes involve commercial trucks—including tractor-trailers, single units, and even cargo vans that have an excess weight of 10,000 pounds. In fact, when compared to other vehicles, these trucks have a high fatal crash rate per-mile-traveled. In many of these cases, the smaller passenger vehicle involved in a collision suffers the brunt of the damages—which are often fatal.
However, even non-fatal big rig collisions caused by a driver’s errors can also do severe damage and cause serious personal injuries in Bloomington. These include serious brain trauma, spinal cord injuries and paralysis, back and neck injuries, burns, broken bones, lacerations, and disfigurement.
Pursuing a Claim for Driver Errors in a Bloomington Truck Accident
If you, or a loved one, has been seriously injured or killed in a central Illinois truck crash, contact us now for a free case evaluation. The insurance companies for the trucker, as well as the trucking company themselves will do everything they can to keep from paying you compensation for your injuries or the loss of a loved one.
In order to be successful with a negligence claim, you have to show the truck driver had a duty of care to the other vehicles on the road, that he breached his duty through some action or failure to act, that an injury was sustained, and that the breach of duty was what resulted in the injury. The trucking company may also be liable if their supervision and/or their policies, procedures, or protocols contributed to driver negligence.
When a driver’s mistakes was the cause of a truck accident in Bloomington, it might be helpful to retain an experienced lawyer to help you gather all the evidence to prove negligence, document all the harm you have suffered, and to work with you to build the best case so to pursue compensation for your losses. Our experience includes working as a general counsel for a trucking company and we’ve seen both sides of these cases. You can depend on our knowledgeable legal team to work hard and fight for you, to make sure that you get justice. And we’ll do this at no out of pocket cost to you. We only get paid to represent you if we successfully recover damages. To learn more, call today.
If you, or a loved one, has been seriously injured or killed in a central Illinois truck crash, contact us now for a free case evaluation.