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90% of the U.S. economy is dependent on the trucking industry for moving goods across the nation. The U.S. DOT house of representatives was very close to passing a bill for allowing even bigger and heavier trucks on the national highways. The proposal which was pushed by the lobbyists of the trucking industry was removed because it posed an elevated risk on other vehicles and for completely preventable reasons.

The National Highway Traffic Safety researched and analyzed the data that almost 4,000 people are killed in the United States every year in crashes that involve large and heavier trucks. Around 100,000 are injured due to truck crashes.

Large and heavy vehicles like tractor-trailers and delivery trucks cause great damage to passenger cars due to their size and weight. The statistics from Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) indicate that majority of these accidents occur due to truck drivers not paying adequate attention on the road, or not following the speed limits and operating their commercial vehicles not in accordance with the prevailing conditions on the road. Some other causes of accidents include defective vehicles and trucking companies failing to ensure that their drivers are adequately qualified and trained.

Accidents might occur if the drivers are unaware of the fundamentals that truck driver deals with. Car drivers who are in very close proximity to the semi-trucks can also become prey to accidents. Sometimes, car drivers are unpredictable by changing lanes rapidly or overtaking trucks from the right side.

Large trucks have high fatality of crashing rates per mile driven than passenger cars and most of the people killed in these fatal crashes are occupants of cars, therefore not the trucks.

Let us see what are the reasons for these crashes, so following are some of the most common causes:

• Failure of Equipment:

  Commercial trucks are heavy, massive, and complex machines in which a lot can wrong. The failures include air brake failure, tire tread separation, steering malfunction, trailer attachment failure, and transmission or engine failure can all lead to brutal and vicious crashes.

• Errors in Driving:

  The failure and fatigue to load the cargo adequately, and using drugs, alcohol, or other controlled substances are all the leading causes of crashes that can land directly on the shoulders of the driver.

• Impractical Trucking Policies:

  The unworkable schedules that are consistently imposed by trucking companies, regardless of federal regulations which lay laws like restricted hours of service, and excessive pressure on drivers to drive beyond their legal limits.

Therefore, all these causes of truck crashes can be prevented with legitimate maintenance, responsible driving, and systematic changes in the policies of the trucking company.