Aransas Pass Types of Truck Driver Negligence

The drivers of large, commercial trucks are statistically more susceptible to both causing and becoming involved in collisions of all kinds. With an overwhelming majority (80%) of all goods and exports moved cross-country by their drivers, commercial trucks constantly pose a significant hazard to other drivers, especially in transportation corridors to and from major ports, and Aransas Pass and other towns along the coast of Texas are no exception.

Trucking accidents may occur due to a variety of circumstances. Some that cannot be controlled are external, such as inclement weather, debris, and road conditions. The factor that can always be controlled, but is often difficult to prevent, is the attentiveness of the personnel behind the wheel of the truck. If you’ve been a victim of an 18-wheeler accident in Aransas Pass, any type of truck driver negligence involved could entitle you to compensation, and you should speak to an attorney immediately about your options.

In Aransas Pass, types of truck driver negligence can come in many forms. Fortunately, the attorneys at Carabin Shaw in Aransas Pass know how to take all of these into consideration when building a case. The most common include the following.

• Texting, calling, and other cell phone use:
  • As with any other motorist, cell phone preoccupation accounts for an overwhelming amount of annual 18-wheeler collisions. While many cities have made regulations limiting or banning cell phone use by drivers, federal law now bans texting by truckers behind the wheel.
• Alcohol abuse:
  • Alcohol severely limits a person’s ability to think, react, and drive defensively, and in truckers’ cases, the stakes are much higher. The word negligence is perhaps too soft a description for a commercial trucker’s choice to drive intoxicated.
• Drug abuse:
  • In association with the category above, any form of substance abuse which hinders a driver’s ability to safely operate machinery is wholly illegal and should be addressed as an instance of truck driver negligence.
• Truck driver sleep deprivation and fatigue:
  • Driver fatigue is one of the most significant causes of trucking accidents. In fact, it can be even more dangerous than intoxication because it is so common. Due to the pressures to meet deadlines and the fact that most commercial drivers are paid by the mile, not by the hour, many drivers put more hours on the road than they are legally allowed.
• Improper truck maintenance:
  • A truck driver and his employer are responsible for the general upkeep and maintenance that a large commercial vehicle requires. To squeeze time and money, some operators use falsified maintenance logs to create the appearance of expected attention to the truck’s operational state. Additionally, if parts fail due to defect or other malfunction unpreventable by the driver and cause a collision, culpability can be traced back to the manufacturer.
• Lack of proper employee training:
  • Trucking companies have a single objective: to move product quickly and as cheaply as possible. Sometimes, this can come at the expense of proper training and instructional hours before employers hurriedly send drivers out onto bustling highways and interstates across Texas.
• Failure to conduct proper screening when hiring employees:
  • Background checks are crucial when hiring truckers, as other motorists will soon be at the mercy of his or her decision-making skills in the potentially life-threatening instant it takes for a collision to occur. Trucking corporations become negligently liable when their hiring processes do not include appropriate background screenings or inquiries into previous records and professional history.

For all commercial truck drivers making their way through Aransas Pass, types of truck driver negligence can and should be avoided by responsible behavior. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. The causes are many, and the Aransas Pass trucking crash attorneys from Carabin Shaw take all of these into account when formulating a successful claim for victims and constructing an airtight lawsuit against a trucking employee’s negligence.

For over twenty years, our attorneys have defended those who have suffered due to the negligence of 18-wheeler drivers and the companies that employ them. If you or someone you love has suffered any injuries, losses, or damages due to Aransas Pass truck driver negligence, there is a lawyer from Carabin Shaw in Aransas Pass available 24 hours a day to provide a free initial consultation on your case and how to best recover proper compensation

Contact our attorneys toll-free, day or night, at 800-862-1260, or call our local office just across the bay from Aransas Pass at 361.717.4411 to schedule your free cons