Our roads are filled with 18-wheelers moving goods and services to and from their destination. In fact, Connecticut is one of the busiest states for large trucks delivering goods throughout the Northeast. This is a good thing for commerce, but it can be a dangerous thing for you as a driver as it presents more opportunities for getting into a Connecticut truck accident.
There are a lot of reasons why a commercial truck driver who drives large vehicles for a living may get into an accident. While there are strict federal limits on the amount of time a driver is behind the wheel over any one period of time, these limits are not always abided by in day to day transport. If a driver is over the legally allowable limit of hours behind the wheel on any given time period she/he may be overtired and get into an accident.
Another reason why trucks get into accidents are mechanical failures. As you might imagine the sheer size of a tractor trailer puts it at greater risk of having mechanical failures and giving way to an accident. Here again there are strict regulations around safety and mechanical inspections that truck companies must follow. While these regulations are generally followed, it is often humans investigating issues and mistakes that happen. These mechanical failures may lead to an accident when driving along roads at high speeds.
While overtired and overworked drivers and mechanical failures are not the only two reasons why truck accidents happen they are among the leading causes. Unfortunately, you as a driver of an automobile may not be able to do much to prevent these types of accidents from happening. There is however one thing you can do to prevent any accident that happens from being worse than it otherwise would have been. That one thing is, avoid all distractions.
Avoiding distractions is the best thing you can do to prevent yourself from getting into an accident with a tractor trailer. For that matter, it is one of the best things you can do to avoid getting into an accident of any kind. Spending time on your phone while driving will take your eyes off the road and could put you into a position to come in close contact with a tractor trailer. These large vehicles do not move out of the way swiftly and a swerve on your part may result into a greater incident.
It’s not just your phone either that can be a distraction while you’re driving. Things as simple as eating while driving or talking to your passenger while driving can be enough to distract you for a split second and put you in a precarious situation. At all times when driving, but especially when you are sharing a road with large tractor trailer vehicles you should avoid all distractions so you can be focused on your main priority and that is getting to and from your destination safely. Becoming distracted can most certainly leave you injured from a Connecticut truck accident.
If you do become injured by getting into an accident with a tractor trailer truck you may need to seek legal assistance. These types of accidents can be complex and may require an attorney to work with you and understand your circumstance so they can help protect your long-term interests.
