Everyone is aware of the dangers of distracted driving on Virginia’s many busy roads and highways, and truck drivers are just as susceptible to distracted driving as the rest of us.
Distracted driving is especially dangerous when it involves a truck because truck accidents tend to result in more serious and life-threatening injuries than accidents involving passenger vehicles.
Texting while driving
Truck drivers should not be texting or using their phones while driving. It is illegal for truck drivers to text while driving.
Looking outside the vehicle
Since truck drivers spend more time inside a vehicle than many of us, which can lead to boredom, they are at risk of becoming distracted by looking outside their vehicle. Scenery, animals, road signs, buildings or billboards are all things that can distract truck drivers on their long trips.
Eating and drinking
You may not realize that eating and drinking is a form of distracted driving. Long hours on the road can also result in truck drivers eating or drinking while driving their routes. This is especially true if something caused them to get behind schedule, such as a traffic jam, and they skip meal or rest breaks to make up time.
Dispatch devices
Devices besides cell phones are another cause of distracted driving among truck drivers. In addition to navigation and music systems, which many of us have, truck drivers have dispatching devices that they use to talk with their dispatches.
These devices serve an important role and should be used in an emergency, but truckers who use them in a non-emergency situation risk becoming distracted.
Distracted driving is negligent driving
When distracted driving causes an accident, it usually means the distracted driver was negligent. Proving negligence can provide you with compensation if you are injured in a truck accident.
You must have evidence to prove negligence. In a distracted driving case, some examples of evidence are photos of the accident scene, video of the truck driver’s behavior before the crash and eyewitness testimony.