The next time you see a commercial tractor-trailer barreling down the highway well above the speed limit, you have plenty of reasons to be cautious. Just as it’s been shown that distracted truckers typically drive carelessly in additional ways, new research effort confirms the same for speeding truckers.
A company that supplies in-cab safety video technology published research that showed distracted truck drivers engage in other dangerous behaviors behind the wheel. It recently announced another new study that reveals truck drivers who exceed the speed limit ignore many other safe driving norms.
The research is based on 220 million truck driving trips, all captured on video. Researchers reviewing these events documented every time truckers were found speeding and noted other risky driving they engaged in.
Speeding Truck Drivers
These dangerous truck driver behaviors ran a wide-ranging gamut. Compared to truckers who obeyed speed limits, truck drivers who were speeding were also found to be:
· 45 percent more likely to be in a near collision
· 54 percent more likely to swerve out of their lanes
· Almost three times more likely to tailgate the traffic in front of them
· More than twice as likely to be distracted
· Almost four times more likely to drive with both hands off the wheel
· More likely to do other risky moves, such as unsafe passing and merging
Speed is a known contributor to fatal motor vehicle crashes. NBC News recently reported on states raising their highway speed limits, noting that every 5-mph hike in highway speed limits causes an 8 percent increase in highway accident deaths.
Speeding commercial trucks that outweigh every passenger car can inflict catastrophic damage at an even high rate.
Missouri Highways Where Speeding is Likely
The research also included a map of the nation’s highways that showed where speeding is most likely to occur in each state. In Missouri, I-44 in Pulaski County was found to have the highest rate of speeders. Other Missouri highways with a high rate of speeding drivers were I-64 in St. Charles County and I-35 in Jackson County.
Speeding is a choice. It appears that truckers often compound this poor choice with other negligent behaviors that endanger other drivers.
If you were seriously injured or had a loved one die in a crash involving a commercial truck, an experienced truck accident lawyer can hold accountable all responsible parties for their negligent behavior that caused the crash.
The choice of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely on advertisements.
Authored by Gray Ritter Graham, posted in Blog May 9, 2018
RSS Feed