What Can Happen When a Truck Driver Is Impaired?
Truck drivers are charged with safely navigating behemoths of the road, and when they do not manage to drive safely, the results are often devastating. Because of the massive size difference between big rigs and noncommercial vehicles, sharing the roads with these giants can be extremely dangerous. To help keep our highways and byways safe, truck drivers are held strictly accountable to the rules of the road, including those that relate to impaired driving.
Testing Guidelines
Accidents involving tractor-trailers are often deadly. For this reason, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) implements strict
guidelines regarding drug and alcohol testing. These guidelines include pre-employment testing, random testing, testing based on reasonable suspicion, return-to-duty testing (after a previous positive test), and post-accident testing. Trucking companies should always adhere to these testing requirements and take necessary action against any drivers who test positive for impaired driving.
Impaired Truck Driving
Alcohol, recreational drugs, and some prescription medications can slow a truck driver’s reaction times and responses, delay reflexes, impair judgment and reduce the ability to employ emergency accident-avoidance maneuvers—all of which are instrumental to safe driving.
Driving while drowsy is another form of impaired driving. In fact, being awake for an extended period of time has similar effects as being drunk. For this reason, the FMCSA strictly enforces restrictions on the hours that truckers can spend behind the wheel. Trucking is a demanding occupation, however, and truckers can succumb to driving under the influence of exhaustion—sometimes to disastrous effects. Truckers who drive while impaired by alcohol, drugs, or exhaustion are at greater risk of being involved in serious accidents, and they endanger everyone on the road.
Your Personal Injury Claim
Truck accidents are among the deadliest accidents on the road—and truck drivers are, therefore, held to strict driving standards. If you have been injured in an accident involving a big rig, you know how terrifying that can be. If your injuries were caused by a professional truck driver’s negligence—such as impairment—you may be entitled to a legal remedy. Never simply accept an insurance company’s settlement offer before you have consulted with a skilled truck accident attorney. Your claim is important, and professional legal counsel will help you successfully navigate your personal injury claim toward full recovery of your damages. Such damages can include medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and more.
If you or someone you care about has been injured in a commercial truck accident, you probably do not know where to turn. The Richmond, Virginia, legal team of
Emroch & Kilduff is here to help. We have the skill, expertise, and compassion to fight for the compensation to which you are entitled. We will analyze your case, explain your legal rights and options, and guide you toward a just resolution of your claim. Your rights matter, so
contact or call us at (804) 358-1568 for an initial consultation today.
