An improperly-secured load in the bed of flatbed truck is a disaster waiting to happen -- and the nightmare of a lot of drivers. If you've been driving for a while, you've probably encountered at least one pickup truck in your life that was precariously packed.It...
Truck Accidents
How you avoid becoming part of trucking’s accident statistics
Most people have no idea how much the average truck accident costs in terms of financial losses for those injured or killed. Frankly, the statistics are really dismal to acknowledge: The average victim injured in an accident with a truck will sustain $62,000 worth of...
Holiday fatigue and accidents: How to avoid being a statistic
Increasingly, Christmas cheer is being brought to our doorsteps by deliverymen. The Post Office, for example, expects to handle roughly 750 million packages. Add in what UPS, FedEx and other delivery services are carrying, and that amounts to one thing: a lot of tired...
Know the dangers of sharing a road with a commercial truck
Would it surprise you to learn that the No. 1 predictor of a fatal trucking accident is simply the number of commercial trucks that are on the road?On one hand, that makes sense; however, it stops making so much sense when you find out that while commercial trucks...
Birthday beers lead to death and injuries on a New Jersey road
A birthday celebration in New Jersey turned into a deadly accident when the celebrants took to the road after having a few beers at the local bar.Now, the guy who was celebrating his birthday is behind bars, one of his close friends is dead and three others are...
What changes are coming to trucking logs?
Truck drivers are required to keep track of four major things in their log books: the amount of time they spend off duty, on duty, actually driving and sleeping.Traditionally, the paper sheets either came bound in a book or in loose-leaf form -- and many truckers (and...
The main reasons behind big rig rollovers
It's hard not to be a little apprehensive when you're sharing the road with some big rigs -- if you know anything about them, you know rollovers are always a possibility.That makes it important to understand what puts a truck at greater risk for a rollover -- so that...
Could sleep apnea be putting dangerous drivers in trucks?
New research, partially funded by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), indicates that almost one-third of the nation's truckers are suffering from sleep deprivation due to sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a disorder that causes victims to stop breathing...
Is a driver shortage putting unsafe truckers on the road?
Given the sheer mass of an 18-wheeler and the amount of damage one can cause in an accident, there's no room on the road for unqualified drivers. Yet, a nationwide shortage of qualified drivers may be pushing more fleet owners to take risks with drivers who are too...
Do large trucks come with special accident risks?
Last week, we covered some general steps for staying safe behind the wheel. When you're a commercial truck driver or if you have reason to drive a larger truck or van for any reason, following simple safety tips isn't always enough. Heavier machinery can be more...