Trucks are enormous in size and weigh about 20 – 30 times more than a car. As a result, the impact of collisions with trucks is disastrous. The injuries that the victims sustain from truck accidents may have long-term effects. In addition to extreme suffering, these injuries may lead to loss of wages as well. In severe cases, several lives are lost due to truck accidents.
Unsafe Driving Practices
There are various reasons behind truck accidents. While some are caused by improper maintenance of trucks, some may be caused by weather conditions. One of the major reasons of truck accidents is the failure of the drivers to follow the rules. In an attempt to make more money, many truck drivers stay on the road for longer durations than the stipulated hours of service. As a result, fatigue sets in and causes accidents.
Unsafe driving of truck drivers is one of the primary causes of truck accidents. It isn’t uncommon to encounter truck drivers on the road who cut into an occupied lane, follow a vehicle too closely, fail to turn on the indicator lights while making a turn or hitting the brakes. Other lethal offenses may include driving a truck with improperly secured cargo, failing to brake at the right time and so on.
In addition to that, speeding is also a predominant cause of accidents. Owing to the large size of the big rigs, they take more time to stop than other vehicles. Speeding limits the ability of the truck to stop in time, thus causing collisions.
Why You Should Report Unsafe Driving
Unsafe driving is not only hazardous for the truck driver but also for the drivers, passengers and pedestrians sharing the road with the trucks. In order to put a stop to this, unsafe truck drivers should be reported.
Many unsafe driving practices are not reported since people consider the reporting procedure to be complicated and involving a lot of hassles. However, you should keep in mind that reporting such illegal driving practices will help in protecting numerous lives on the road.
Filing the Complaint
Reporting unsafe driving by a truck driver isn’t a complex procedure. However, there are certain things that you need to keep in mind to complete the process.
You would need to visit the official website for reporting the accident. After filling out your name and other necessary information, you would be required to include a few identifiers for the truck. One of these is the name of the truck company. If you have been able to note down part of the name, you can always search with this on the list of companies to locate the right one. In addition to this, you can include other identifiers as well.
In the form, you would be required to fill out the date and time of occurrence of the incident, complete description and the name of the road the incident occurred on. In addition to these, you will also need to include the license plate number of the truck, any distinguishing marks on the truck that will help the authorities to identify it easily and so on.
The entire process does not take long to complete and can save a lot of lives.
Reporting to the Truck Company
While reporting unsafe driving to the government authority is important, it is equally crucial to report the incident to the truck company as well.
You would find bumper stickers on various trucks that have been put up by the respective truck companies to report unsafe driving. These stickers usually contain a phone number that you can contact to report any incident of reckless driving.
If this isn’t available, you can always look up the company’s contact information on the Internet and send them a feedback. Based on your complaint, the company may take the right steps to resolve the problem and prevent such incidents from occurring.
You should keep in mind that the victims of truck accidents are entitled to full compensation for the injuries suffered if the truck driver was at fault. For this, securing the right evidence is important. If you live in Houston and have been a victim of a truck accident, you should get in touch with Houston 18 wheeler accident lawyers and select the right attorney to help you recover the compensation you deserve.