Most Common Causes of Truck Accidents in Houston

Houston is known for a lot of things, bad traffic is one of them. Being a populous city with less public transportation makes it a necessity for people to commute. More vehicles not only lead to more traffic but also paves way for road crashes. Truck drivers are no different in this regard. Owing to the huge size and weight of the vehicle, trucks are more prone to accidents. However, that’s not the only cause. There are other reasons such as drivers’ behavior, driving under the influence, overspeeding, and much more.

If you happen to have a trucking company in Houston, get services from Houston trucking accident law firm if any of your trucks get involved in a road accident. Also, make your truck drivers familiar with the common causes of accidents so they know what to avoid. In this blog, we’ll discuss the most common causes of truck accidents so they can be avoided in the first place.

1. Failing to comply with traffic laws

One of the major causes of truck accidents is truck drivers not following the traffic rules and regulations properly. This includes overspeeding than arriving at the standard safe limit for trucks, overloading the vehicle, unsafe lane changes, improperly loaded trucks, etc.  This can put the truck at great risk of road accidents and affect the surrounding individuals as well.

For instance, speeding the truck can make it hard for the driver to stop immediately which causes a collision. Similarly, overloading the truck can make it topple on turns and make it a threat for others on the road.

2. Negligent Truck maintenance

Another common reason for truck accidents is negligence toward truck maintenance. Not maintaining the truck regularly can lead to serious road accidents. For instance, failure of the brake or improperly working headlights can pose a threat to a collision. In this way, the carelessness of a driver can lead to the great loss of other vehicles and the company itself.

Therefore, it’s important that companies pay attention to their trucks and provide the drivers with enough funds to keep the truck maintained and in good shape.

3. Drivers Behaviour

The behavior of a truck driver plays a vital role in safe truck driving. If the driver is fatigued, the chances of truck accidents increase because the fatigue affects his reflexes and judgment to drive properly and safely. Similarly, if a driver is driving under the influence of drugs, it can again mask his ability to see and judge the front vehicle and lead to a road accident.

Therefore, if you’re running a trucking company, make sure your drivers are well-rested before their next shift. Similarly, do not hire drivers with a history of driving under the influence of drugs to discourage this kind of behavior at your company.

The bottom line

Hence, knowing the common causes of truck accidents help trucking companies and drivers to avoid these factors in the first place and keep everyone safe around them.