What are the most frequent causes of motor vehicle accidents between commercial trucks and other types of vehicles?

 

A:

There are many potential causes for crashes involving large trucks.  They include: 

  • inadequate driver training
  • driver fatigue (sometimes caused by semi tractor-trailer drivers breaking the hours-of-service rules)
  • drug or alcohol abuse
  • overloaded trucks
  • improperly loaded trucks
  • poor brake maintenance
  • broken or defective equipment on the truck, including worn tires
  • driving too fast for weather conditions
  • inexperienced truck drivers
  • absence of underride guards
  • distracted driving - inattention
  • aggressive driving
  • vehicles traveling in the large truck's "No-Zone"
  • crossing the center line
  • general lack of knowledge of the characteristics and performance capabilities (including visibility, acceleration and braking) of large trucks