According to a study from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, unsafe driving behavior is to blame for 88 percent of crashes involving passenger vehicles and 93 percent of crashes involving large trucks. Whether in California or in some other state, unsafe driving is the leading cause of all highway crashes.
The FMCSA, along with other industry and transportation safety organizations, is in support of the annual Operation Safe Driver Week. This event, hosted by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, is meant to reduce injuries and deaths on America’s highways. This year, the event will take place from June 15 to June 21.
Enforcement officials across the nation will be on the lookout for instances of unsafe driving behavior, such as speeding, improper lane changes, texting while driving and following other vehicles too closely. Drivers of both commercial trucks and passenger vehicles will be inspected.
During last year’s Operation Safe Driver Week, nearly 39,000 citations and warnings were issued to commercial truck drivers with the majority of the offenses being moving violations. Many neglected to wear their seat belt, ignored traffic control devices or used their cellphone behind the wheel. Eighteen truckers were issued citations for driving either while drowsy or while ill, and 86 received warnings for the same offense.
Drowsy driving is just one form of negligent behavior, and it can be hard to prove when accident victims are filing a third-party insurance claim. This is where a personal injury lawyer may come in. A lawyer might hire experts to find the necessary proof in police reports, physical evidence at the crash site or the work log. The lawyer may then negotiate on clients’ behalf for an out-of-court settlement or proceed straight to litigation.