When people hear about a trucking accident, the first thing that usually comes to mind is a picture of an irresponsible tractor-trailer driver — fatigued, speeding, or driving a poorly-maintained vehicle — running an average passenger vehicle off the road. 

While this does happen, it’s not a complete picture of how large truck crashes often unfold. At Truck Wreck Justice, our founding attorney Morgan Adams focuses his practice entirely on representing those who are severely injured in tractor-trailer wrecks — and frequently, those victims are truck drivers themselves.

In fact, inexperienced and irresponsible truck drivers are perhaps the biggest on-the-job safety hazard that responsible truckers face, since the only thing that is likely to seriously injure a semi truck driver on the road is another vehicle of equal size. These truck-on-truck collisions are all too common, and they leave responsible and safe truckers — the “Knights of the Road” who form the backbone of our shipping and transport industries — seriously injured, permanently disabled, or even dead.

The trucking industry is currently experiencing a shortage of drivers, as reported by the American Trucking Association, and this has led some trucking companies to place poorly-trained and under-qualified individuals behind the wheel of a tractor-trailer. The result is a trucking safety crisis that poses a danger to everyone on the road, including veteran truck drivers.

The effects of this trend show up in alarming safety statistics for truckers: In 2014, about 725 tractor-trailer drivers were killed on the job, according to statistics from the Department of Labor — a sharp rise from figures in previous years.

Attorney Morgan Adams is proud to represent the “Knights of the Road” who follow industry rules and regulations to help make our highways a safer place. These drivers and the responsible trucking companies who properly train and supervise them provide an invaluable service, and everyone loses when negligent truck drivers take good truckers off the road.

If you’re a commercial truck driver and you’ve been injured in a trucking accident, Morgan Adams is ready to help with his years of experience representing hurt truckers. Call our offices today at 866-580-HURT (4878) or fill out the contact form on our website and we’ll get in touch to schedule a free consultation right away.

References

Cole, M. (2015, September 23). Truck driver occupational fatalities in 2014 at highest level since 2008. Overdrive. Retrieved from http://www.overdriveonline.com/truck-driver-fatalities-in-2014-at-highest-level-since-2008/

Wolff-Mann, E. (2015, October 12). Need a job? America has a giant shortage of truck drivers. Time. Retrieved from http://time.com/money/4070028/american-truck-driver-shortage/